The Mass ( Latin : missa ) is a form of sacred musical composition that sets the invariable portions of the Christian Eucharistic liturgy (principally that of the Catholic Church , the Anglican Communion , and Lutheranism ), known as the Mass .
100-455: Great Mass in C minor (German: Große Messe in c-Moll ), K. 427/417a, is the common name of the musical setting of the mass by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , which is considered one of his greatest works. He composed it in Vienna in 1782 and 1783, after his marriage, when he moved to Vienna from Salzburg . The large-scale work, a missa solemnis , is scored for two soprano soloists, a tenor and
200-688: A Blue Peter presenter in 1983. She was asked to audition with Chorus master Gareth Morrell and sing with the Chorus at the Last Night of the Proms on 14 September 1985. Zöe Salmon was unwrapped from a giant present under the tree as a new presenter in the Christmas 2004 edition of Blue Peter . Shortly after her debut, she famously said "I’ll try anything once", which started a trend in her being asked to do dangerous or embarrassing things. Among consequent challenges,
300-669: A bass , double chorus and large orchestra. It remained unfinished, missing large portions of the Credo and the complete Agnus Dei. The work was composed during 1782–83. In a letter to his father Leopold dated 4 January 1783, Mozart mentioned a vow he had made to write a mass when he would bring his then fiancée Constanze as his wife to Salzburg. Constanze then sang the "Et incarnatus est" at its premiere. The first performance took place in Salzburg on Sunday 26 October 1783 (the twentieth Sunday after Pentecost). Mozart had moved to Vienna in 1781, but
400-476: A cappella , that is, without an independent accompaniment , or they can be accompanied by instrumental obbligatos up to and including a full orchestra. Many masses, especially later ones, were never intended to be performed during the celebration of an actual mass. The earliest musical settings of the mass are Gregorian chant . The different portions of the Ordinary came into the liturgy at different times, with
500-634: A change to the Christmas show format to host a party recognising the hard work and effort of young carers, relating to a recent Appeal. This event replaced the carol, and the Chorus was not required. In 2010 the closing carol was reinstated, featuring for one final time the Chalk Farm Salvation Army Band and members of the BBC Symphony Chorus, the last Christmas show before the programme moved to MediaCityUK . The Chorus featured occasionally in other editions of Blue Peter , notably in
600-894: A commercial recording for CBS Records . Stravinsky , Ravel , Debussy and Mahler were prominently featured, while of the romantics Berlioz , Schumann (the Scenes from Goethe's Faust ) and Brahms (the Requiem ) all appeared more than once. During this period the Society sang under many guest conductors: the young Andrew Davis made his unexpected London debut with them in Janáček 's Glagolitic Mass ; Lorin Maazel returned to conduct some highly successful concerts; John Pritchard conducted several events including Rachmaninov 's The Bells ; and an increasingly large number of important occasions were undertaken by
700-665: A generation on from Janet Ellis she was asked to learn how to sing, to audition with Chorus director Stephen Jackson, to attend piano and orchestral rehearsals in Maida Vale Studios and to sing with the Chorus in the Last Night of the Proms on 10 September 2005. In 2002 the Chorus performed at Buckingham Palace , as part of the Prom at the Palace which marked the Queen 's Golden Jubilee celebrations. The BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, under
800-717: A great deal of Stravinsky , some Britten , and much Beethoven . When Colin Davis took over in 1967, a new group of composers came to the fore: Berlioz , Liszt (the Dante Symphony as well as the Faust Symphony ), and Michael Tippett . This last connection brought the BBC Choral Society its opportunity to make its first recording for a commercial company in recent years (though Mendelssohn 's Elijah had been recorded as long ago as 1930): Tippett's oratorio A Child of Our Time
900-601: A memorial concert for King George VI ( Messiah with the Royal Choral Society ). While Leslie Woodgate continued to be Chorus Master of the BBC Choral Society, Sargent was succeeded as Chief Conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra by Rudolf Schwarz . This took place in 1957; Sargent continued to conduct the Society on many occasions (particularly at the Proms), but a change in direction was immediately apparent with
1000-518: A memorial concert was held, directed by Keith Falkner (who had been a soloist in the first concert in 1928) and by George Thalben-Ball . Peter Gellhorn took over the post of Chorus Master, which he held for some eleven years until 1972. Under the Glock regime new works began to re-assume a vital part in the Society's repertoire. On 1 August 1963 the London premiere of Britten 's War Requiem (first performed
1100-513: A name", refers to a mass written on freely composed material. Sometimes these masses were named for other things, such as Palestrina's famous Missa Papae Marcelli , the Mass of Pope Marcellus, and many times they were canonic masses, as in Josquin's Missa sine nomine . Many famous and influential masses were composed by Josquin des Prez , the single most influential composer of the middle Renaissance. At
