SUMMER CONCERT THEMERBECKECHOIR Peter Wright, organist • Huw Morgan, director Saturday 12 July • 7.30pm SOUTHWARK CATHEDRAL www.merbecke.org.uk THEMERBECKECHOIR In 2003 the Cathedral founded the Merbecke Choir. This Choir is intended to be the place both for boys and girls who leave the Cathedral Choirs and also other young adult singers who wish to maintain their sight-reading skills acquired as choristers and explore a wide range of repertoire under expert tuition. Several members have gone on to university as choral scholars. The choir is a regular contributor to the liturgy at the Cathedral, notably through their monthly service of Compline and Eucharistic Devotions, and also give regular concerts in the Cathedral and local venues. The choir has toured abroad and in the UK, and in 2013 released their first CD, Under the Shadow of Thy Wings. The choir is a staunch supporter of new music, having commissioned several new works, as well as being adept in the performance of renaissance polyphony. They have performed for the Poet Laureate, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, and contributed to Her Majesty The Queen’s Christmas Broadcast recorded at Southwark Cathedral in 2006. The choir’s current director of music is Huw Morgan. The Choir is named after the Tudor composer, John Merbecke (1510-1585), who composed one of the most popular settings of the Book of Common Prayer Communion Service. Merbecke with three other companions was tried for heresy in 1543 in the Retrochoir at Southwark, which was used for this purpose at the time. He was found guilty and condemned to be burned at the stake. His sentence was commuted however by Bishop Stephen Gardiner, the then Bishop of Winchester, who decided that as a mere musician Merbecke ‘knew no better’ and so was released to continue his music making. www.merbecke.org.uk Programme William Byrd (1540-1623) Tomás Luis de Victoria (1548-1611) Arvo Pärt (b. 1935) Tomás Luis de Victoria Flor Peeters (1903-1986) O Quam Gloriosum Missa Vidi Speciosam – Kyrie & Gloria Salve Regina Missa Vidi Speciosam – Credo Organ Solo Variations on: “Herr Jesus hat ein Gärtchen” (Op 39, No 10) Tomás Luis de Victoria Missa Vidi Speciosam – Sanctus & Benedictus Ludo Geloen (b. 1962) Three Soutar Settings Promises of Spring Happiness Gulls in the Snow Robert Parsons (1535-1572) Ave Maria Huw Morgan (b. 1975) A Prayer for St David Tomás Luis de Victoria Missa Vidi Speciosam – Agnus Dei William Byrd Sing Joyfully With Peter Wright – Organ Huw Morgan – Director Sopranos Julie Addy, Laura Clarke, Sara Coffey, Alice Green, Rachel McLaughlin, Margaret Nicholson, Megan Pearson, Ellen Roberts, Josephine Simmonds, Catherine Smale Altos Sophie Henstridge, Fiona Nash, Elizabeth Nixon, Ellen Reading, Claire Rowden, Emma Thorman, Anna Williams Tenors Christopher Edwards, Edward Hughes, Noel Hunwick, Thomas Rose, Robert Turner Basses James Chadburn, Ben Davis, Thomas Elias, Johnny Kilhams, James Southgate, Thomas Sharp Future performances THEMERBECKECHOIR at SOUTHWARK CATHEDRAL Sunday 9 November at 7.30pm Remembrance Sunday Ralph Vaughan Williams - Dona Nobis Pacem With the Hanover Choir Saturday 6 December at 7.30pm Christmas Concert www.merbecke.org.uk