2018 marks the centenary of World War One and Ivor Gurney’s elegiac compositions, which are often shadowed by his better-known poetic output, emphasise the importance of remembrance. Music by Gurney and his contemporaries – Elgar, Howells and Parry – together with a new commission by Judith Bingham for mezzo soprano solo and choir, precede Schoenberg’s unaccompanied choral plea for peace on earth.

The British have a culture of commemoration in music and the choral tradition possesses an unmistakable role in giving voice and words to these sentiments. Tenebrae offers the finest pairing of poetry and music in a range of works, some already treasured in the heart of the nation, with other masterpieces which might well join them.

Programme

Edward Elgar They are at rest 
John Tavener Song for Athene 
Ivor Gurney Since I Believe in God the Father Almighty 
Torsten Rasch A Foreign Field Psalm
Judith Bingham A Walk with Ivor Gurney 
Herbert Howells Take Him, Earth, for Cherishing
INTERVAL
Hubert Parry Songs of Farewell
Arnold Schoenberg Friede Auf Erde

Artist Information

Tenebrae
Nigel Short conductor
Martha McLorinan mezzo soprano

Artist(s)

Nigel Short, Tenebrae