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#17328489889831200-601: A number of concerts in London, and a week of special broadcasts of its most memorable performances of recent years as part of BBC Radio 3's Afternoon Performance (17-21 November 2003) presented by Tommy Pearson. The following works were included: Stephen Jackson's last concert with the BBC Symphony Chorus was part of the Barbican's Sound Unbound event on Saturday 31 October 2015, and included Judith Bingham 's The Spirit of Truth and "the Mount Everest of classical choral music:
1300-522: A period of decline. The non-changing part of the mass, the Ordinary, then would have music which was available for performance all the time. Two manuscripts from the 14th century, the Ivrea Codex and the Apt Codex , are the primary sources for polyphonic settings of the Ordinary. Stylistically, these settings are similar to both motets and secular music of the time, with a three-voice texture dominated by
1400-673: A remount of Not the Messiah (He's a Very Naughty Boy) at the Royal Albert Hall on 23 October 2009. It was produced by Geoff Foulkes and directed by Aubrey Powell . It was recorded for release for one night only on 25 March 2010 at digital cinemas across the UK and Ireland and distribution on DVD, and BBC Radio 3 also broadcast a recording of this performance on New Year's Day 2010. The Chorus has performed Elgar ’s oratorio, The Dream of Gerontius , Op. 38, many times since it first performed it at
1500-561: A symphony, with soloists used as an ensemble rather than as individuals. The distinction between concert masses and those intended for liturgical use also came into play as the 19th century progressed. After the Renaissance, the mass tended not to be the central genre for any one composer, yet among the most famous works of the Baroque, Classical, and Romantic periods are settings of the Ordinary of
1600-523: A theatrical rather than a church setting. He advocated primarily Gregorian plainchant and polyphony. He was primarily influenced by the work of the Abbey of Solesmes . Some of the rules he put forth include the following: These regulations carry little if any weight today, especially after the changes of the Second Vatican Council . Quite recently, Pope Benedict XVI has encouraged a return to chant as
1700-468: A vital part in the life of the Chorus. They try to balance well-known scores with the challenges of newer or more difficult works. Premieres and commissions in recent years have included works by Peter Maxwell Davies, Dame Judith Weir, John Tavener, Hugh Wood and Anthony Payne. The level of the Chorus is widely acknowledged to be exceptional, with works in its repertoire so difficult as sometimes to be inaccessible to professionals. Rehearsals take place twice
1800-741: A week, and the Chorus has very high requirements, with selection being tough. Neil Ferris was appointed as Chorus Director of the BBC Symphony Chorus from May 2017. Grace Rossiter was appointed as Deputy Chorus Director. The appointment of Helen MacLeod in the new position of Choruses Manager of the BBC Symphony Chorus and the BBC Proms Youth Choir was announced at the same time. The BBC Symphony Chorus's 90th birthday season included concerts featuring Ethel Smyth's Mass in D , Berlioz's L'Enfance du Christ and Bach's B Minor Mass . Neil Ferris made his BBC Proms conducting debut in August 2019, celebrating
1900-467: A wider harmonic vocabulary, and the mass in modern style with solo voices and instrumental obbligatos . The Lutheran Michael Praetorius composed a mass for double choir in the old style, which he published in 1611 in the collection of church music for the mass in Latin, Missodia Sionia . Composers such as Henri Dumont (1610–1684) continued to compose plainsong settings, distinct from and more elaborate than
2000-539: Is a prolation canon on a freely-composed tune, and the Missa L'homme armé of Guillaume Faugues , which is also entirely canonic but also uses the famous tune L'homme armé throughout. Pierre de La Rue wrote four separate canonic masses based on plainchant, and one of Josquin des Prez 's mature masses, the Missa Ad fugam , is entirely canonic and free of borrowed material. The Missa sine nomine , literally "Mass without
2100-422: The Missa in illo tempore was published in 1610, one Messa a 4 da cappella in 1641 as part of Selva morale e spirituale along with single movements of the mass in stile concertato , another Messa a 4 da cappella was published after his death, in 1650. Antoine Brumel composed a M issa Et ecce terrae motus with the employment of twelve voices, Stefano Bernardi created masses for double choir for
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#17328489889832200-743: The Albert Memorial took place between the Chorus Master Leslie Woodgate and Honorary Secretary, and the restarting of the Society was discussed. Dr R. S. Thatcher, the Assistant Director of Music at the BBC, became interested, and a meeting was called in December 1942, at which it was agreed that the chorus should not remain inactive, but that it should resume rehearsals. On the first Friday of January 1943, about one hundred members assembled for
2300-522: The BBC Singers , increased and John Poole gave up his work with the BBC Choral Society in order to concentrate on the BBC Singers' activities. Brian Wright, then took over as Chorus Master, and in the following year himself conducted the chorus in public in such works as Duruflé 's Requiem , Kodály 's Missa Brevis , and Gustav Holst 's Choral Symphony . In 1977, the Chorus adopted its current name of
2400-585: The BBC Symphony Chorus , in recognition of its status as a choir appearing in professional concerts under leading conductors, "with a repertory second to none". It made its first appearance under that name in the Sea Symphony by Ralph Vaughan Williams on 12 October 1977. In September and October 1978 the Chorus travelled to the Festival of Flanders , appearing under the baton of the new Chief Conductor of
