Summer delight from Plymouth Philharmonic Choir
Plymouth Philharmonic Choir, together with four first class soloists and orchestra, are performing a concert comprised of works by Vaughan Williams, Wagner, Ramirez and Vivaldi.
Vaughan Williams Five Mystical Songs
These five songs, settings of poems by the 17th-century poet and Anglican priest George Herbert (1593-1633), were completed in 1911 and first performed at the Three Choirs Festival in Worcester in September of that year.
Like Herbert’s simple verse, the songs have the same intrinsic spirituality as the original text. They were supposed to be performed together, as a single work, but the styles of each vary quite significantly. The first four songs are quiet personal meditations in which the soloist takes a key role. The final “Antiphon” is probably the most different of all: a triumphant hymn of praise sung by the chorus alone. It is also sometimes performed on its own, as a church anthem for choir and organ: “Let all the world in every corner sing”.
Ramirez Misa Criolla
Argentine composer Ramirez’s Misa Criolla is said to have been inspired by a visit to Germany after World War II. While there, Ramirez had an encounter with two sisters (siblings, not nuns), who had regularly risked their lives bringing food to prisoners of the Nazis. This led him to consider writing “a spiritual piece”. This would eventually become the Misa Criolla.
Gloria
Today Vivaldi is one of the most popular of all composers with his Gloria instantly recognised. For two centuries after his death, the Gloria lay undiscovered until the late 1920s, when it was found buried among a pile of forgotten Vivaldi manuscripts. It was not until 1957 that the now familiar original version was published and given its first performance.
The concert takes place n Saturday 4 July at 7.30pm in The Minster Church of St Andrew. Further information, together with ticket prices and availability, can be found on the choir’s website and at wegottickets.com/event/681960
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