William Walton
Coronation March - Orb & Sceptre

William Walton composed Orb and Sceptre between 1952-53 in response to a commission by the Arts Council of Great Britain. It received its first performance in Westminster Abbey on 2nd June 1953, at the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, to whom it is dedicated. It was an instant success and the availability today of a host of arrangements for small orchestra, brass band, military band, organ solo and piano solo, bears testimony to its continuing popularity. As in the case of the earlier coronation march Crown Imperial (1937), Walton unashamedly adopted the hugely successful structure of Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance Marches, and in so doing assumed the mantle (but never the title) of Master of the Queen's Musick, as to the manner born. Walton even chose to continue to use a Shakepearean quotation as the title of this second Elgarian march, just as he had done in Crown Imperial, acknowledging again his indebtedness to his great predecessor! However, Orb and Sceptre is far too individual a composition to be dismissed as mere pastiche: its jaunty opening encapsulates perfectly the new wave of post-war optimism at the dawn of a new Elizabethan era, and the elegant slow march that follows has a confident dignity that puts it among the finest of English tunes.

Ralph Vaughan Williams
Five Mystical Songs

For Baritone, chorus and orchestra

Poems by George Herbert (1593-1633) 1 Easter 2 I got me flowers 3 Love bade me welcome 4 The call 5 Antiphon – Let all the world in every corner sing

George Herbert was for eight years Public Orator at Cambridge, and cherished hopes of joining the Elizabethan Court. In the end, this was not to be and he entered the priesthood for what was to prove the final three years of his life. The Elizabethan age was by then well advanced and Herbert was a younger contemporary of Shakespeare. The English language was expanding and developing and the Bible and the Prayer Book of 1662 were to become important elements of this process. Herbert’s view of Christianity and the way he expressed it (a middle course between Roman Catholicism and Protestantism), greatly appealed to Vaughan Williams, who often described himself as a Christian agnostic or a ‘disappointed theist’. Both men were somewhat preoccupied with the conflict between God and the World, Flesh and Spirit or the Souls and the Senses.

George Herbert is perhaps best remembered today as a writer of great hymns – including King of Glory. King of Peace and Teach me, my God and King. Vaughan Williams completed the Five Mystical Songs in 1911 and conducted the first performance in September of that year as part of the Three Choirs Festival in Worcester. Two years before, Walford Davies had produced a large work for the Hereford Festival Noble Numbers, a setting of eleven poems by Herrick and six by Herbert. The latter included The Call and Let all the world, both of which are set by Vaughan Williams in the Mystical Songs.

Of Vaughan William’s five settings, three – I got me flowers, The Call and Let all the World reflect the hymn style and metre of the poems. The first-named has a definitely Pre-Raphaelite quality which takes us straight into the world of Debussy, a composer whose contribution to Vaughan William’s musical make-up should not be overlooked, in spite of the fact that Ravel was a more consistent influence. Easter is more elaborate in design and Michael Kennedy is surely right to ascribe its richness of orchestral detail to Elgarian prototypes. On the other hand, Love bade me welcome looks both more inward and (in terms of Vaughan William’s own development) far further forward than the other songs. The rapt stillness at its centre – the Act, at which point the wordless voices intone the O sacrum convivium - is one of the great moments in all Vaughan Williams.

George Frideric Handel
Zadok the Priest

In 1727, Handel became a naturalised British subject and was at once appointed to the honorary post of composer to the Chapel Royal. As such, he was commissioned to write four anthems for the coronation of George II in Westminster Abbey, later that year. Zadok the Priest, the shortest and most dazzling of these choral masterpieces has been heard at every English coronation since. The famous opening with its hushed atmosphere pulsating quavers and persistent violin arpeggios is one of intense excitement, but nothing could have prepared the first audience for the explosive entry of the chorus. A vast block of seven-part harmony, reinforced by dramatic trumpets and drums produces one of the most spectacular effects in the history of music.

Edward Elgar
Cockaigne Overture

Overture, Cockaigne (In London Town), Op. 40

After the triumph of his Enigma Variations in 1899, Elgar’s career began to take off and the 42 year-old composer could begin to concentrate on writing what he wanted to, rather than relying on commissions and teaching music to make a living. By the time of Queen Victoria’s death in 1901, London was firmly established as the largest and greatest city of the world. It had the panache, exuberance and colour of the global Empire - the ultimate Imperial city, representing the crowning glory of the Victorian era. The confidence and excitement of the great city must have echoed his newly found creative confidence and in the spring of 1901 Elgar wrote this outstanding overture, evoking every aspect of the city in its full (now Edwardian) splendour.

