Lewisham Choral Society The Derbyshire Singers

Mendelssohn: Elijah

Elisabeth Meister – Soprano Susanna Spicer – Mezzo-Soprano

Peter Davoren – Tenor Colin Campbell – Bass

Forest Philharmonic Orchestra

Conductor: Dan Ludford-Thomas

Concert Hall, Fairfield Halls Saturday, 19 March 2016

The oratorio and the story of Elijah

“I am most anxious to do justice to the dramatic element of the story of Elijah” So wrote Felix Mendelssohn to his Julius Schubring when both were working on the German libretto of what would become the composer's great oratorio on the story of the Biblical prophet Elijah. According to the Books of Kings in the Old Testament, Elijah was a prophet in the kingdom of Israel during the reign of Ahab (in the 9

th century B.C.). Ahab was a

worshipper of the false god Baal, while Elijah “the Tishbite, of Tishbe in Gilead” followed Jehovah, “the Lord God of Israel”. Elijah is also recognised by Judaism and thus unites Mendelssohn's own ancestral religion with Christianity, the faith into which he was baptised. He saw Elijah as “a thorough prophet, such as we might again require in our own day – energetic and zealous, but also stern, wrathful and gloomy; a striking contrast to the court rabble and popular rabble – in fact, in opposition to the whole world, and yet borne on angels' wings.” The drama Mendelssohn wanted is in his music from the very start, with the inclusion of the Biblical curse proclaimed by Elijah himself. “I thought it so energetic” wrote Mendelssohn. Then, at the suggestion of librettist Bartholomew, the composer inserts an overture which he described as “expressive, descriptive of the misery of famine”. Then begins the first of the two parts of the oratorio, both of which conclude with a grand chorus. The first part centres on the drought in Israel. Obadiah, the comptroller of Ahab's household and a worshipper of the Lord God, tries to turn the people against their idols. God protects Elijah by sending him away from the drought to drink from streams and be fed first by ravens and then by a poor widow, whose son the prophet resurrects from the dead. Then follows a contest between Jehovah and Baal in which God consumes a sacrifice in a column of fire. And the final miraculous climax to this part of the oratorio comes with thunderous rain falling on the parched ground of Israel. The second part tells of the threats to the prophet's life by Jezebel the queen and of Elijah's trials and despair in the wilderness. The prophet's spirits finally lift with the news that many thousands have not bowed down to Baal. Elijah's salvation brings the oratorio to an end, with his ascension “in a fiery chariot with fiery horses... in a whirlwind to heaven” and the mighty chorus praising the glory of the Lord God.

Libretto Elijah (bass): As God the Lord of Israel liveth, before whom I stand: There shall not

be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word. Overture Part one

1 The People: Help, Lord! Wilt Thou quite destroy us? The harvest now is over, the

summer days are gone, and yet no power cometh to help us! Will then the Lord be no more God in Zion? The deeps afford no water, and the rivers are exhausted. The suckling’s tongue now cleaveth for thirst to his mouth. The infant children ask for bread, and there is no one breaketh it to feed them

2 The People: Lord, bow Thine ear to our prayer . . .

Two Women: Zion spreadeth her hands for aid, and there is neither help nor comfort.

3 Obadiah (tenor): Ye people, rend your hearts and not your garments. For your

transgressions, the prophet Elijah hath sealed the heavens through the word of God. I therefore say to ye: forsake your idols, return to God; for He is slow to anger, and merciful, and kind, and gracious, and repenteth Him of the evil.

4 Obadiah (tenor): ‘If with all your hearts ye truly seek Me, ye shall ever surely find

Me.’ Thus saith our God. O! that I knew where I might find Him, that I might even come before His presence!

5 The People: Yet doth the Lord see it not, He mocketh at us; His curse hath fallen

down upon us, His wrath will pursue us till He destroy us. For He, the Lord our God, He is a jealous God, and He visiteth all the fathers’ sins on the children to the third and the fourth generation of them that hate Him. His mercies on thousands fall, fall on all them that love him and keep his commandments.

6 An Angel (mezzo): Elijah! Get thee hence, Elijah! Depart and turn thee eastward:

thither hide thee by Cherith’s brook. There shalt thou drink its waters; and the Lord thy God hath commanded the ravens to feed thee there: so do according unto His word.

7 Angels: For He shall give His angels charge over thee; that they shall protect thee

in all ways thou goest; that their hands shall uphold and guide thee, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.

An Angel (mezzo): Now Cherith’s brook is dried up, Elijah, arise and depart, and get

thee to Zarephath; thither abide: for the Lord hath commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee. And the barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the Lord sendeth rain upon the earth.