2500-594: The liturgy in Latin , the sacred language of the Catholic Church's Roman Rite , but there are a significant number written in the languages of non-Catholic countries where vernacular worship has long been the norm. For example, there have been many Masses written in English for a United States context since the Second Vatican Council , and others (often called "communion services") for the Church of England . Masses can be
2600-473: The parody technique, in which several voices of a polyphonic source, not just one, were incorporated into the texture of the mass. Paraphrase and parody supplanted cantus firmus as the techniques of choice in the 16th century: Palestrina alone wrote 51 parody masses. Yet another technique used to organize the multiple movements of a mass was canon . The earliest masses based entirely on canon are Johannes Ockeghem's Missa prolationum , in which each movement
2700-521: The 'Credo in unum Deum' and the 'Et incarnatus est' and additional music for the rest of the Credo. This edition, therefore, is intended to be used in combination with any other version of the Mass. Robert Xavier Rodriguez has also completed the Agnus Dei. Mozart later reused the music from the Kyrie and Gloria , almost without changes except for the text, in the cantata Davide penitente , K. 469. For
2800-406: The 14th and early 15th centuries. Complete masses by a single composer were the norm by the middle of the 15th century, and the form of the mass, with the possibilities for large-scale structure inherent in its multiple movement format, was the main focus of composers within the area of sacred music; it was not to be eclipsed until the motet and related forms became more popular in the first decades of
2900-418: The 16th century. Most 15th-century masses were based on a cantus firmus , usually from a Gregorian chant, and most commonly put in the tenor voice. The cantus firmus sometimes appeared simultaneously in other voices, using a variety of contrapuntal techniques. Later in the century, composers such as Guillaume Dufay , Johannes Ockeghem , and Jacob Obrecht , used secular tunes for cantus firmi. This practice
3000-420: The 50th Anniversary of the Chorus and Elgar 's The Music Makers on 8 April 1979 to mark the 90th birthday of Sir Adrian Boult . Specialities such as Britten 's Spring Symphony and Berlioz 's The Trojans were added by Gennady Rozhdestvensky , and repertoire from Mozart 's Requiem to Alexander Goehr ’s Babylon the great is fallen (in 1983) under Sir John Pritchard , who was principal conductor
3100-451: The 90th anniversary season of the BBC Symphony Chorus with the premiere of Jonathan Dove ’s specially commissioned piece We Are One Fire . The final concert before the halting of the season owing to the COVID-19 pandemic in London was Beethoven's Missa Solemnis (4 March 2020), marking 250 years since the year of Beethoven's birth. In the last review of a BBC Symphony Chorus concert before
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3200-456: The Agnus Dei. The Sanctus and the Benedictus are partially lost and require editorial reconstructions. There is a good deal of speculation concerning why the work was left unfinished. For purposes of modern performances, the editions and completions available are as follows: The editions by Landon, Eder, Beyer, Maunder and Kemme aim to simply fill out the missing orchestrations and choral parts in
3300-477: The Alps, using instruments for color and creating dialogues between solo voices and chorus that was to become characteristic of the 18th-century Viennese style. The so-called "Neapolitan" or "cantata" mass style also had much influence on 18th-century mass composition, with its short sections set as self-contained solo arias and choruses in a variety of styles. The 18th-century Viennese mass combines operatic elements from
3400-615: The BBC Symphony Chorus, marching "up the hill" and into the studio from the cold outside (lanterns in hand!) singing a Christmas carol around the Blue Peter Christmas tree. Two carols, " Hark! the Herald Angels Sing " and " O Come, All Ye Faithful ", were sung in alternate years, except in 1998 when there was a one-off experiment with " O Little Town of Bethlehem ". However, for the 2007 Christmas programme, leaving budgetary and studio constraints unspoken, Blue Peter decided on
3500-522: The BBC Symphony Chorus. Sir Andrew Davis , conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra from 1989 to 2000, was President of the Chorus until his death in 2024. Appropriately enough, this appointment was announced through the medium of song by Davis himself at the Last Night of the Proms , 2000. Under Davis , the Chorus performed the major choral works of Elgar ; the symphonies of Mahler ; Berlioz 's The Damnation of Faust and Romeo and Juliet ; Walton 's Belshazzar's Feast ; Delius 's A Song of
3600-452: The BBC Symphony Orchestra and five massed choirs, including the BBC Symphony Chorus. Sofi Jeannin , future Chief Conductor of the BBC Singers, happened to be a member of the BBC Symphony Chorus at that time. To commemorate the 40th anniversary of the original Monty Python television programme, the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus conducted by John du Prez appeared alongside Eric Idle , Michael Palin , Terry Jones and Terry Gilliam in
3700-564: The BBC Symphony Orchestra from 1982 to 1989. Other important premieres in this period included the European premiere of Tippett 's The Mask of Time at the 1984 Proms, the first European performance of Roger Sessions 's When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd at the 1985 Proms, and the British premiere of Penderecki 's Polish Requiem (conducted by the composer) in 1986. From 1984 to 1988