“Cockaigne” is an old English name for an imaginary land of splendour and plenty and probably the source of the term “Cockney” for a Londoner. The opening mood of the Overture is playfully good-humoured, with an air of glittering ceremonial. The opening melody is jokey and highly memorable, while a string of colourfully orchestrated ideas follow, most notably a broad, nobilmente melody, which perhaps represents the ancient dignity of the City, with its medieval guilds and traditions. A more lyrical reflective subject, celebrating the leafy parks and elegant Georgian squares; would have appealed to the pastoral side of Elgar, the countryman. With these as his main ingredients, he crafts a closely argued, sonata form tapestry of London life, full of colour and detail.

A number of episodes punctuate the narrative; a brilliantly glittering military band passes with great pomp (Elgar includes military cornets in the orchestra, as well as trumpets to give an authentic sound) while a rather less splendid ensemble, led by clarinets and tambourine, shuffles past a couple of streets away. At the heart of the Overture is an oasis of tranquillity and tenderness – perhaps a reflective moment in a quiet corner of Hyde park. But it is no more than an interlude before the clattering hustle and bustle of the vigorous development section – an aspect of London, which will seem ever familiar to the modern listener. The main themes of the overture pass by once more, whilst the return of the military band in full regalia heralds a grandiose coda – the nobilmente theme for the final time bringing the pageant to a close that is dignified as well as exuberant.

Elgar described the work to his publisher Jaeger as “stout and steaky – honest, healthy, humorous and strong but not vulgar”. It is unmistakeably of its time, but is also remarkably fresh and energetic. Hardly surprising therefore that it has captivated audiences for over 100 years. Elgar dedicated “Cockaigne” to “my many friends, the members of British orchestras”.

William Walton
Belshazzar's Feast

Following huge success with such iconoclastic works as Façade, Portsmouth Point and the Viola Concerto in 1929, William Walton had quickly established a reputation by the 1930s for urbane music that was concise, accessible and often tinged with sardonic wit. As a result, he was keen to tackle a large choral work, spurred by the success of a friendly rival, in this case Constant Lambert’s The Rio Grande with its jazzy rhythms and exotic exuberance.

Born in Oldham, Lancashire in 1902, Walton was a chorister at Christchurch Cathedral in Oxford. He later went on to be a student at the University but never completed his degree. Instead in 1920 he was “adopted” by the Sitwell family and moved into their London home. Here he met composers such as Delius and Busoni, poets such as T.S.Eliot and Pound and choreographers such as the great Diaghilev. His first major work was a Piano Quintet but he really came into public view with “Façade” – music for a chamber group while Edith Sitwell declaimed some of her own poems.

Osbert Sitwell put together a biblical libretto on the subject of Balshazzar’s feast in Babylon, based on the Book of Daniel. The resulting work – cantata, perhaps not oratorio – was completed in 1931 and was chosen by Sir Thomas Beecham for that year’s Leeds Festival. He suggested the extra brass because the players were already available for a performance of Berlioz’s Requiem. During his childhood in Lancashire, the composer had experienced performances of the Messiah and Elijah and he was very familiar with the great brass band tradition of Northern England. His father was an organist, choirmaster and singing teacher while has mother was a good amateur singer.

Malcolm Sargent conducted the first performance, launching Belshazzar’s Feast on its successful progress to a place among the greatest English choral works. Although not a religious work in the devout sense of Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius, Walton had produced at the first attempt, a masterpiece of overwhelming and exhilarating impact. It is highly original and distinctive, but still shows allegiance to the great English choral tradition, references to Elijah, Delius, Vaughan Williams and most notably Elgar. Not his least remarkable feat is the assured mastery with which the three main sections of the text, linked by the baritone soloists’s narration, are given the unity and continuity of symphonic movements. It is scored for a very large orchestra including alto sax, huge percussion section, organ and two off-stage brass bands. The large chorus and semi chorus is required to sing in up to 8 parts, with a huge dynamic range including music of great subtlety and tenderness.

The basis of the story is the Jewish exile in Babylon and the capture by Nebuchadnezzar of all the sacred implements of the Temple in Jerusalem. His son, Belshazzar, held a great feast and blasphemously used these to set his table for the wives and concubines. During the feast a great hand appears and writes four words on the wall. When Daniel is asked to interpret he tells Belshazzar that he has offended God and will suffer. That night he is killed and his empire passes to Cyrus the Mede, the man who was later to free the Jewish exiles.