8 A Widow (soprano): What have I to do with thee, O man of God? Art thou come to

me to call my sin unto remembrance? To slay my son art thou come thither? Help me, man of God! My son is sick! And his sickness is so sore, that there is no breath left in him! I go mourning all the day long; I lie down and weep at night. See mine affliction. Be thou the orphan’s helper. Help my son! There is no breath left in him. Elijah (bass): Give me thy son. Turn unto her, O Lord my God, O turn in mercy; in

mercy help this widow’s son. For Thou art gracious, and full of compassion, and plenteous in mercy and truth. Lord, my God, let the spirit of this child return, that he again may live! Widow (soprano): Wilt thou show wonders to the dead? There is no breath in him!

Elijah (bass): Lord, my God, let the spirit of this child return, that he again may live!

Widow (soprano): Shall the dead arise and praise thee?

Elijah (bass): Lord, my God, O let the spirit of this child return, that he again may

live! Widow (soprano): The Lord hath heard thy prayer, the soul of my son reviveth!

Elijah (bass): Now behold, thy son liveth.

Widow (soprano): Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that His word

in thy mouth is the truth. What shall I render to the Lord for all his benefits to me? Both: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, love Him with all thine heart, and with all thy

soul, and with all thy might. O blessed are they who fear Him!

9 Chorus: Blessed are the men who fear Him, they ever walk in the ways of peace.

Through darkness riseth light to the upright. He is gracious, compassionate; He is righteous.

10 Elijah (bass): As God the Lord of Sabaoth liveth, before whom I stand, three

years this day fulfilled, I will show myself unto Ahab; and the Lord will then send rain again upon the earth. Ahab (tenor): Art thou Elijah? Art thou he that troubleth Israel?

The People: Thou art Elijah, thou he that troubleth Israel!

Elijah (bass): I never troubled Israel’s peace: it is thou, Ahab, and all thy father’s

house Ye have forsaken God’s commands, and thou hast followed Baalim. Now send, and gather to me the whole of Israel unto Mount Carmel; there summon the prophets of Baal, and also the prophets of the groves, who are feasted at Jezebel’s table. Then we shall see whose God is the Lord. The People: And then we shall see whose God is the Lord.

Elijah (bass): Rise then, ye priests of Baal; select and slay a bullock, and put no fire

under it; uplift your voices and call the god ye worship, and I will call on the Lord Jehovah; and the god who by fire shall answer, let him be God. The People: Yea, and the God who by fire shall answer, let him be God.

Elijah (bass): Call first upon your god, your numbers are many. I, even I, only

remain, one prophet of the Lord. Invoke your forest gods and mountain deities.

11 Priests of Baal: Baal, we cry to thee, hear and answer us! Heed the sacrifice we

offer! Hear us, Baal! Hear, mighty god! Baal, o answer us! Baal, let thy flames fall and extirpate the foe!

12 Elijah (bass): Call him louder, for he is a god! He talketh, or he is pursuing, or he

is in a journey; or, peradventure, he sleepeth: so awaken him! Call him louder, call him louder! Priests of Baal: Hear our cry, O Baal! Now arise! Wherefore slumber?

13 Elijah (bass): Call him louder! He heareth not. With knives and lancets cut

yourselves after your manner. Leap upon the altar ye have made, call him and prophesy! Not a voice will answer you: none will listen, none heed you. Priests of Baal: Baal! Baal! Hear and answer, Baal! Mark how the scorner derideth

us! Hear and answer!

14 Elijah (bass): Draw near, all ye people, come to me . . .

Lord God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, this day let it be known that Thou art God, and that I am Thy servant! Lord God of Abraham! O show to all this people that I have done these things according to Thy word. O hear me, Lord, and answer me! Lord God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, o hear me and answer me, and show this people that Thou art Lord God. And let their hearts again be turned!

15 Angels: Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee. He never will

suffer the righteous to fall: He is at thy right hand. Thy mercy, Lord, is great, and far above the heavens. Let none be made ashamed, that wait upon Thee!

16 Elijah (bass): O Thou, who makest Thine angels spirits; Thou, whose ministers

are flaming fires: let them now descend! The People: The fire descends from heaven! The flames consume his offering!

Before Him upon your faces fall! The Lord is God, the Lord is God! O Israel hear! Our God is one Lord, and we will have no other gods before the Lord. Elijah (bass): Take all the prophets of Baal, and let not one of them escape you.

Bring them down to Kishon’s brook, and there let them be slain. The People: Take all the prophets of Baal and let not one of them escape us: bring

all and slay them!