3800-539: The BBC Symphony Orchestra, Gennady Rozhdestvensky , as well as that of their Chorus Master Brian Wright. They sang the Mass in F minor and motets by Bruckner . Works performed later that same season in 1979 included Thea Musgrave 's Five Ages of Man , Michael Tippett 's Vision of St Augustine , as well as performances in the Royal Albert Hall of the B Minor Mass on 10 January 1979, conducted by Brian Wright, to mark
3900-679: The BBC Wireless Chorus, a professional chamber choir of 16, to supply the smaller scale needs. For bigger choral works, the BBC turned to outside organisations, which performed either under their own name, or under the title of "The National Chorus". Participating choruses included the Civil Service Choir, the Lloyds Choir, and the Railway Clearing House Male Voice Choir, which would perform en masse together with
4000-478: The BBC had decided there was a need to develop a large amateur chorus of its own. Notices advertising the formation of The National Chorus were placed, auditions were held, a broadcast was delivered in August 1928 discussing the new choir and its upcoming programme, and the choir gave its first performance later that year in Granville Bantock 's oratorio The Pilgrim's Progress . Stanford Robinson , already on
4100-644: The BBC's staff, was appointed Conductor. A condition of singing in the new choir was that the new member must already be a member of an existing choir. Chorus Masters of the BBC Symphony Chorus Its earliest concerts included the UK premiere of Mahler's Eighth Symphony (15 April 1930, under Sir Henry Wood ), Beethoven's Missa Solemnis (17 December 1930), the London premiere of Walton's Belshazzar's Feast (25 November 1931, under Adrian Boult ) and Stravinsky's Symphony of Psalms (27 January 1932, under Ernest Ansermet ). The Missa Solemnis under
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4200-759: The Barbican on 13 December 2024 as a tribute to Sir Andrew Davis, who died in April 2024. Although normally associated with the BBC Symphony Orchestra , the Chorus does perform independently. Venues regularly visited include the Barbican Centre and the Royal Albert Hall . As the resident chorus at the BBC Proms , the Symphony Chorus usually performs both on the first and last night. It makes regular recordings for classical music station BBC Radio 3 . New works play
4300-675: The British premiere of Stravinsky 's Perséphone . In January 1935 Albert Coates conducted one of the Thirties’ curiosities: the Symphony in C minor by Yuri Shaporin . The BBC Choral Society took part in Bartók 's Cantata Profana on 25 March 1936 under Boult; the London premiere of Vaughan Williams 's Five Tudor Portraits on 27 January 1937; and, perhaps most remarkable of all, the British premiere of Busoni 's Doktor Faust , which took place on 17 March 1937. In 1939, Leslie Woodgate described
4400-677: The Chorus Master, John Poole. John Poole was entrusted with the world premiere of David Bedford 's Twelve Hours of Sunset in 1975, and at the Alexandra Palace conducted two symphonies by Havergal Brian with the BBC Choral Society (who had already taken part in the giant Gothic Symphony by the same composer in a concert at the Albert Hall). Another first performance, that of Iain Hamilton 's Epitaph for this world and time , performed before
4500-403: The Credo and Sanctus, whereas the editions by Schmitt, Wilby and Levin aim to complete the work by either using movements from other masses or composing new music for the Credo and Agnus Dei through the use of parody or elaboration of period sketches by Mozart. Benjamin-Gunnar Cohrs ( Musikproduktion Höflich ) just offers a complete Credo and an Agnus Dei. For the Credo this means a completions of
4600-519: The Herkulesaal in Munich, where Handel's Messiah was performed. The arrival of William Glock at the BBC as Controller, Music, in 1959, had the same revolutionary effect on the BBC Choral Society as on every other department concerned with music. In addition, the Society suffered a sudden loss in 1961 with the death of Leslie Woodgate , who had guided it through 27 years of its existence. On 15 June 1961,
4700-475: The High Hills ; and Tippett 's The Mask of Time as well as The Vision of Saint Augustine , A Child of Our Time and The Midsummer Marriage . The Chorus took part in numerous Blue Peter Christmas shows and between 1983 and 2010. The grand finale of the traditional Blue Peter Christmas programme comprised the Chalk Farm Salvation Army Band and children from various schools, assisted by members of
4800-587: The Kyrie probably being first (perhaps as early as the 7th century) and the Credo being last (it did not become part of the Roman mass until 1014). In the early 14th century, composers began writing polyphonic versions of the sections of the Ordinary. The reason for this surge in interest is not known, but it has been suggested that there was a shortage of new music since composers were increasingly attracted to secular music, and overall interest in writing sacred music had entered
4900-493: The Mass . Many of the famous masses of the Romantic era were Requiems , one of the most famous, A German Requiem by Brahms , being the composer's own selection of biblical texts rather than a setting of a standard liturgy. By the end of the 19th century, composers were combining modern elements with the characteristics of Renaissance polyphony and plainchant, which continued to influence 20th-century composers, possibly fueled by
5000-467: The Penderecki, Mahler 's Second Symphony , Walton 's Belshazzar's Feast , Liszt 's Faust Symphony , Berlioz 's Grande Messe des Morts , Delius 's Appalachia , Vaughan Williams 's Serenade to Music , Schubert 's E flat Mass and Beethoven 's Ninth were all sung. Under Antal Dorati , Chief Conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra from 1963 to 1967, the BBC Choral Society sang Mahler ,
