ROYAL CHORAL SOCIETY: Duruflé Requiem

Duruflé Requiem & works by Brahms, Schubert, Rachmaninoff & Stenhammar Duruflé: Requiem Brahms: Liebeslieder Waltzes Op. 52 & Wie lieblich sind deine Wohnungen (from German Requiem) Schubert: Gebet (‘Prayer’) Stenhammar: Vårnatt (‘Spring Night’) Rachmaninoff: Romance & Tarantella from the Suite for Two Pianos Royal Choral Society conductor: Richard Cooke piano/organ: Richard Pearce, Jonathan Beatty cello: Theo Bently Curtin soprano: Rebecca Lea mezzo soprano: Hannah Cooke tenor: Joseph Doody bass: Philip Tebb The Royal Choral Society returns to Holy Trinity, Sloane St, with an uplifting programme of 19th and 20th century music by Romantic composers. The main work of the evening will be Duruflé’s Requiem, a favourite for choirs and audiences, blending Gregorian chant with rich harmonies, drama and power, but overall reflective in spirit and closer to Fauré than Verdi. Brahms’ lyrical Liebeslieder Waltzes end the first half, performed by an alternating combination of soloists and choir. Accompanied by piano duet, Brahms’ own pianistic style exquisitely characterises with great perception each of the short movements. Equally full of Romantic expression are Schubert’s vocal quartet Gebet (‘Prayer’) and the Swedish composer Wilhelm Stenhammar’s Vårnatt (‘Spring night’), the latter a favourite of Swedish choirs with its effervescent ending and climax. A gem for both choirs and audiences. Interspersed between these works will be the Romance and Tarantella from Rachmaninoff’s Suite for Two Pianos. They represent the finest of the great pianist’s composing style, both packed with his characteristically lush harmony and keyboard virtuosity. One of the most famous performances of this piece was at a party in Los Angeles where Rachmaninoff performed it together with Vladimir Horowitz! The concert opens with Brahms’ piano duet arrangement of his much-loved ‘Wie lieblich sind deine Wohnungen, the fourth movement of his German Requiem, which quotes from Psalm 84 ‘How lovely is thy dwelling place’. Doors open 5.15pm, concert starts at 6.00pm