17 Elijah (bass): Is not His word like a fire, and like a hammer that breaketh the rock

into pieces? For God is angry with the wicked every day. And if the wicked turn not, the Lord will whet His sword; and He hath bent His bow, and made it ready.

18 A Woman (mezzo): Woe unto them who forsake Him! Destruction shall fall upon

them, for they have transgressed against Him. Though they are by Him redeemed, yet have they spoken falsely against Him, from Him have they fled.

19 Obadiah (tenor): O man of God, help thy people! Among the idols of the

Gentiles, are there any that can command the rain, or cause the heavens to give their showers? The Lord our God alone can do these things. Elijah (bass): O Lord, Thou hast overthrown Thine enemies and destroyed them.

Look down on us from heaven, O Lord; regard the distress of Thy people: open the heavens and send us relief: help, help Thy servant now, O God! The People: Open the heavens and send us relief: help, help Thy servant now, O

God! Elijah (bass): Go up now, child, and look toward the sea. Hath my prayer been heard

by the Lord? The Youth: There is nothing. The heavens are as brass, they are as brass above

me. Elijah (bass): When the heavens are closed up because they have sinned against

Thee, yet if they pray and confess Thy Name, and turn from their sin when Thou didst afflict them: then hear from heaven, and forgive the sin! Help! Send Thy servant help, O God! The People: Then hear from heaven, and forgive the sin! Help! Send Thy servant

help, O God! Elijah (bass): Go up again, and still look toward the sea.

The Youth: There is nothing. The earth is as iron under me!

Elijah (bass): Hearest thou no sound of rain? Seest thou nothing arise from the

deep? The Youth: No, there is nothing.

Elijah (bass): Have respect to the prayer of Thy servant, O Lord my God! Unto Thee

will I cry, Lord, my rock; be not silent to me; and Thy great mercies remember, Lord! The Youth: Behold, a little cloud ariseth now from the waters; it is like a man’s hand!

The heavens are black with clouds and wind: the storm rusheth louder and louder! The People: Thanks be to God for all His mercies!

Elijah (bass): Thanks be to God, for He is gracious, and His mercy endureth

forevermore!

20 The People: Thanks be to God, He laveth the thirsty land! The waters gather,

they rush along; they are lifting their voices! The stormy billows are high; their fury is mighty. But the Lord is above them, and Almighty!

Interval Part two

21 Soprano: Hear ye, Israel; hear what the Lord speaketh: ‘O, hadst thou heeded

my commandments!’ Who hath believed our report: to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? Thus saith the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, and His Holy One, to him oppressed by tyrants: thus saith the Lord: ‘I am He that comforteth; be not afraid, for I am thy God, I will strengthen thee. Say, who art thou, that thou art afraid of a man that shall die; and forgettest the Lord thy Maker, who hath stretched forth the heavens, laid the earth’s foundations? Be not afraid, for I, thy God, will strengthen thee.’

22 Chorus: ‘Be not afraid,’ saith God the Lord, ‘be not afraid, thy help is near.’ God,

the Lord thy God, sayeth unto thee, ‘be not afraid!’ Though thousands languish and fall beside thee, and tens of thousands around thee perish, yet still it shall not come nigh thee.

23 Obadiah (tenor): Man of God, now let my words be precious in thy sight. Thus

saith Jezebel; ‘Elijah is worthy to die’. So the mighty gather against thee, and they have prepared a net for thy steps; that they may seize thee, that they may slay thee. Arise then, and hasten for thy life; to the wilderness journey. The Lord thy God doth go with thee: He will not fail thee, He will not forsake thee. Now be gone, and bless me also.

Elijah (bass): Though stricken, they have not grieved. Tarry here my servant: the

Lord be with thee. I journey hence to the wilderness.

24 Elijah (bass): It is enough! O Lord, now take away my life, for I am not better than

my fathers! I desire to live no longer: now let me die, for my days are but vanity. I have been very jealous for the Lord God of Hosts, for the children of Israel have broken Thy covenant, and thrown down Thine altars, and slain all Thy prophets, slain them with the sword. And I, even I only, am left: and they seek my life to take it away! It is enough! O Lord, now take away my life, for I am not better than my fathers. Now let me die, Lord, take away my life.

25 Tenor: See, now he sleepeth beneath a juniper tree in the wilderness, but the

angels of the Lord encamp round about all them that fear Him.

26 Angels: Lift thine eyes to the mountains, whence cometh help. Thy help cometh

from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth. He hath said, thy foot shall not be moved, thy keeper will never slumber.

27 Angels: He, watching over Israel, slumbers not, nor sleeps. Shouldst thou,

walking in grief, languish, He will quicken thee.

