Exeter Festival Chorus: Of Light and Shadow
Duruflé Requiem, Poulenc Gloria, Russell Hepplewhite/Wendy Cope ‘I Wake’
Gweneth Ann Rand – Soprano; Timothy Dickinson – Baritone; Isabella Farleigh – Cello
First published in 1948, Maurice Duruflé’s well-loved setting of the Requiem is set for a solo baritone, mezzo-soprano, mixed choir, and organ. Deeply meditative with thematic material mostly taken from the Mass for the Dead in Gregorian chant, it is an extremely atmospheric piece which will sound wonderful at St Peter’s Church.
Written a decade later Francis Poulenc’s Gloria is a vibrant piece for organ or orchestra, choir & soprano solo. Poulenc claimed he was inspired to write it on the model of Vivaldi’s famous setting, although the style is unmistakably his, described by a friend as 'half monk, half guttersnipe' – the Laudamus te was inspired by watching Benedictine Monks playing soccer – and the whole piece is exciting and vibrant.
Russell Hepplewhite’s new piece is a commission, included in a publication by Stainer & Bell entitled Living Voices - ten inspirational pieces for choirs, all of which speak about an aspect of modern life. Russell invited ten outstanding British poets to create poetic responses to our world today. Their diverse reflections cover birth and death, youth and age, sickness and health, and landscape and memory. Wendy Cope provides the lyric for ‘I Wake’ which is tuneful and delicate.
Exeter Festival Chorus will be giving the Premiere Performance and are delighted to be working with outstanding soloists:
Soprano Gweneth Ann Rand who trained at the University of Exeter, Goldsmith’s College and the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, London. During her training she received many awards and represented England at BBC Cardiff Singer of the World. She is currently an Associate Artist at Wigmore Hall.
Award-winning British Bass-Baritone Timothy Dickinson has been noted for his “wonderfully warm, round, powerful tone”. His work ranges from recitals across the UK to Operatic roles at Glyndebourne, Scottish Opera and Loughborough. He has been a regular guest at the St Endellion Festivals in Cornwall. Tim lives in Somerset, freelances extensively & has performed with top vocal ensembles inc. The Sixteen.
Andrew Millington is a Fellow of the Royal College of Organists and has held various posts including at both Worcester and Gloucester Cathedrals before coming to Exeter Cathedral where he served as Director of Music between 1999 and 2015. Andrew is also an active composer and has had several choral pieces published.
‘Cellist Isabella Farleigh began playing the cello at the age of 4. Now aged 20, she is a second-year Undergraduate at the Royal Northern College of Music, studying with Hannah Roberts. Isabella has performed recitals for the Budleigh Music Festival, and in 2019, she won the Two Moors festival. Isabella finds the passionate melancholia of the Requiem’s Pie Jesu particularly poignant and enjoys the interplay between the cello and mezzo soprano soloist.
Conductor: Andrea Brown
The concert takes place at St Peter's Church, Budleigh Salterton on Saturday 5th April at 7.30pm.
