City of Bristol Choir
Encyclopedia
The City of Bristol Choir is a mixed voice choir
of around 85 auditioned singers, whose aim is to sing a wide range of choral music to the highest possible standard. The choir gives five or six concert
s a year in different venues around the South West
, but mostly in Bristol
. The choir's size gives it flexibility to perform music in diverse styles, from intimate Renaissance music
polyphony and partsongs to large scale works with orchestra
.
City of Bristol Choir was formed in 1991 by Malcolm Archer
(now organist and director of music at Winchester College
). The choir now enjoys a busy schedule of concerts and events under the direction of David Ogden
, who was appointed Director of Music in 2000.
Recent seasons have included performances of Szymanowski's
Stabat Mater
, Brahms'
Requiem
, three major Elgar oratorios – The Apostles
, The Dream of Gerontius
and The Kingdom
.and Mozart's
Mass in C Minor, as well as a summer concert of jazz standards. In October 2006, City of Bristol Choir visited Portugal
for its first European tour where it gave two concerts and sang at morning mass at the magnificent Lapa Church
in Oporto. They have toured to Florence in 2008 since.
2009 has so far been, and promises to be, a spectacular year for the Choir. It has held a Handel 250 festival, which included three concerts and a performance of the enthralling Dixit Dominus, and his rarely-performed Dettingham Te Deum. The next milestone for the choir will be Beethoven's Ninth Symphony: one of the greatest of all works.
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
of around 85 auditioned singers, whose aim is to sing a wide range of choral music to the highest possible standard. The choir gives five or six concert
Concert
A concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...
s a year in different venues around the South West
South West England
South West England is one of the regions of England defined by the Government of the United Kingdom for statistical and other purposes. It is the largest such region in area, covering and comprising Bristol, Gloucestershire, Somerset, Dorset, Wiltshire, Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. ...
, but mostly in Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
. The choir's size gives it flexibility to perform music in diverse styles, from intimate Renaissance music
Renaissance music
Renaissance music is European music written during the Renaissance. Defining the beginning of the musical era is difficult, given that its defining characteristics were adopted only gradually; musicologists have placed its beginnings from as early as 1300 to as late as the 1470s.Literally meaning...
polyphony and partsongs to large scale works with orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
.
City of Bristol Choir was formed in 1991 by Malcolm Archer
Malcolm Archer
Malcolm Archer is an English organist, conductor and composer. He combines this work with a recital career. Archer was formerly Organist and Director of Music at St Paul's Cathedral, and is now Director of Chapel Music at Winchester College....
(now organist and director of music at Winchester College
Winchester College
Winchester College is an independent school for boys in the British public school tradition, situated in Winchester, Hampshire, the former capital of England. It has existed in its present location for over 600 years and claims the longest unbroken history of any school in England...
). The choir now enjoys a busy schedule of concerts and events under the direction of David Ogden
David Ogden (conductor)
David Ogden, is a conductor and composer, directing choirs, choral and church music workshops, courses and festivals in the UK and abroad.-Career:David Ogden is a freelance conductor and composer...
, who was appointed Director of Music in 2000.
Recent seasons have included performances of Szymanowski's
Karol Szymanowski
Karol Maciej Szymanowski was a Polish composer and pianist.-Life:Szymanowski was born into a wealthy land-owning Polish gentry family in Tymoszówka, then in the Russian Empire, now in Cherkasy Oblast, Ukraine. He studied music privately with his father before going to Gustav Neuhaus'...
Stabat Mater
Stabat Mater (Szymanowski)
Karol Szymanowski's Stabat Mater was composed in 1925-1926 for soprano, alto and baritone soloists, SATB choir, and orchestra. The work is divided into six movements and uses Jozef Janowski's Polish translation of the Marian hymn, Stabat Mater....
, Brahms'
Johannes Brahms
Johannes Brahms was a German composer and pianist, and one of the leading musicians of the Romantic period. Born in Hamburg, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna, Austria, where he was a leader of the musical scene...
Requiem
Ein deutsches Requiem
A German Requiem, To Words of the Holy Scriptures, Op. 45 by Johannes Brahms, is a large-scale work for chorus, orchestra, and a soprano and a baritone soloist, composed between 1865 and 1868. It comprises seven movements, which together last 65 to 80 minutes, making this work Brahms's longest...
, three major Elgar oratorios – The Apostles
The Apostles (Elgar)
The Apostles, Op. 49, is an oratorio for soloists, chorus and orchestra composed by Edward Elgar. It was first performed on 14 October 1903.-Overview:...
, The Dream of Gerontius
The Dream of Gerontius
The Dream of Gerontius, popularly called just Gerontius, is a work for voices and orchestra in two parts composed by Edward Elgar in 1900, to text from the poem by John Henry Newman. It relates the journey of a pious man's soul from his deathbed to his judgment before God and settling into Purgatory...
and The Kingdom
The Kingdom (Elgar)
The Kingdom, Op. 51, is an oratorio for soloists, chorus and orchestra composed by Edward Elgar.It was first performed at the Birmingham Music Festival on 3 October 1906, with the orchestra conducted by the composer, and soloists Agnes Nicholls, Muriel Foster, John Coates and William Higley. The...
.and Mozart's
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
Mass in C Minor, as well as a summer concert of jazz standards. In October 2006, City of Bristol Choir visited Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
for its first European tour where it gave two concerts and sang at morning mass at the magnificent Lapa Church
Lapa Church
thumb|180px|Lighthouse of Lapa Church.Lapa Church, officially Igreja Paroquial de Nossa Senhora da Lapa is a Parish church in the Portuguese city of Póvoa de Varzim. It was built in 1772 by the local fishermen community...
in Oporto. They have toured to Florence in 2008 since.
2009 has so far been, and promises to be, a spectacular year for the Choir. It has held a Handel 250 festival, which included three concerts and a performance of the enthralling Dixit Dominus, and his rarely-performed Dettingham Te Deum. The next milestone for the choir will be Beethoven's Ninth Symphony: one of the greatest of all works.