28 An Angel (mezzo): Arise, Elijah, for thou hast a long journey before thee. Forty

days and forty nights shalt thou go to Horeb, the mount of God. Elijah (bass): O Lord, I have laboured in vain; yea, I have spent my strength for

nought! O that Thou wouldst rend the heavens, that thou wouldst come down; that the mountains would flow down at Thy presence, to make Thy name known to Thine adversaries, through the wonders of Thy works! O Lord, why hast Thou made them to err from Thy ways and hardened their hearts that they do not fear Thee? O that I now might die!

29 An Angel (mezzo): O rest in the Lord, wait patiently for Him, and He shall give

thee thy heart’s desires. Commit thy way unto Him, and trust in Him, and fret not thyself because of evildoers.

30 Chorus: He that shall endure to the end, shall be saved.

31 Elijah (bass): Night falleth round me, O Lord! Be Thou not far from me! Hide not

Thy face, O Lord, from me, my soul is thirsting for Thee, as a thirsty land. An Angel (soprano): Arise now, get thee without, stand on the mount before the

Lord: for there His glory will appear, and shine on thee! Thy face must be veiled, for He draweth near.

32 Chorus: Behold, God the Lord passed by! And a mighty wind rent the mountains

around, brake in pieces the rocks, brake them before the Lord. But yet the Lord was not in the tempest.

Behold, God the Lord passed by! And the sea was upheaved, and the earth was shaken. But yet the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake there came a fire. But yet the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there came a still small voice. And in that still voice onward came the Lord.

33 Angels: Go, return upon thy way! For the Lord yet hath left Him seven thousand

in Israel, knees which have not bowed to Baal. Go, return upon thy way! Thus the Lord commandeth. Elijah (bass): I go on my way in the strength of the Lord. For Thou art my Lord; and I

will suffer for Thy sake. My heart is therefore glad, my glory rejoiceth; and my flesh shall also rest in hope.

34 Elijah (bass): For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but Thy

kindness shall not depart from me; neither shall the covenant of Thy peace be removed.

35 Chorus: Then did Elijah the prophet break forth like a fire; his words appeared

like burning torches. Mighty kings by him were overthrown. He stood on the mount of Sinai and heard the judgments of the future, and in Horeb its vengeance. And when the Lord would take him away to heaven, lo! there came a fiery chariot with fiery horses; and he went by a whirlwind to heaven.

36 Tenor: Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in their heavenly Father’s

realm. Joy on their head shall be for everlasting, and all sorrow and mourning shall flee away for ever.

37 Chorus: And then shall your light break forth as the light of morning breaketh:

and your health shall speedily spring forth then: and the glory of the Lord ever shall reward you. Lord, our Creator. how excellent Thy Name is in all the nations! Thou fillest heaven with Thy glory. Amen.

FELIX MENDELSSOHN (1809-1847)

Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy was

born on 3 February 1809 in the “Free Imperial City of Hamburg” then an independent city-state. He was the second of the four children of the banker Abraham Mendelssohn and the linguist, musician and artist Lea Salomon. With the steady advance of Napoleon across Europe, Hamburg soon fell under French domination and with Felix aged only two, the Mendelssohns all moved to Berlin, where this highly intelligent and successful family would flourish. By the age of nine Felix was already performing in public on the piano, an instrument his mother had started to teach him to play only three years before.

Portrait of Mendelssohn in 1846 by Eduard Magnus With his sister Fanny, another precocious musician, he studied counterpoint and composition from the age of 10, under the composer Carl Friedrich Zelter, a friend of the famous poet and playwright Goethe, who was soon himself to meet and be deeply impressed by the young musician. One year later Felix began to compose a string of works including five concertos, four operas and thirteen string symphonies, completing them and much more over a period of only five years. A piano quartet was published when Felix was only 13 and his remarkable octet followed three years later. Mendelssohn was not only gifted in music: he translated Latin literature and wrote poetry; he was an accomplished amateur artist, a linguist like his mother and an excellent athlete; and his interest in philosophy (his grandfather Moses having been a renowned philosopher) led him to attend lectures by the leading philosopher Hegel. Relatives and teachers had introduced their pupil to Baroque music and in particular the works of Bach, at the time a little performed and virtually forgotten composer. By the age of 20, Mendelssohn had taken up the challenge of reintroducing the world to the master's works by conducting the first performance of the St Matthew Passion

since its author's death over eighty years before. In the same year, Felix came to Britain for the first of a total of ten visits during his short lifetime. Back in Germany, having failed to secure a conductor post in Berlin in 1833, he was made a Director of Music in Düsseldorf and two years later conductor of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, which he soon transformed into one of Europe's finest. It was in 1836 that Mendelssohn's first oratorio, St Paul, received its premiere in Düsseldorf. It was seen as his finest work at the time and sealed his reputation on the continent. But this still young man had ambitions to reach yet greater heights.

