Stage: Magna Carta
Brighton Festival Chorus commission & premiere a new work involving 150 children that commemorates the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta
To celebrate the 800th anniversary of the signing of the Magna Carta, Brighton Festival Chorus (BFC) present a family-friendly evening of music, song and readings on the themes of liberty and justice at Brighton Dome Concert Hall on Thursday 11 June at 7.30pm. BFC will be joined by Brighton Festival Youth Choir (BFYC) plus 125 young singers from local schools for the world premiere of a new choral work Invictus – Cantata for Liberty, composed by BFC Music Director James Morgan and composer Juliette Pochin.
Invictus – Cantata for Liberty uses text ranging from Kipling to Emily Dickinson to a traditional post American civil war spiritual. These will be interspersed with prose and poetry on the themes of justice and liberty, to be read aloud by various members of the choirs and the local community. Sung in English this is an accessible, enjoyable piece, easy to follow by adults and children alike.
After the interval BFC will perform Mozart’s iconic Requiem. With introductions from the stage and an excerpt from Amadeus this will be a fantastic opportunity to hear one of the greatest pieces of classical music ever written.
In preparation for the Invictus – Cantata for Liberty premiere pupils from participating schools and members of BFYC took part in an Education Day held at Brighton Aldridge Community Academy for the participating schools on Friday 24 April. During the day the children engaged in drama, music and law workshops on the themes of liberty, justice and freedom provided by specialists from Chichester Festival Theatre, barrister Tom Godfrey and BFYC Music Director and Associate Director of the National Youth Choirs of Great Britain, Esther Jones.
BFC was founded in 1968 and its debut performance was Belshazzar’s Feast, with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by the composer, William Walton. Ever since, it has established and maintained a reputation as an amateur choir working with top professional orchestras and artists, delivering consistently high quality performances. BFC is also known for its versatility, as it performs not only the standard choral repertoire but also new works and commissions, and collaborations with popular music artists. BFC performs in the Brighton Festival every year and at major concert venues in London, the rest of Britain and in Europe. BFC supports Brighton Festival Youth Choir to promote and sustain interest in choral singing in young people, and it also arranges choral workshops to encourage participation in the local community.
Since its formation in January 2002, the Brighton Festival Youth Choir has fast become one of the leading youth choirs in the UK. The group’s first performance was a live broadcast on BBC Radio 3. Since then it has been in great demand, working with acclaimed ensembles including the RPO, LPO, the Philharmonia, the City of London Sinfonia, the Brodsky Quartet and L’Orchestra National de Lorraine under such conductors as Richard Hickox, Jacques Mercier and James Morgan. The aims of the choir are to be one of the pre-eminent youth choirs of its type in the country, to provide for its members the opportunity to receive first class training under its director, Esther Jones.
Invictus – Cantata for Liberty by Juliette Pochin and James Morgan & Requiem by Mozart Thursday 11 June, 7.30pm
Concert Hall, Brighton Dome, Church Street, Brighton
Brighton Festival Chorus, Brighton Festival Youth Choir, community youth choir (approx. 125 Yr 7 & 8 students from local schools: Hove Park, Woodlands Meed, Cardinal Newman, Brighton Aldridge Community Academy, Varndean), James Morgan conductor, City of London Sinfonia
tickets@brightondome.org
01273 709709
