Roger Miller
Epsom Chamber Choir concert - Bruckner and Stravinsky
VOICES, WIND AND BRASS RING TO THE RAFTERS
"Religious music without religion is almost always vulgar." So said Stravinsky. His Mass is one of two masses to be performed by Epsom Chamber Choir and the Chameleon Arts Wind Ensemble.
Stravinsky’s Mass was inspired by a collection of Mozart masses he had found and he wrote: “I knew I had to write a Mass of my own, but a real one" meaning one composed for liturgical use rather than for concert performance. The second mass, Bruckner’s Mass in E minor, was commissioned by the Bishop of Linz Cathedral and is more romantic in style, based strongly on old-church music tradition. Both masses are unusually accompanied by wind and brass ensemble.
In addition, the choir will give the first performance of a commission of Psalm 19, “The heavens declare the glory of God” by Peter Burton and the Chameleon Arts Wind Ensemble will perform Jonathan Dove’s “Figures in the Garden”.