Elijah, Op 70 “One day, after the wonderful success of the oratorio St Paul, F. M. [Mendelssohn], C.K. [Carl Klingemann], my sisters, and I were walking back from an organ performance at St James's, Piccadilly, when it occurred to me to ask him whether he had any important work in contemplation to sustain the enthusiasm called forth by St Paul.

We were walking as was our wont, slightly ahead of the others, at the time; he was silent at first, and then with some hesitation he said, in a low voice, “Well, my dear boy, you are the first person to whom I have said a word on the subject, though I have had it on my mind for months past, and think and dream of nothing else. Yes, I have chosen the splendid Bible story of Elijah for my next theme, and if I can only bring the magnificent text home to the hearts of my hearers with anything like the force that it appeals to me, I shall do much to place my second oratorio on possibly a higher level in public opinion than the first.”

So wrote the artist (and incidentally the designer of the world's first Christmas card) John Callcott Horsley in his memoir Recollections of a Royal Academician. Horsley was son of the musician William Horsley and Mendelssohn was very much a friend of the family and often visited and stayed at their home at 1 High Row in Kensington (now Clementi Sketch by Mendelssohn of 1 High Row

House at 128 Kensington Church Street). (photo: Martin Bull) Of course one of the first things the composer needed was a libretto. After failing to persuade his friend Klingemann to produce one, he turned to a childhood friend who was also a previous collaborator, the Protestant pastor Julius Schubring, who had provided Mendelssohn with words for St Paul. His text combined excerpts from the 1

st and 2

nd Books of Kings and the Psalms in the Old Testament and expanded on

them to add drama to a rather terse source text. This certainly suited Mendelssohn: “I am most anxious to do full justice to the dramatic element”, he wrote to his librettist. The two continued to work on the German text, although it was a painful and drawn-out process for both men and between 1839 and 1845 little was done. The illustrious Birmingham Triennial Music Festival had persuaded Mendelssohn to take part in their 1837 Festival as not only a conductor but also as a piano and organ soloist. The schedule was pretty tough: seven performances in just four days, with only one single rehearsal. “That's how calves are led to the slaughterhouse”, Mendelssohn wrote in his diary. When the Festival asked him several years later to

direct their 1846 festival, he recalled the “feeling of misery and misfortune” which that schedule had led to. So he turned down the directorship but agreed to fulfil a commission which the Festival had also offered for an oratorio, as this provided the composer with an ideal opportunity to put his idea for Elijah into practice.

Mendelssohn now set to work in earnest on the music, using the work of his two heroes Bach and Handel as his models with the addition of lyrical romanticism and colour. Progress was again slow but by May 1846 the first part of the work was complete. Then he asked that a previous collaborator, the chemist, writer and composer William Bartholomew, should start to prepare an English translation of the libretto, working alone at home in Hackney and with Mendelssohn's friend, Carl Klingemann, at

Plaque at 4 Hobart Place, Belgravia, the latter's residence in Belgravia. Choral home of Mendelssohn's friend Klingemann rehearsals began in mid-June but it was not until nine days before the premiere that the choir would receive the score of the final chorus!

Mendelssohn set out on his ninth voyage to England in order to conduct the oratorio's premiere in Birmingham Town Hall on 26 August 1846. A specially chartered train took around 300 musicians, including the composer and the soloists northwards from Euston station. And the publicists had done their job: after only one imperfect rehearsal, a critic would write of “the greatest achievement of Mendelssohn's genius”. The first performance brought together an orchestra of 125 musicians and a choir of 271 singers. The Town Birmingham Town Hall Hall was crowded with “a brilliant and (photo by Martin Bull) eagerly expectant audience” of more than 2,000. Eight of the work's numbers were encored and The Times critic wrote of

the performance: “Never was there a more complete triumph, never a more thorough and speedy recognition of a great work of art». And Mendelssohn himself wrote to his brother: “No work of mine ever went so admirably the first time of execution, or was received with such enthusiasm by both the musicians and the audience, as this oratorio.”