5100-454: The Proms on 27 August. Distinguished visitors in this period included Leopold Stokowski (in Mahler 's Second Symphony ). A return visit by Ernest Ansermet to conduct Honegger 's King David had been planned to mark the 10th anniversary of Honegger's death, but Ansermet was ill and Sir Adrian Boult took over at short notice. In what he described as 'an act of faith', Glock promoted in 1967
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#17328489889835200-451: The Queen's Hall, London, on 18 May 1931, conducted by Stanford Robinson . A performance of the oratorio was given in the sixth-century St Irene's Church as part of the 1997 Istanbul International Music Festival . Leonard Slatkin conducted the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, with mezzo-soprano Jean Rigby , tenor John Aler and baritone Alan Opie . A special performance of the oratorio
5300-477: The Ten Commandments, 1 to 9 being followed by the words 'Lord have mercy upon us and incline our hearts to keep this law', and the tenth by 'Lord have mercy upon us and write all these thy laws in our hearts, we beseech thee'. Since the texts of the 'Benedictus qui venit' and the 'Agnus Dei' do not actually feature in the liturgy of the 1662 Book of Common Prayer , these movements are often missing from some of
5400-415: The Wireless Chorus. Holst 's choral ballet The Morning of the Year has the distinction of having been the first piece of music to be commissioned by the music department of the newly formed British Broadcasting Corporation. Its first performance was as part of a concert given at the Royal Albert Hall by the National Chorus and Orchestra, which was broadcast live, on the evening of 17 March 1927. By 1928,
5500-403: The balconies of the Salzburg Cathedral , such as the 1630 Missa primi toni octo vocum , when he was music director of the new building. The early Baroque era initiated stylistic changes which led to increasing disparity between masses written entirely in the traditional polyphonic manner (stile antico), whose principal advancements were the use of the basso continuo and the gradual adoption of
5600-453: The baton of Sir Andrew Davis , formed the backbone of the concert, on 1 June 2002. The concert was broadcast live on BBC One television and BBC Radio 3 , and released a month later on audio CD (EMI/Virgin Records) and DVD (BBC/Opus Arte). The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh returned the favour by attending a special BBC Proms concert celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Her Majesty's Coronation on 30 July 2003. Sir Andrew Davis conducted
5700-496: The baton of Herman Scherchen on 17 December 1930 was the first performance of the Chorus with the new BBC Symphony Orchestra. Outstanding events in the following years included the premiere of Morning Heroes by Bliss , on 25 March 1931; and the British premiere of Hindemith ’s oratorio Das Unaufhörliche , which Wood conducted on 22 March 1933. Also noted are performances under such conductors as Adrian Boult , Arturo Toscanini and Bruno Walter . In 1932, Stanford Robinson
5800-445: The cantata Mozart added two new arias and a cadenza for the fugue concluding the work. The orchestra consists of 1 flute (only used in the Et incarnatus est), 2 oboes, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, timpani, organ, and strings. The work embodies pomp and solemnity associated with the Salzburg traditions of the time, but it also anticipates the symphonic masses of Joseph Haydn in its solo-choral sharing. The mass shows
5900-460: The cantata mass with a trend in the symphony and concerto to organize choral movements. The large scale masses of the first half of the century still have Glorias and Credos divided into many movements, unlike smaller masses for ordinary churches. Many of Mozart's masses are in missa brevis form, as are some of Haydn's early ones. Later masses, especially of Haydn, are of symphonic structure, with long sections divided into fewer movements, organized like
6000-455: The capital's musical life in the pre-war years. The Second World War interrupted the activities of the BBC Choral Society as it did many other artistic ventures. The outbreak of war saw the evacuation of the BBC Symphony Orchestra to Bristol, and then (when that became intolerable because of air-raids) to Bedford. This led to the abandonment of the activities of the Society. In August 1942, in war-time London, an entirely fortuitous meeting near
6100-407: The challenge of a performance of Beethoven 's Ninth Symphony , Op. 125 (the "Choral") on 3 November 1937 with the BBC Choral Society. The Verdi Requiem on 27 May 1938 and Beethoven 's Mass in D , Op. 123 (the Missa Solemnis ) on 26 May 1939 were both performed under his direction in the following two years, in a series of concerts in the BBC's London Music Festival, which were the highlights of
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#17328489889836200-443: The classics of the choral repertory such as Haydn 's Creation , Beethoven 's Ninth and the Missa Solemnis , Handel 's Messiah . Premieres were fewer than before: significant works included Golgotha by Frank Martin and Hodie by Vaughan Williams . Important events included the ceremonial opening of the new Royal Festival Hall in 1951 (with a concert of English music by Thomas Arne , Handel and Hubert Parry ) and
6300-505: The concert hall, on tour and in the recording studio. He particularly extended the range of the ensemble's large-scale a cappella choral repertoire, including Rachmaninov 's Vespers ( All-Night Vigil ), Schoenberg 's Friede auf Erden and Poulenc 's Figure humaine ; recorded works by Carl Rütti and Judith Bingham ; and commissioned works by Richard Rodney Bennett , Mark-Anthony Turnage and Stephen Montague . The BBC Symphony Chorus celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2003 with
