Thursday 23rd June 2011, 7.30pm

St. John’s, Smith Square

City of London ChoirLondon Mozart Players Hilary Davan Wetton conductor Mark Williams organMarta Fontanals-Simmons mezzo-soprano

Supported by the Herbert Howells Trust

Duruflé Requiem

Howells English Mass

ST. JOHN’S, SMITH SQUARE

LONDON SW1P 3HA

Tickets £24, £20, £15, £10(concessions £2 off face value; groups of 10 or more: 10% off )

Tel: 020 7222 1061

www.sjss.org.uk

www.cityoflondonchoir.org

Duruflé’s Requiem is deservedly one of the most popular

choral works of the twentieth century. Rooted in Gregorian

chant, it creates a timeless, mystic soundworld of intense

luminosity. Like Fauré, Duruflé rejected the hellfire and

brimstone model of the requiem mass and preferred instead

a more contemplative, ethereal evocation. Richly varied

choral and orchestral writing is illuminated by moments

of intense drama and the eloquent mezzo-soprano solo in

the Pie Jesu. Duruflé’s exact contemporary Howells also

drew inspiration from the church in which he worked.

His writing owes much not just to the Tudor predecessors

he so admired, but to the very architecture of the English

cathedral and the effect of voices in resonant spaces.

This will be a concert to nurture the soul.

4N

‘at their sublime best, the close-textured voices soared to the chancel roof ’

The Observer, describing the City of London Choir in 2009

4N

‘the youthful City of London Choir under its director Hilary Davan Wetton proved that magic could be kindled . . . Marta Fontanals-Simmons had an intense, expressive and attractive voice’

BBC Music Magazine, November 2010

ST. JOHN’S, SMITH SQUARE

LONDON SW1P 3HA

General Manager: Paul DaviesThe Box Office is open for advance bookings from 10am to 5pm (until 6pm on concert days) Monday to Friday. Advance bookings cannot be made after 6.00pm or at weekends/bank holidays.

Tickets available from the Box Office, St. John’s Smith Square £24, £20, £15, £10 (concessions £2 off face value; groups of 10 or more: 10% off ) from the Box Office, St. John’s, Smith Square, London SW1P 3HA. Please enclose SAE. Tel: 020 7222 1061. Online: www.sjss.org.ukMastercard, Visa and Maestro accepted. Booking fees: By telephone £2.00 per transaction (£1.50 to Friends of St. John’s). Online £1.50 per transaction.

The Restaurant (& Bar) in the Crypt is open from 5.30pm. Tel. 020 7222 2779.

St. John’s, Smith Square Charitable Trust, registered charity no. 1045390.Registered in England. Company 3028678.

Promoter: City of London Choir (registered charity no. 265024)www.cityoflondonchoir.org