The only weak link was the soprano soloist: Mendelssohn had wanted Jenny Lind, known as the Swedish nightingale, a close friend and some say lover of the composer, to take on the role but she was not to do so until after Mendelssohn's death. And despite being such a huge success, the composer wasn't completely satisfied, and immediately set about overhauling the work for the London premiere the following year. This revised edition was performed at Exeter Hall on London's Strand, where the Strand Palace Hotel now stands. According to a contemporary report it was met with a "long-continued unanimous volley of plaudits, vociferous and deafening applause." A second performance was attended by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert and the Prince Consort wrote (in German), on a copy of the work's libretto, the following dedication: “To the noble artist who, surrounded by the Baal-worship of false art, has been able, by his genius and science, to preserve faithfully, like a second Elijah, the worship of true art.” Tragically however, only six months later the 38-year old Felix Mendelssohn was dead.

Elisabeth Meister – Soprano

Elisabeth trained at the Royal Academy of Music, Guildhall School of Music & Drama, Cardiff International Academy of Voice and as a Jette Parker Young Artist at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. In concert she has performed the major works of Beethoven, Elgar, Mozart, Rossini, Vaughan Williams and Verdi, in venues such as The Royal Festival Hall, Royal Albert Hall, Carnegie Hall, The Royal Opera House, Buckingham Palace, and many others. Her operatic repertoire includes the title roles of Aïda, Turandot, Anna Nicole, Der Rosenkavalier, Ariadne auf Naxos, and Lucrezia Borgia, as well as Lady Macbeth Macbeth, Woglinde Das Rheingold, Helmwige and Sieglinde Die Walküre, Third Norn Götterdämmerung,

Photo: Brian Tarr Elisabeth Tannhäuser, Florinda Fierrabras, Ker The Minotaur, and Ellen Orford Peter Grimes. She has performed at international houses including The Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Teatro Municipal de Santiago de Chile, La Monnaie, Scottish Opera, Toulouse, Bilbao, and Lyric Opera Chicago.

http://www.meistermusic.org/elisabeth-meister

Susanna Spicer – Mezzo-Soprano

One of the first female choral scholars at Trinity, Cambridge and a post-graduate of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Susanna is a highly experienced and adaptable concert singer whose engagements have taken her from the Royal Festival Hall with Simon Rattle and Kurt Masur and the LPO, to the Royal Albert Hall with David Willcocks in Messiah and Elijah and for the BBC Proms in Schubert's Die Verschworenen with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment under Nicholas McGegan. Most recently she was back in the Royal Albert Hall for a highly charged performance of Mahler's Eighth Symphony for Jeremy Backhouse. Susanna has performed all the greatest works of the repertoire in most of Britain’s finest cathedrals, including at the Three Choirs, Three Spires and Presteigne Festivals, has sung for Glyndebourne and Kent Opera companies, and has made many recordings. Forthcoming engagements in 2016 include further performances of Verdi's Requiem, Elgar's The Dream of Gerontius and Mendelssohn's Elijah.

www.singersdirect.co.uk

Peter Davoren – Tenor

Peter was awarded the Dr Ralph Kohn Scholarship to attend the Royal Academy of Music under the tutelage of renowned tenor Neil Mackie and of Mary Hill. Peter gained plaudits for his recital singing as a member of the Academy Song Circle, performing at the Chelsea Lieder Festival, Oxford Lieder Festival and the Wigmore Hall. The Independent hailed him as ‘excellent’, singing with ‘a warm, bel canto style.’ These performances led to a Lieder night in the Duke’s Hall with Dame Felicity Lott. Peter performed frequently on the oratorio stage and quickly gained a reputation as ‘one to watch for the future’ after his performance as Evangelist in the RAM performance of Bach St John Passion under Edward Higginbottom. Peter’s experience in Oratorio has led to his being a

regular performer for the Monteverdi Choir with John Elliot Gardiner. He made his BBC Proms debut as a soloist in Monteverdi's Vespers of 1610.

In opera Peter has performed the roles of Nemorino L’elisir d’amore, Lacouf and Le Journaliste Les mamelles de Tirésias and Florville Il Signor Bruschino with the Dutch National Opera Academy, and has been a regular at Opera Holland Park performing as Song Vendor Il Tabarro, Poisson Adriana Lecouvreur and Goro Madama Butterfly.