6400-447: The director of the BBC Symphony Chorus was Gareth Morrell, who served in that capacity for a wide range of concert and recording projects with conductors such as Sir Colin Davis, Claudio Abbado, Lorin Maazel and Christoph von Dohnányi. With Seiji Ozawa he collaborated in performances of Olivier Messiaen 's opera St Francis of Assisi in London and Berlin, and with Andrew Davis in performances of Sir Michael Tippett 's Mask of Time ,
6500-458: The earlier Anglican settings. Charles Villiers Stanford composed a Benedictus and Agnus in the key of F major which was published separately to complete his service in C. With reforms in the Anglican liturgy, the movements are now usually sung in the same order that they are in the Roman Catholic rite. Choral settings of the Creed, the most substantial movement, are nowadays rarely performed in Anglican cathedrals. Well known Anglican settings of
6600-411: The earlier Gregorian chants. A further disparity arose between the festive missa solemnis and the missa brevis , a more compact setting. Composers like Johann Joseph Fux in the 18th century continued to cultivate the stile antico mass, which was suitable for use on weekdays and at times when orchestral masses were not practical or appropriate, and in 19th-century Germany the Cecilian movement kept
6700-480: The end of the 16th century, prominent representatives of a cappella choral counterpoint included the Englishman William Byrd , the Castilian Tomás Luis de Victoria and the Roman Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina , whose Missa Papae Marcelli is sometimes credited with saving polyphony from the censure of the Council of Trent. By the time of Palestrina, however, most composers outside of Rome were using other forms for their primary creative outlet for expression in
6800-430: The entire Hofmusik , that is the musicians employed at the court of Salzburg's ruler, Prince-Archbishop Count Hieronymus von Colloredo and thus Mozart's former colleagues. There was a rehearsal in the nearby Kapellhaus on 23 October 1783. The work is incomplete, missing the Credo movements following the aria Et incarnatus est (the orchestration of the only two surviving Credo movements being incomplete) and all of
6900-526: The eyes of a choral society screwing into him like hundreds of gimlets, to understand what he means to them. He is hypnotic with the choir – he plays upon the imagination and minds of the singers like a mesmerist.' Under Sargent the emphasis in the Society's repertoire shifted from adventurous new continental works to the 20th-century compositions of British composers: Herbert Howells 's Hymnus Paradisi , Vaughan Williams 's Sea Symphony , Delius 's Sea Drift , Ireland 's These things shall be , along with
7000-460: The first of the war-time rehearsals. These Friday rehearsals were an ideal tonic for the members, and undoubtedly helped them very much in carrying on their arduous war-time labours. To Leslie Woodgate , already overburdened with work, they must have seemed almost the last straw, as he frequently had to travel long distances in order to conduct them. The members, indeed, owe him a debt of gratitude for his efforts during those trying times. Then came
7100-465: The first performance in England of the St Luke Passion by the Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki – a modern re-working of the traditional large-scale Passion setting which made exceptional demands on the choir. The occasion was a great success, and was repeated in the Proms on 2 August 1967. A typical example of the extraordinary demands made on the chorus during the Proms each year was the succession of works performed during that season: in addition to
7200-448: The first performance in London of a work by Leslie Woodgate , his oratorio Simon Peter . The following year, Adrian Boult , who had conducted many of the performances in the 1930s and 1940s as the BBC's Director of Music and Chief Conductor, reached retiring age and was not asked to remain with the corporation. In 1950 the post of Chief Conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra was given to Malcolm Sargent , and there began an era in which
7300-572: The flying bombs. Rehearsals stopped, but after about six weeks it was decided to resume. During that period four of the members lost their lives. After the war, activities began again in earnest. Yuri Shaporin 's On the Field of Kulikovo was another of the Russian works undertaken by the chorus in this period, on 7 November 1945, conducted by Albert Coates. To mark the 21st birthday of the BBC Choral Society in 1949, several special events took place, among them
7400-520: The glorious 40-part motet", Thomas Tallis 's Spem in alium . This is the only time the BBC Symphony Chorus has performed Spem in alium in public. By the end of his period of tenure, the BBC Symphony Chorus had come to be widely regarded as one of the best amateur choruses in the world, singing some of the hardest pieces in the repertoire, with Stephen Jackson considered one of the world's most talented choir trainers, demonstrating "skill, musicianship, encyclopaedic knowledge and fervent passion" for
7500-474: The highest part. Most of this music was written or assembled at the papal court at Avignon . Several anonymous complete masses from the 14th century survive, including the Tournai Mass ; however, discrepancies in style indicate that the movements of these masses were written by several composers and later compiled by scribes into a single set. The first complete mass we know of whose composer can be identified
