Johann Sebastian Bach: Zion hört die Wächter singen Context J. S. Bach’s church cantata Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme (‘Awake, calls the voice to us’) was composed for the 27th Sunday after Trinity. It’s first performance happened on the 25th November 1731. This work completed Bach’s second annual cycle Read more…
Eric Whitacre: Sleep Context Composed in 2000 and premiered in 2001, Eric Whitacre’s popular choral work Sleep came from a very personal commission request. In 1999, Whitacre was approached by Julia Armstrong, a mezzo-soprano living in Texas. She proposed a commission for a new work from Whitacre to be performed Read more…
Eric Whitacre: When David Heard Context Eric Whitacre was born in Nevada in1970, and from a young age he studied the piano. He later got into a band, where he played the synthesizer, and it was at this point that Whitacre aspired to be a rock musician. Just before going Read more…
Henry Purcell: Hear My Prayer, O Lord Context Composed between 1681-82, Henry Purcell’s choral anthem Hear My Prayer, O Lord was most likely set for the Chapel Royal. Often assumed to be part of a larger unfinished work due to the blank pages at the end of the autograph score, Read more…
John Rutter: Blow, Blow, Thou Winter Wind Context John Rutter’s choral work Blow, Blow Thou Winter Wind is a setting of a song from the second act of William Shakespeare’s As You Like It. Originally published as part of Rutter’s choral cycle When Icicles Hang, this particular work is more Read more…
Hubert Parry: I Was Glad Context Hubert Parry (1848-1918) was at the height of his fame by the start of the 20th century. He held a Professorship at Oxford from 1900, as well as being knighted two years previously in 1898. It was during this mature period of Parry’s life Read more…
Eric Whitacre: i carry your heart The Text Composed in 2016, Eric Whitacre’s choral work i carry your heart has become another popular piece in choral repertoire. Based on the E. E. Cummings (1894-1962) poem of the same name, the text of the song is as follows: i carry your Read more…
Paul Mealor: I Am the Gentle Light Context Paul Mealor was born in North Wales, 1975, and as a young child he studied composition with William Mathias. He attended the University of York, and studied under John Pickard and Nicola LeFanu. For fourteen years now, Mealor has taught composition at Read more…
Sarah Fuller Flower Adams: Nearer My God to Thee Context Sarah Fuller Flower Adams was born on February 22nd, 1805 in Sussex. She was the youngest of two, with her older sister being the composer, Eliza Flower. Adams was an English poet and she is renowned for her writings during Read more…
Judith Weir: Stars, Night, Music and Light Context Judith Weir was born in 1954 in Cambridge, and at a young age she began learning the oboe. Weir in her youth performed regularly with the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain. She studied composition whilst at school with none other than John Read more…