Colin Campbell – Bass

Colin is an established concert soloist, appearing throughout the world in repertoire ranging from Monteverdi to Tavener. He has performed Bach in Finland, China, Japan and Korea with Trevor Pinnock and Sir John Eliot Gardiner; Beethoven's Leonore in New York, Salzburg and Amsterdam; Brahms's Ein Deutsches Requiem in Shanghai; Marcel Dupré De Profundis in Munich; and Handel in Germany, China,

Israel, Poland, Lithuania and Norway. In the UK he has appeared at the Royal Albert Hall in Vaughan Williams's Fantasia on Christmas Carols and in Mahler's Eighth Symphony. At the Queen Elizabeth Hall Colin performed Elgar's Dream of Gerontius and Vaughan Williams's Dona Nobis Pacem. He also performed Fauré's Requiem in Westminster Photo: Carpenter Turner Cathedral and Brahms's Ein Deutsches Requiem at Symphony Hall, Birmingham. Colin has appeared as an oratorio soloist in many British cathedrals, including the Three Choirs Festival in Mozart's Requiem and Handel's Israel in Egypt. He has performed his extensive operatic repertoire with Kent Opera, English Touring Opera, Welsh National Opera, Aix en Provence Festival, Bermuda Festival and the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. He has made several recordings.

Dan Ludford-Thomas - Conductor Dan began singing as a chorister at St Matthew’s Church, Northampton, and in 1986 became ‘Choirboy of the Year’, which led to radio and television broadcasts and concerts at many of the major venues throughout the UK. He won choral scholarships to the cathedrals at Wells and Durham, where he read music at the University. On arrival in London he continued his vocal studies with Richard Smart and Nicholas Powell and conducting with Rumon Gamba and Mark Shanahan. As a tenor, Dan has performed regularly with many major ensembles, including

Chapelle du Roi, The King's Consort, The Academy of Ancient Music, Florilegium

and The Sixteen and has sung with many choral societies as a soloist.

As a conductor he performs regularly in major concert venues including Birmingham Symphony Hall and The Royal Albert Hall. In 2012 he conducted over 300 singers and the Forest Philharmonic in a performance of Handel's Messiah in the Royal Festival Hall and in 2014 conducted over 200 singers in a performance of Verdi's Requiem in the Fairfield Halls. Dan is in demand as a choral

animateur, directing choral workshops and projects in the UK and internationally. He was at the forefront in the delivery of the national singing initiative ‘Singup’ in collaboration with Ex Cathedra, with whom he enjoys a long association as part of a team delivering singing programmes and concerts. In 2012 Dan worked as a choirmaster on BBC2’s The Choir: Sing While You Work series and has continued as Artistic Director of the Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Choir. He returned in 2013 to work on series 2 as choirmaster to Citibank choir, with whom he has continued as Musical Director. In 2015 he worked behind the scenes as choirmaster for The Choir: Gareth Malone's Great Choir Reunion. Work with these choirs has led to performances at the Hammersmith Apollo and concerts in New York. In 2015 Dan enjoyed success as the co-producer of the Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Choir's Christmas Number 1. Dan was the chorus master for the Choir of the Enlightenment, preparing them to sing Brahms's Ein Deutsches Requiem with the Orchestra of the Age of

Enlightenment, conducted by Marin Alsop at the 2013 BBC Proms. He is currently Head of Vocal Studies at Dulwich College, Musical Director of The Hackney Singers and of Concordia Chamber Choir. He is the Director of Music of Lewisham Choral Society.

Lewisham Choral Society

Lewisham Choral Society is one of London’s most popular community choirs, performing at local venues and major concert halls such as Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall, the Cadogan Hall and the Fairfield Halls. It has provided the chorus for two shows at the Young Vic and was honoured to take part in the opening ceremony for the Paralympic Games in 2012. It is a large, lively community-based choir, with almost two hundred singers. Founded in 1950 by a Photo: Marc Wood

group based at Lewisham’s parish church, it grew in size and ambition, marking its transformation by a change of name to Lewisham Choral Society in the early 1980s. The Society is a member of Making Music - the National Federation of Music Societies. We are a performing choir, staging four concerts a year and taking part in other choral singing events when opportunities arise. Under the professional direction of Dan Ludford-Thomas and his deputy Nico de Villiers, the choir’s repertoire ranges from the sixteenth century to the twenty-first - Monteverdi's Vespers of 1610 through to contemporary works by Will Todd and Eric Whitacre.

The Derbyshire Singers

The Derbyshire Singers is a lively choir of enthusiastic singers whose aim is to entertain and inspire audiences with committed and polished performances of a wide range of music. Under the leadership of our musical directors Joseph and Lynne Clark we perform a wide range of choral music from the sixteenth century composers to the twenty-first – Gabrieli through to Paul Patterson and Eric Whitacre. The choir

is well known for always employing national and international professional orchestral players, groups and soloists. These have included trumpeter Crispian Steel-Perkins, the ensemble His Majestys Sagbutts and Cornetts, pianists Anthony Goldstone and Caroline Clemmow and conductor the late Sir David Willcocks. Following very successful joint performances with Lewisham Choral Society in 2012 (Elgar’s Dream of Gerontius) and 2014 (Verdi’s Requiem) The Derbyshire Singers are delighted to be singing with them again this evening.

http://www.derbyshiresingers.org

@derbyshiresing1

Forest Philharmonic Orchestra

Under the direction of Artistic Director Mark Shanahan, Forest Philharmonic Orchestra has gained an impressive reputation for the high quality and vitality of its performances, and celebrated its 50th anniversary last year.