7600-456: The inclusion in programmes of such new works as The Bermudas by lain Hamilton (on 30 October 1957) and such (then) rare works as Monteverdi 's Vespers of 1610 (on 20 October 1958). Schwarz also conducted Ulysses by Matyas Seiber for two concerts in December 1957. In 1958 the BBC Choral Society under Leslie Woodgate travelled to Aachen , where they gave an a cappella concert including Britten 's Hymn to St Cecilia , and then went on to
7700-648: The influence of Bach and Handel , whose music Mozart was studying at this time (see Gottfried van Swieten ). On 20 August 2016 the version reconstructed by Helmut Eder was performed at the Royal Albert Hall , for the first time as part of The Proms series, by the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and BBC Symphony Chorus , with Ilan Volkov conducting and featuring Louise Alder , Carolyn Sampson , Benjamin Hulett and Matthew Rose . Notes Sources Mass (music) Most Masses are settings of
7800-614: The job, and within two years he left the BBC, a victim (as he put it) of 'the BBC’s absorbed and all-pervading interest in man’s relations with woman' which was ‘at that time proverbial’. The choir's name was changed in 1932 to The BBC Chorus , and again in 1935 to become the BBC Choral Society when a professional choir named the BBC Chorus was established. Leslie Woodgate held the post of chorus master from 1934 until he died in 1961. He
7900-554: The lockdown, Paul Driver said in the Sunday Times , "One was lost in admiration for the BBC Symphony Chorus, trained by Neil Ferris, in the BBC Symphony Orchestra’s account of the magnum opus at the Barbican, conducted by Donald Runnicles." As well as featuring in dedicated studio recordings for BBC Radio 3 , the BBC Symphony Chorus's discography consists of over 120 commercial recordings, many featuring collaborations with
8000-528: The mass in its musical incarnation continues to thrive beyond the walls of the church, as is evident in many of the 21st-century masses listed here which were composed for concert performance rather than in service of the Roman Rite. Pope Pius X initiated many regulations reforming the liturgical music of the mass in the early 20th century. He felt that some of the masses composed by the famous post-Renaissance composers were too long and often more appropriate for
8100-448: The mass, which may be found in the repertoire of many English cathedrals are: BBC Symphony Chorus The BBC Symphony Chorus is a British amateur chorus based in London . It is the dedicated chorus for the BBC Symphony Orchestra , though it performs with other national and international orchestras . In its early years, the BBC worked on developing its choral output, founding
8200-655: The motu proprio Tra le sollecitudini (1903) of Pope Pius X . The revival of choral celebration of Holy Communion in the Anglican Church in the late 19th century marked the beginning several liturgical settings of mass texts in English, particularly for choir and organ. The movement for liturgical reform has resulted in revised forms of the mass, making it more functional by using a variety of accessible styles, popular or ethnic, and using new methods such as refrain and response to encourage congregational involvement. Nevertheless,
8300-556: The operation and function of the various BBC choirs, including the Choral Society, in an interview with The Musical Times . Under Leslie Woodgate, the Choral Society achieved maturity; and all accounts of the period agree that the occasions which marked that maturity were the concerts given at the end of the 1930s under the direction of Arturo Toscanini . When Toscanini was first persuaded to come to England, he would not consider working with an amateur chorus, but eventually he accepted
8400-470: The performance of the great choral works became a particular feature of BBC concerts. Sargent was especially devoted to choral music. His special skills with singers were well described by Bernard Shore (the former principal viola of the BBC Symphony Orchestra) in his book The Orchestra Speaks : 'He is able to instil into the singers a life and efficiency they never dreamed of. You have only to see
8500-419: The preceding year at Coventry Cathedral) was given, with Britten and Meredith Davies conducting. Later that year Alan Rawsthorne 's Carmen Vitale was a choral commission; and at the beginning of 1963 the Society faced one of its greatest challenges, a new work by Hans Werner Henze called Novae de Infinito Laudes . This was given two performances under the composer's direction: on 17 March 1965, and again at
8600-476: The primary music of the liturgy, as this is explicitly mentioned in the documents of the Second Vatican Council , specifically Sacrosanctum Concilium 116. These are more often known as 'Communion Services', and differ not only in that they are settings of English words, but also, as mentioned above, in that the Gloria usually forms the last movement. Sometimes the Kyrie movement takes the form of sung responses to
8700-489: The programme on Monday 12 March 1984 (edition 1888). To publicise a concert at St Luke's Church, Chelsea, for The Knightsbridge Fund in aid of the victims of the Harrods bombing , Blue Peter invited the Chorus to the studio to sing the hymn "All people that on earth do dwell" ( Old Hundredth ) conducted by Brian Wright, accompanied by the Chalk Farm Salvation Army Band , who had been playing outside Harrods. Janet Ellis became
8800-544: The realm of sacred music, principally the motet and the madrigale spirituale ; composers such as the members of the Venetian School preferred the possibilities inherent in the new forms. Other composers, such as Orlande de Lassus , working in Munich and comfortably distant from the conservative influence of the Council of Trent , continued to write parody masses on secular songs. Monteverdi composed masses in stile antico ,
