An Evening for Choir and Cello with music by Bach, Haydn and Tavener
Featuring one of the UK’s leading chamber choirs, The Elysian Singers, together with their conductor Sam Laughton. In addition, making a welcome return will be internationally acclaimed cellist Amy Norrington, and the popular Craswall Consort.
Conductor Sam Laughton with The Elysian Singers, cellist Amy Norrington & The Craswall Consort
JS Bach Cantata No.112 ‘Der Herr ist mein getreuer Hirt’
Joseph Haydn Cello Concerto No.1
John Tavener Svyati
Joseph Haydn Missa Sancti Nicolai
Featuring one of the UK’s leading chamber choirs, The Elysian Singers, together with their conductor Sam Laughton. Also making a welcome return will be internationally acclaimed cellist Amy Norrington, and the popular Craswall Consort.
The Elysian Singers of London is one of the UK’s leading chamber choirs. Founded in 1986 by Matthew Greenall, the group quickly developed an interest in contemporary music, giving world premières by a number of composers including John Tavener who, from 2002 until his recent death, was the choir’s Patron. Sir James MacMillan recently agreed to become the choir’s new patron.
Conductor Sam Laughton juggles dual careers as a barrister and musician. He has been musical director of The Elysian Singers since 2000. Together they have made frequent appearances on radio and television, also making a number of acclaimed commercial recordings. He is also Director of the Craswall Consort, the Chiltern Camerata, and the Trinity Camerata.
Amy Norrington enjoys a varied career as chamber musician, soloist and guest principle cellist, and is the founder and Artistic Director of the acclaimed ‘Festival Resonances’.
She is professor of cello at the Lemmens Institute in Leuven, Belgium and gives masterclasses regularly at major European music schools and festivals.
The Craswall Consort is made up of musicians many of whom have played in the summer orchestral concerts as the Craswall Players.
Additional information
Ticket Type
Front Nave, Rear Nave, Restricted View, Student under 25
Address: Dore Abbey, Abbeydore, Herefordshire, HR2 0AA, United Kingdom
Description: A Brief History
The Screen Dore Abbey
The Abbey was founded in 1147 by French Cistercian Monks from Morimond. The construction of the present stone buildings in the ‘new’ Early English style started in 1175 and was consecrated in 1280.
Having avoided being razed by Owen Glendower in 1405, the Abbey was suppressed (dissolved) by Henry VIII in 1537 and the buildings sold to John Scudamore. All the monastic buildings, the nave and roof of the Abbey were dismantled and the stone sold by Scudamore. All that remained (i.e. the present Abbey) was left as a roofless ruin until c1630.
John Scudamore’s great-great-grandson (John Viscount Scudamore) had no male heir, all his sons having died at birth or soon after. Archbishop Laud suggested that his ancestor had perhaps overdone the commercial benefits of the dissolution and that he should “consider his conscience”. Restoring the ruins into a Parish Church was deemed an appropriate penance and the rebuilt church was re-consecrated in 1634. Subsequently, Scudamore’s wife had a son who survived !
Laud had considerable influence on the restored church. The Screen through which the raised altar can be seen by the congregation was one of his innovations. His coat of arms together with those of Lord Scudamore and Charles I are on the Screen.
The church was further restored, first around 1700 when the wall paintings were created, and later around 1900 when the church was ‘shrunk’ into what had been the presbytery. The Church you see today has been little altered since the 1900 rearrangement.
Today The Abbey enjoys regular Church services, has a fine organ and a peal of 6 bells. It is also the venue for many concerts and local community activities, including Concerts for Craswall.
with music by Byrd, Cornysh, Debussy, Poulenc and Stanford
A programme showcasing gems from the English Renaissance for men’s voices contrasted with 20th and 21st century works. This includes compositions by four living composers and the premiere of a work written specially for the occasion.
The expansive and richly textured motets of William Byrd form the backbone of the programme which traces a typically Lenten theme: darkness to light, despair to joy. Works in English from the likes of Matthew Martin and Charles Villiers Stanford, alongside the impressionistic French composers Claude Debussy and Francis Poulenc, explore the wide-ranging ways of writing for this combination of voices, often considered solely an early music group.
In an enchanting programme specially researched by Ian Gammie, renowned tenor Rogers Covey-Crump, formerly of the Hilliard Ensemble, explores the age-old themes of love, joy and sadness in songs accompanied by early instruments.