Interestingly the work opens with the trombones, only this time they herald the words of Isaiah when he prophesies the exile. This is sung by the male voices and the first section develops into a lament “by the waters of Babylon”. After this the baritone soloist tells of the longing of the Jews for Jerusalem. The fall of Babylon is also foretold.

The second part tells of the great feast and the horror of the Jews at the act of sacrilege. Belshazzar is not afraid of the Jewish God and sings a hymn in praise of all the gods. At this point the chorus become the revellers at the feast. There are chilling chords in the orchestra and the baritone tells of the appearance of the hand and the prophecy. The section ends dramatically with the baritone telling of the death of the king, with the work “slain” repeated as a shout by the chorus.

The final section is a hymn of praise by the Jews for their deliverance “Sing aloud to God our strength…….Babylon the Great is fallen! Alleluia!

The Basingstoke Choral Society

The Southampton Philharmonic Choir

The New London Sinfonia

The New London Sinfonia

Musical Director: David Gibson

Leader: Martin Smith

The New London Sinfonia is a fully professional Symphony Orchestra that was formed in 1987 from a pool of talented young instrumentalists who have formed the backbone of the orchestra ever since. Although based in London, it has performed throughout the South of England specialising in the accompaniment of opera and choral works.

Performance venues have included St John’s Smith Square in London, Guildford, Winchester and Chichester Cathedrals and most of the major concert halls in the region, gaining an ever-increasing reputation for the quality of their work. The orchestra has also received critical acclaim for its performance of purely orchestral repertoire; leading to a growing number of engagements.

Recent projects have included recording the soundtrack for a feature film on general release, a highly successful premiere of a new work by Dominic Muldowney (The Fall of Jerusalem) and several performances at Fairfield Hall, Croydon that have received outstanding critical acclaim.

David Gibson
Conductor

Richard Morris
Baritone

Richard Morris comes from South Wales. After gaining a sports scholarship to Millfield School, he studied at the Guildhall School and then achieved a Scholarship to the Banff School of Fine Arts in Canada.

Whilst at Banff he returned to sing the Celebrant in Bernstein’s Mass, as part of the LSO's Bernstein Festival at the Barbican. Bernstein then asked him to repeat the role in Boston and he has since performed the role in Prague, Brno, Passau and the South Bank.

In this country, he has worked at the Royal Opera House, Scottish Opera, Opera North, the Almeida, Holland Park Opera, London City Opera and many more.

Title roles include Don Giovanni, The Marriage of Figaro, Escamillo in Carmen, Papageno in The Magic Flute, Marcello in La Boheme, Malatesta in Don Pasquale, Marullo in Rigoletto, Senator Carver in Gershwin’s Of Thee I Sing, as well as many contemporary operas, such as Tempter in Maxwell Davies’s Martyrdom of St. Magnus, Emrys in Hoddinot’s Tower, Mike the violent LAPD cop in Adam’s Ceiling/Sky, Jadek in Casken’s Golem, Count’s son in Finnissey’s Undivine Comedy, Marinetti in Muldowney’s Voluptuous Tango, Luger in Nicholson’s Ice and the title role in Toovey’s Ubu.

Abroad he has appeared as Escamillo for Columbia Artists, on tour throughout the United States, Faustus in Prokofiev’s Fiery Angel for Opera Nancy, Lieutenant Redburn in Billy Budd for Opera de Toulouse, a role that he will repeat for Opera de Nice. He has also appeared as Small Prisoner in From the House of the Dead for Vancouver Opera, Bill Cracker in Happy End for Canadian Music Theatre and CIA Agent in Malcolm X at BAM New York.

His appearances with British orchestras include, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, BBC Symphony and BBC Concert Orchestras, Scottish Chamber Orchestra and the BBC Welsh National Orchestra.

Oratorio work includes Orff's Carmina Burana, Walton’s Belshazzar’s Feast, Mozart’s Requiem, Faure’s Requiem, Bach’s St. John and St. Matthew Passions, Handel’s Messiah, Samson and Hercules, Haydn’s The Creation, Puccini’s Messa di Gloria, Durufle’s Cum Jubilo and Josephus in Muldowney’s The Fall of Jerusalem, which he will be recording with the BBC Symphony Orchestra in 2005. He played Enjolras in Les Miserables at the Palace Theatre in the West End.

He was a company member of the National Theatre last year and performed in Euripides’s Bacchai with music by Harrison Birtwhistle and directed by Peter Hall. He has recorded for Virgin Classics and Sony, as well as for television and radio, both here and abroad. At present he is playing the role of Macbeth for Surrey Opera.