Originally the Leyton Municipal Orchestra, it was reconstituted under its current name in 1963 by its first Artistic Director, Frank Shipway and gave its first full season of concerts in 1964/65. Today the orchestra continues to perform with top

artists such as soprano Susan Bullock and pianist Stephen Hough, and also gives opportunities to young musicians in the local Waltham Forest community through open rehearsals, creative projects in local schools and its Explorers participation programme. As has been the case for the last 50 years, each string section is led by a professional player, whose input in rehearsals enables the orchestra to fulfil its aim of coaching the musicians of tomorrow while providing a forum for the leading amateur players of today. In addition to its regular season at Walthamstow Assembly Hall, Forest Philharmonic performs within the borough and surrounding areas, including at the Stow Festival and chamber concerts in local churches. It was invited by Waltham Forest Council to perform for HM The Queen for her visit to Walthamstow as part of her Diamond Jubilee Tour, and performed the live music accompaniment to Hitchcock’s film Blackmail as part of Beyond Barbican. The orchestra has also performed in Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, the Barbican Centre, St John’s, Smith Square and St Albans Cathedral. It regularly performs with choral societies and also took part in the BBC 2 programme Maestro.

http://forestphilharmonic.org.uk

WOULD YOU LIKE TO JOIN LEWISHAM CHORAL SOCIETY AS A SINGER?

Lewisham Choral Society offers a warm welcome to new joiners. We are open to

singers in all voice parts, but given the need to maintain a good balance across the choir we are targeting our recruitment at tenors and basses. Although we do not audition, the choir performs to a high standard and tackles some complex pieces which require a level of experience and musical ability. Rehearsals are relatively fast-paced, so may not suit complete beginners. We rehearse on Monday evenings from 8 to 10 at St Laurence Church, 37 Bromley Road, Catford, SE6 2TS: five minutes' walk from Catford and Catford Bridge stations; buses 47, 54, 136, 171, 199 and 208 stop outside. Parking is relatively easy on nearby residential streets and there is limited parking within the church grounds. Rehearsals for our Summer concert start on Monday 21 March and continue until the concert on 9 July. We do not rehearse on public or bank holidays but we will schedule additional rehearsals when necessary. Singers are welcome to join as new members on 21 March, 4 or 11 April.

Visit our website to sign up to our mailing list and find out more about our future events!

www.lewishamchoralsociety.org.uk

We hope you enjoyed tonight's performance. Send us your feedback via our website, Facebook or Twitter!

facebook.com/groups/2388024780 @lewishamchorsoc

Lewisham Choral Society would like to thank their

Assistant Director, Nico de Villiers, for his help with the rehearsals for this concert

Introduction and programme notes by Martin Bull Design of concert posters and flyers by Ben Leslie

Photo: Sebastian Charlesworth

Photography is not permitted without the prior agreement of the Committee of Lewisham Choral Society Please ensure that your mobile, pager or digital watch is switched off.

Lewisham Choral Society acknowledges the support of the London Borough of Lewisham

Forest Philharmonic acknowledges the support of the London Borough of Waltham Forest

Both are affiliated to Making Music

Lewisham Choral Society, Registered Charity Number 1040570 The Derbyshire Singers, Registered Charity Number 516921 Forest Philharmonic, Registered Charity Number 1026792

Lewisham Choral Society – Future performances

Please visit our website for updates www.lewishamchoralsociety.org.uk Ticket enquiries to 020 8309 0439 or website

Saturday 9 July at 7.30 pm

Holy Trinity Church, Sloane Street, SW1X 9BZ

Lili Boulanger – Vieille prière bouddhique Vierne – Messe solennelle Britten – Deus in adjutorium meum; Rejoice in the Lamb Saturday 12 November at 7.30 pm

Great Hall, Goldsmiths, SE14 6NW

Schubert – Mass in E flat, D950; Offertorium, D963

Derbyshire Singers – Future performances

Please visit our website for updates http://www.derbyshiresingers.org/ and to book tickets

Saturday 9 July

Edensor Church, Chatsworth Estate

Saturday 26 November

St John's Church, Ashbourne Handel – Messiah

Saturday 10 December Highfields School, Matlock “Christmas Cracker”