8900-406: The recording of which has been critically acclaimed. The Chorus was directed from 1989 to 2015 by Stephen Jackson. In his time, he prepared a huge repertoire for more than fifty maestri, including Bernard Haitink , Pierre Boulez , Simon Rattle and Roger Norrington , and composer-conductors such as Luciano Berio and John Adams . Jackson regularly conducted the BBC Symphony Chorus himself, in
9000-545: The tradition alive. František Brixi , who worked at the Prague Cathedral , wrote his Missa aulica , a missa brevis in C, for four voices, trumpets, violin and continuo, "cantabile" but solo voices just singing short passages within chorale movements. The Italian style cultivated orchestral masses including soloists, chorus and obbligato instruments. It spread to the German-speaking Catholic countries north of
9100-466: The traditional Beethoven 's Ninth on the penultimate night of the Proms in 1975, proved one of the most complex undertakings of the BBC Choral Society, for the choir was split into three groups, and positioned around the arena in the Albert Hall. Both this, and another 1975 contemporary work, Mortales by Wilfred Josephs , were conducted by John Poole. In 1976 the work of the BBC's professional choir,
9200-405: Was accepted with little controversy until prohibited by the Council of Trent in 1562. In particular, the song L'homme armé has a long history with composers; more than 40 separate mass settings exist. Other techniques for organizing the cyclic mass evolved by the beginning of the 16th century, including the paraphrase technique, in which the cantus firmus was elaborated and ornamented, and
9300-570: Was given at the Barbican by Sir Andrew Davis conducting the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, with mezzo-soprano Sarah Connolly , tenor Stuart Skelton and bass David Soar, following a recording of the work for Chandos Records . The recording was the winner, choral category, in both the BBC Music Magazine Awards 2015, and the Gramophone Classical Music Awards 2015. The Dream of Gerontius will be performed at
9400-818: Was given from St Paul's Cathedral on 26 November 1997 to mark the 75th anniversary of the BBC . Andrew Davis conducted the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, with mezzo-soprano Catherine Wyn-Rogers, tenor Philip Langridge and bass Alastair Miles . The concert was broadcast live on BBC Two television and BBC Radio 3, and later released on VHS video (NVC Arts), whereupon it was heralded as "the most convincing modern interpretation of Gerontius ", and DVD (Warner Music Vision). The Penguin Guide to Recorded Classical Music , 2008, gave its maximum four star rating to this DVD recording of The Dream of Gerontius , rating it as "the finest recorded Gerontius ever". On 6 April 2014, another performance
9500-460: Was paying a visit to his home town in the company of Constanze, who had not yet met his father or his sister ( Nannerl ). The performance consisted of just the Kyrie, Gloria, Sanctus and Benedictus, as surviving parts and a score copy from ca. 1800 show. It took place in the Church of St. Peter's Abbey in the context of a Roman Catholic mass . Mozart's sister's diary mentions that the performers were
9600-470: Was recorded under Davis's direction for Philips Classics Records . There followed a succession of major contemporary works: Voices of Night by Franz Reizenstein in 1969; La Transfiguration de Notre Seigneur Jésus-Christ by Messiaen at the first night of the Proms in 1970; and the Requiem by Gyorgy Ligeti in 1971. In 1971, Colin Davis departed to take up the post of Music Director at Covent Garden, and
9700-433: Was succeeded by the composer and conductor Pierre Boulez . There was also a change of chorus master: in 1972 Peter Gellhorn was succeeded by John Poole, who directed several of the concerts in this period, including Dvořák 's Te Deum and Bruckner 's F minor Mass . The Boulez repertoire, as with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, was immediately distinctive: Schoenberg 's Gurrelieder was given several performances, and became
9800-551: Was the Messe de Nostre Dame (Mass of Our Lady) by Guillaume de Machaut in the 14th century. The musical setting of the Ordinary of the mass was the principal large-scale form of the Renaissance. The earliest complete settings date from the 14th century, with the most famous example being the Messe de Nostre Dame of Guillaume de Machaut . Individual movements of the mass, and especially pairs of movements (such as Gloria–Credo pairs, or Sanctus–Agnus pairs), were commonly composed during
9900-524: Was transferred to the BBC Theatre Orchestra, which he conducted for many years. He was succeeded briefly by Cyril Dalmaine , who took over in July 1932. In his autobiography, written under the pseudonym Jonah Barrington, Dalmaine said his appointment 'typifies one of the early weaknesses in BBC administration – the allocating of jobs to the lowest bidder'. It was plain that Dalmaine was not ideally suited to
10000-572: Was wholly dedicated to the work of preparing the Society for the many arduous engagements it undertook, and raised the choir from the position of being, as Sir Henry Coward told Woodgate in 1936, 'nearly as good as my Yorkshire choir' to being at least as good as the great, long-established choral societies of the north. Important performances of new works continued: on 11 April 1934 there was Holst 's First Choral Symphony (which had been premiered in Leeds Town Hall in 1925), and on 28 November 1934
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