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2 CD
✓ in stock |
€ 25.95
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| Label Signum Classics |
UPC 0635212049525 |
Catalogue number SIGCD 495 |
Release date 06 October 2017 |
Hertfordshire Chorus continue to build on their reputation for commissioning and performing some of the very best in contemporary choral music. In their first recording with Signum they are joined by the BBC Concert Orchestra for a 2CD set featuring James McCarthy’s Codebreaker (an exploration of the life of the pioneering computer scientist and mathematician Alan Turing) and Will Todd’s Ode to a Nightingale (setting the famous poem by John Keats).
Hertfordshire Chorus is one of the UK’s finest symphonic choruses and has a reputation for high-quality and passionate singing, commissioning new music, performing challenging and often rarely heard pieces as well as much-loved and well-known works. It is at home in styles from the major classical works to jazz, music theatre, games music, rock and all points in between. David Temple MBE, one of the leading choral conductors in the country, has been its Musical Director since 2000.
The Chorus performs regularly in the UK’s major concert halls, has appeared frequently with the BBC Concert Orchestra and the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra, has worked with Daniele Gatti, Thomas Adès and José Carreras and has made numerous recordings. Highlights of its engagements include Porgy & Bess with the NFM Wrocław Philharmonic under Wayne Marshall, the Game Music Festival with the Philharmonia Orchestra under Robert Kurdybacha and War Horse – The Story in Concert for BBC Radio in Coventry Cathedral.
Recordings have included Nova! Nova! – Joy to the World! (Louis Halsey) and Codebreaker/Ode to a Nightingale (James McCarthy and Will Todd) for Signum, as well as Michael Hurd Choral Music volume 2 for Lyrita. The Chorus has been broadcast on radio on many occasions, including on the BBC marking the Centenary of the 1918 Armistice performing Bliss Morning Heroes and Britten Ballard of Heroes, in Fauré Requiem and in a concert of Christmas music with José Carreras. Classic FM broadcast its concert celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Queen’s Coronation. On television it has provided soundtracks on a number of occasions as well as singers for programmes as varied as First Night of the Proms concerts, Spooks and The Unofficial Science of Home Alone.
The Chorus has a special fund to commission new music and under David Temple’s direction its drive to encourage young composers has produced some of the most outstanding and successful new choral music of recent years, including works by Shruthi Rajasekar, Will Todd, James McCarthy, Roland Perrin, Orlando Gough and Howard Haigh. The Chorus is also particularly proud of the work it does with children and young people to help encourage the next generation of choral singers and music enthusiasts.
English composer and performer Will Todd is well known for his beautiful and exciting music, encompassing choral works large and small, opera, musical theatre and orchestral pieces, as well as jazz compositions and chamber works. He has written music for many of the UK’s leading ensembles including The BBC Singers, The BBC Concert Orchestra, The Hallé Choir and Orchestra, The Sixteen, Tenebrae, Welsh National Opera, Opera North, The Royal Ballet and Opera and Opera Holland Park. His impressive output includes the operas Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Migrations, Angels On The Underground and Christmas Carol, and major choral works include Mass in Blue, Passion Music, Jazz Missa Brevis, The Promise and his 2009 Requiem for Voices and Electric Guitar. He has travelled extensively performing his music and has an extensive list of recordings and collaborations with artists throughout the world.
Will Todd is president and patron of a number of UK choirs. He strongly believes in music making for all, and his personal motto when directing musicians is ‘find the passion’, regardless of experience or ability. He has worked regularly throughout his career on community projects both large and small. His music is published by Oxford University Press, Boosey and Hawkes and Tyalgum Press and released on Signum Records.
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