A Catalan composer born in Kingdom of Aragon, in the region of Prades. Ríu Ríu Chíu is a Spanish villancico that has attained some contemporary fame as a Christmas carol.
Jesus Christ the Apple Tree is a poem, possibly intended for use as a carol, written in the 18th century.
Joyful & tuneful spiritual alternating between solo phrase and choral response.
All the way from Oxford, ‘A contemporary hero of British choral music’ ~ The Observer.
English composer, organist, and teacher, most famous for his large output of Anglican church music.
Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc (1899 – 1963) was a French composer and pianist. His compositions include songs, solo piano works, chamber music, choral pieces, operas, ballets, and orchestral concert music. Among the best-known are the piano suite Trois mouvements perpétuels (1919), the ballet Les biches (1923), the Concert champêtre (1928) for harpsichord and orchestra, the Organ Concerto (1938), the opera Dialogues des Carmélites (1957), and the Gloria (1959) for soprano, choir, and orchestra.
“Bethlehem Down” is a Christmas carol composed in 1927 by British composer Peter Warlock. It is set to a poem written by journalist and poet Bruce Blunt.
“Carol of the Bells” is a popular Christmas carol, with music by the Ukrainian Leontovych in 1914 and lyrics by Peter J. Wilhousky. The song is based on the Ukrainian folk chant “Shchedryk”.
O magnum mysterium has an associated plainchant melody, and in this form has been sung since the middle ages. However, the text has appealed to many composers over the years. Many of the most notable composers of the renaissance made settings, including William Byrd, Jacob Clemens non Papa, Cristóbal de Morales, D. Pedro de Cristo, Palestrina (article on the setting) and Tomás Luis de Victoria. Victoria went on to publish a mass based on his motet in 1592.
He experienced a religious awakening after the death of a close friend, and his compositions began to reflect his renewed Catholicism. Videntes Stallam translates as ‘When they saw the star’.
The words by Margaret Rose place the Nativity in any country: the result is deeply touching in its masterly combination of text and music.
This is a Christmas carol by the German composer Peter Cornelius. He set "Die Könige" for a vocal soloist, accompanied by Philip Nicolai's hymn "Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern" ("How Brightly Shines the Morning Star"), which he erroneously thought was an Epiphany hymn. In fact, it is an Advent hymn in which the morning star is an allegory for the arrival of Jesus, not the Star of Bethlehem.
“Silent Night” (German: “Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht”) is a popular Christmas carol, composed in 1818 by Franz Xaver Gruber to lyrics by Joseph Mohr in the small town of Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria. It was declared an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO in 2011.
"Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" is a song written in 1943 by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane and introduced by Judy Garland in the 1944 MGM musical Meet Me in St. Louis. Frank Sinatra later recorded a version with modified lyrics.
Aylesbury Consort of Voices (Vocal ensemble)
Aylesbury Consort of Voices was originally founded by Charles Pope in the 1950s, initially as an evening class for the study and performance of Madrigals. Charles Pope was a former teacher at Aylesbury Grammar School and was actively involved in the Aylesbury music scene at that time, effectively establishing a whole variety of music groups including the Aylesbury Choral Society, and the Aylesbury Symphony Orchestra, which has enabled successive generations of musicians to enjoy his achievements and has greatly enriched the cultural life of the area. Aylesbury Consort of Voices has evolved into a performance choir of sixteen singers, performing music from the sixteenth century to the present day.
We are very fortunate to now have Edwin Pitt Mansfield as our Music Director. Ed is a Singing Teacher, Conductor, Baritone and Examiner – well known as an established teacher and educator, frequently leading workshops and seminars across the UK. Specialising in working with gifted teenagers and professional performers, he is Singing Teacher at Tring Park School for the Performing Arts, an examiner for Trinity College London, and former and past Chair of The Association of Teachers of Singing (2022 – 2024). He also teaches out of his studio in Watford and in central London and is a deputy vocal teacher at the Royal College of Music, Junior Department.
Piano
12 January 2023
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