Sun, 23 Jun 2024

Zelenka: Missa Votiva
 

Queen's Park Singers, conductor Oliver Till

with the Asyla Ensmble, leader Mark Seow, and

Angela Hicks soprano
Daniel Collins countertenor
Kieran White tenor
Crispin Lewis bass

 

An opportunity to hear a neglected masterpiece

Jan Dismas Zelenka (1679 – 1745) was born in Central Bohemia, now part of the Czech Republic. After studying in Prague and Vienna he obtained a post playing double bass in the court orchestra of the Elector of Saxony, in Dresden, and later became Kapellmeister there.  

His music combines a highly effective use of counterpoint – hence his nickname, the “Bohemian Bach” – with intense rhythmic energy. He was a prolific composer, especially of church music, and was much admired by his contemporaries, including J.S. Bach. However, after his death the court kept the manuscripts of his compositions under lock and key, which partly explains why they have been neglected until relatively recently.

Towards the end of his life Zelenka embarked on – but never completed – a cycle of twelve Mass settings, his Misse Ultimae. The Missa Votiva is the third of these, and is of special significance in that it was apparently written in fulfilment of a vow that Zelenka had made to God during a bout of sickness, that he would compose a Mass if he recovered.

The Mass is on a grand scale, comprising no fewer than twenty movements, encompassing a variety of musical forms and moods, and making full use of the forces for which it is scored: choir, orchestra and four soloists. A recent review called Missa Votiva “nothing less than a lost masterpiece, strongly recommended for your discovery”.

For this special occasion, Queen’s Park Singers were delighted to be joined by the Asyla Ensemble, a chamber orchestra that specializes in Baroque repertoire and performs on period instruments.

Sun, 17 Mar 2024

Sun, 26 Nov 2023

6.30pm at Free Church, Hampstead Garden Suburb, North Square, London NW11 7AG

For our Autumn Concert we joined forces with the Royal Free Music Society Choir, conductor Benjamin Wolf,  and Barnet Symphony Orchestra, conductor Oliver Till, in a programme of English Music with Maja Horvat, violin and Xavier Hetherington, tenor.

• Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Hiawatha's Wedding Feast
• John Ireland  Greater Love Hath No Man
• ​​​​​​​Benjamin Britten Violin Concerto

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor's prodigious musical talent was evident while he was still a student at the Royal College of Music and his first major commission sprung from the recommendation of Edward Elgar, who regarded him as "the most talented composer in Britain". Hiawatha's Wedding Feast, based on the poem by Henry Longfellow, was something of a smash hit and was performed 200 times in England within 6 years of being premiered in 1898. Coleridge-Taylor completed two sequel cantatas and an overture over the next two years, and he even named his first child Hiawatha. Novello published the score in advance of the premiere and, although seriously ill, Sir Arthur Sullivan wrote "My boy, I'm coming to hear your music tonight even if I have to be carried".

John lreland was also a student of Charles Villiers Stanford at the RCM, and his anthem *Greater Love *is one of the classics in choral literature. Written in 1912 for choir and organ, the text is assembled from various parts of the Bible including the Song of Solomon, St John's Gospel and various Epistles of St Peter and St Paul. The heart of the anthem is "Love is strong as death; greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13), which gave this work great poignancy after the start of WW1.

Sun, 25 Jun 2023

Opera Gala
Sunday 25th June at 6.30pm at St Anne's Church, Salusbury Road, London NW6 6RG 

with Queen’s Park Junior Singers, Conductor Mary Phillips
        Caroline Taylor, soprano
        Xavier Hetherington, tenor

    Hiandel          Awake the  trumpet’s lofty sound from Samson
    Puccini           Gira la cote from Turandot
    Borodin          Gliding Dance of the Maidens  from Prince Igor
    Phillips            Four choruses from The Queen’s Park
    Puccini            Sequence from La Bohème
                                        Che gelida manina 
                                        Sì. Mi chiamano Mimì 
                                        O soave fanciulla 

     Britten              Opening of Act 1 from Peter Grimes
     Tchaikovsky    Waltz scene from Eugene Onegin
     J. Strauss II       Adèle’s laughing song from Die Fledermaus
     Verdi                 Chorus of the Hebrew slaves from Nabucco
     Bernstein         Make our garden grow from Candide
 

Fri, 26 May 2023

Friday 26th May 7.30pm  St Gabriel's Church, Warwick Square, Pimlico,
London SW1V 4QF
"A Serenade to Music" as part of the Brandenburg Choral Festival of London

Queen's Park Singers, conductor Oliver Till
with the Ardent saxophone quartet and
Soprano Mary Phillips

• Byrd  Sing Joyfully
• Tallis  If Ye Love Me
• Gibbons arr. Till   Fantasia a4 VdGS 1GB
• Hamish Brown   A Musical Instrument (QPS commission)
• Byrd arr. Till    Ave Verum  for Four Saxophones
• Tallis  O Nata Lux
• Byrd   Laudibus in Sanctis
• Gibbons arr. Till    Fantasia a4 VdGS 2GB
• Vaughan Williams     Serenade to Music
• Elgar  The Shower

Sat, 11 Mar 2023

Saturday 11th March 2023 at 7pm
Queen's Park Singers with St Mark's Singers and St Mark's Baroque Soloists
St Saviours Church, Eton Rd, South Hampstead, London NW3 4SQ

Programme:

• J. S. Bach:  St. John Passion

Evangelist - William Searle
Christus - TBC
Pilate - Benjamin Poore
Soprano - Sophia Jin
Alto - Lauren Macleod
Tenor - Harun Tekin
Bass - Robert Medina
Conductor - Daniel Collins
Leader - Theresa Caudle
Music Director, Queen's Park Singers - Oliver Till
Dramaturgy - Benjamin Poore 
 

Sun, 5 Mar 2023

Sunday 5th March 2023 at 6pm.  A relaxed performance of  Bach's St. John Passion
Queen's Park Singers with St Mark's Singers 
St Saviours Church, Eton Rd, South Hampstead, London NW3 4SQ

Programme:

• J. S. Bach:  St. John Passion

• Evangelist - Daniel Collins

Christus - TBC
Pilate - Benjamin Poore
Soprano - Sophia Jin
Alto - Lauren Macleod
Tenor - Harun Tekin
Bass - Robert Medina
Conductor - Oliver Till
Organ - Hamish Brown
Dramaturgy - Benjamin Poore 
 

Sat, 3 Dec 2022

A feast of English choral music, including "A Serenade to Music" by Vaughan Williams and a world premiere for choir and saxophone quartet.

Programme:

• WIlliam Byrd: Sing Joyfully, Laudibus in Sanctis
• Thomas Tallis: If ye love me, O nata lux
• Hamish Brown: A Musical Instrument
  • QPS commission and world premiere;
  • Read an interview with the composer here.
• Ralph Vaughan Williams: Serenade to Music
• Edward Elgar: The Shower