Nov 24th Earth Music Bristol at St George's.

[DracoM]

Nov 24th Earth Music Bristol

The BBC Singers / David Hill

A birdsong-inspired musical adventure

Edward Cowie: Bell Bird Motet (BBC commission: world premiere).
John McCabe: Proud Songsters.
Judith Bingham: The Drowned Lovers (based on Stanford's The Blue Bird).
C V Stanford: The Blue Bird.
Dutilleux: D'ombre et de silence.
Messiaen: La Chouette hulotte.
Britten: Five Flower Songs.
Judith Bingham: Unpredictable but Providential.
Tippett: The Windhover.
Elgar: Owls.
Messiaen: Le Rouge-gorge.
Messiaen: L'Alouette lulu.
Vaughan Williams: The Turtle Dove.
Jonathan Dove: Who Killed Cock Robin.
Edward Cowie: Lyre Bird Motet.

[Gabriel Jackson]

A valiant attempt, Draco, to stimulate interest in matters choral other than the gender of the trebles on Choral Evensong!

Edward Cowie's Lyre Bird Motet is a fantastic piece, and very beautiful (like Messiaen, Cowie is a very serious ornithologist, and a painter) and Judith Bingham's Unpredictable but Providential is very deft, clever and witty (and has a visual dimension that will be lost on the radio, of course).

[french frank]

A bit more about Edward Cowie and his relationship with the BBC Singers here.

[amateur51]

All other considerations aside, what a brilliantly constructed programme - hats off to whomsoever put it together! .

I'll certainly be listening in

Are you planning to go, french frank?

[Serial_Apologist]

Edward Cowie is a fine composer - one who has been around for several decades, but neglected by and large by the broadcasing authorities. However, the one piece I shall be listening out for here is Elgar's "Owls".. Featured as part of the TV series on sacred choral music last year I was almost shocked but indeed delighted by the harmonic language of this little piece, and its closeness to Webern's Op. 2.

[Magnificat]

[QUOTE=Gabriel Jackson;101888]A valiant attempt, Draco, to stimulate interest in matters choral other than the gender of the trebles on Choral Evensong!

Don't be so bloody patronising Gabriel.

The future of boys' choirs in our cathedrals is of the utmost importance as far as many of us choral music lovers are concerned and our fears for this great tradition and art form need to be highlighted as often as possible in order that some in the cathedral music world may be shaken out of their complacency. You would also do well to remember that David Hill made his name through his cathedral work with choirs of boys and men.

Excellent professional adult choirs will always be around unlike excellent cathedral/college male voice choirs many of which, I predict, will have disappeared within the next 20 years. A lot of your work will probably go unsung then. Perhaps you'd better start writing something about birds for the BBC Singers et al!!

VCC

[DracoM]

VCC

Tad too strong. I know you feel very keenly on this topic, but................

[orbis factor]

[QUOTE=Magnificat;102009]

A valiant attempt, Draco, to stimulate interest in matters choral other than the gender of the trebles on Choral Evensong!

Don't be so bloody patronising Gabriel.

The future of boys' choirs in our cathedrals is of the utmost importance as far as many of us choral music lovers are concerned and our fears for this great tradition and art form need to be highlighted as often as possible in order that some in the cathedral music world may be shaken out of their complacency. You would also do well to remember that David Hill made his name through his cathedral work with choirs of boys and men.

Excellent professional adult choirs will always be around unlike excellent cathedral/college male voice choirs many of which, I predict, will have disappeared within the next 20 years. A lot of your work will probably go unsung then. Perhaps you'd better start writing something about birds for the BBC Singers et al!!

VCC

I agree with Gabriel. Please shut up now about the gender thing.

[ardcarp]

Maybe we all ought to take a deep breath or two.
We all know VCC feels very strongly about all-male choirs...and many of us, perhaps not quite so passionate on the subject, realise that they are not only a great strength in our choral tradition but an inestimable source of future adult male singers.
I think, GJ, that Draco's original post under this thread was intended to diversify The Choir to include choral music from a wider field than just Choral Evensong. Whilst it is not up to us as hosts to dictate what people should write about, I completely agree with Draco's aim. And whatever we write about, let's try to keep cool.

[french frank]

Are you planning to go, french frank?

Looks like an interesting programme ... so I might.

[amateur51]

Looks like an interesting programme ... so I might.

Woo-hoo! Ambush!

[Gabriel Jackson]

I think, GJ, that Draco's original post under this thread was intended to diversify The Choir to include choral music from a wider field than just Choral Evensong.

I know it was, which was the point of my comment!

[Gabriel Jackson]

A lot of your work will probably go unsung then. Perhaps you'd better start writing something about birds for the BBC Singers et al!!

VCC

Actually, I do write for the BBC Singers "et al." quite a lot. But thanks for the career advice.