W el Co M e
It’s an honour to introduce the programme for the 300th anniversary Three Choirs Festival at Hereford. Since 1715, interrupted only by two world wars, our three cities of Hereford, Gloucester and Worcester have taken it in turn to host annual ‘music meetings’, as they were originally known, and this year we present a summation of the great masterpieces of the repertoire written in the intervening three centuries. In the course of a week you’ll be able to hear works as diverse as Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis, Verdi’s Requiem, Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius and Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms. Alongside these we also revisit less well-known works, such as Nielsen’s stirring Hymnus Amoris and William Mathias’s fine Lux Aeterna, commissioned for the 1982 Hereford festival, just ten years before the Welsh composer’s untimely death. The centenary of the First World War will be marked in several ways including a rare performance of Arthur Bliss’s Morning Heroes, written in memory of his brother who was killed in the trenches in 1915, for which we welcome Sir Andrew Davis back to the festival.
The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment joins us for the first time in a performance with the Three Cathedral Choirs of Bach’s monumental
St Matthew Passion; and we are delighted to welcome back the Philharmonia Orchestra for the fourth year of its continuing residency at the festival. All the resources that this fabulous orchestra can muster will be packed into the cathedral for a rare performance – and the first ever in any Three Choirs city –of Messiaen’s epic Turangalîla-Symphonie. Coupled with the Prelude & Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde, this spectacular evening, conducted by Jac van Steen, will be one of the week’s many unmissable events.
As well as looking back over the festival’s long history, we are always seeking to enrich that tradition for the future, with commissions this year by Bob Chilcott, Anthony Powers, Alec Roth, Rhian Samuel and Torsten Rasch. And on the last night of the festival our community choir The Gathering Wave gives the first performance of Echoes: A Song of Poland by Pete Churchill, which has been inspired by the stories of the Polish refugee community who lived at Foxley, near Hereford, in the years after the Second World War. We will also be presenting the winning entry in our composition competition in association with Novello at Evensong on the Sunday.
Instrumental and song recitals feature prominently in the daytime schedules of the modern Three Choirs Festival, and some of the world’s most distinguished solo performers join us this year: organist
John Scott, pianist Steven Osborne, mezzo-soprano Sarah Connolly and baritone Roderick Williams, as well as ensembles such as the Wihan Quartet, La Serenissima, the Orlando Consort and the chart-topping vocal ensemble Voces8 in their Three Choirs debut.
In addition to our own birthday, we mark other ‘15’ anniversaries such as Magna Carta (1215), Agincourt (1415) and Waterloo (1815) in music, words and art, with concerts, talks and exhibitions taking place in a variety of venues around Hereford, including the spectacular riverside setting of the refurbished Left Bank; the Courtyard Centre for the Arts;
and All Saints Church, where some of the world’s leading jazz musicians will perform for us on several evenings.
There’s something for everyone with our Three Choirs Plus programme of activities ranging from dance, craft and art workshops to talks on literature and philosophy. Fireworks at the Bishop’s Palace on the first night will launch a sparkling festival and I look forward to seeing you at this spectacular 300th birthday party in the glorious Herefordshire countryside!
Geraint Bowen Artistic Director
s e A son ti C kets
All 11 cathedral concerts this year are eligible for inclusion in our bespoke season ticket package.
• Buy a season ticket for your selection of 10 or more different cathedral concerts and receive a 10% discount
• Buy a season ticket for your selection of 5 or more different cathedral concerts and receive a 5% discount
• Request the same seat for every concert, or choose a different seat each time, picking from any price band
• Where multiple season tickets are being bought, adjacent seats may be requested
Any additional single tickets purchased (ie, fewer than 5) will not be included in the season ticket package. All season ticket applications will be processed in order of receipt, and adjacent seats or same seats are subject to availability.
s te WA rds H ip
A season ticket holder who is attending 10 or more events at an A, B or C price becomes a Festival Steward and is entitled to
• Admission to rehearsals in the cathedral (at the conductor’s discretion)
• Listing in the programme book
• Formal Civic Lunch with the Mayor at the Town Hall (limited to first 50 applications)
C At H edr A l servi C es
The various cathedral services during the week are at the very heart of our unique festival. Information about daily Evensong as well as the Festival Eucharist is given in this brochure, but these services are not ticketed: admission is free and all are most welcome.
The Opening Service is a ticketed event, though there is no admission charge. Tickets for the Opening Service should be booked as for any other event but are not part of the season ticket package.
C At H edr A l
re H e A rs A ls
Admission to rehearsals in Hereford Cathedral is restricted to Three Choirs Festival Society members, those who have purchased season ticket(s) for 10 or more concerts, and those holding a rehearsal pass, and is strictly at the discretion of the conductor and festival officials.
A limited number of rehearsal passes will be available from the ticket office for each relevant day (some of which will only be issued on the day itself) for accompanied children under 16, senior citizens and music students. A rehearsal schedule will be available from the ticket office during festival week. No photography or recording is permitted, other than by an accredited festival photographer.
e x H ibitions
Hereford Cathedral is celebrating the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta with a special exhibition of one of its treasures: the Hereford Magna Carta from 1217. The display will tell the story of how Magna Carta survived the attempt of King John to suppress it and will explore laws of the time that the charter confirmed and created. NB Timed tickets will be issued for this exhibition, available from the admission desk at the entrance or via 3choirs.org
There is also an installation of modern calligraphic banners inspired by Magna Carta in the nave.
The Friends of Hereford Three Choirs Festival will be running their annual Art Exhibition and sale of original artwork in the Sports Hall of Hereford Cathedral School, Castle Street, Hereford. It will be open 10.00 am – 6.00 pm throughout the festival. Sir Roy Strong will formally open the exhibition at 10.15 am on Saturday 25 July.
Fine Cell Work, a social enterprise which trains prisoners in skilled, creative needlework, will exhibit some of the superb results in the Cathedral Barn (on the corner of the Cathedral Close and St John Street). The prisoners are paid for their work, which is then sold around the world. It includes cushions, bags, pictures and patchwork quilts. Some pieces are interior design commissions, others heritage pieces for organisations such as the V&A and English Heritage.
The Guild of Herefordshire Craftsmen and Cotswold Craftsmen will this year be exhibiting in the recently reordered St Peter’s Church, St Peter’s Square. Do visit them there to admire and purchase jewellery, pottery, textiles, woodwork and other products made by the skilled artists and craft workers who earn a living by their craft around the county.
s ouvenir progr AMM e book
The Three Choirs Festival souvenir programme book is both a handy guide to the week’s events and a unique, detailed record of each year’s festival. This beautifully-produced publication contains full details of every concert alongside texts, notes, articles, photographs and much more. Our archive contains editions stretching back over many years and re-reading them vividly brings alive past festivals. The souvenir programme book will be on sale for £15. If pre-ordered before 1 June, however, the book is sold at a discount of £2, for £13. We advise pre-ordering, both to save money and to avoid disappointment; only a limited number will be on sale during the festival itself. Pre-ordered books can be collected from the ticket office on your arrival in Hereford, or posted to you in advance (£5 p&p, UK only). Please tick the appropriate box(es) on the booking form.
Derek Foxton
festivA l
Hot suppers
festivA l t i C ket o ffi C e
The on-site Festival Ticket Office will open for personal booking on 15 July in the Zimmerman Building of Hereford Cathedral School, in Church Street. For details of opening hours see p 33.
Z i MM er MA n CA f É
Run by the Friends of Hereford Three Choirs Festival, the Zimmerman Café is situated in the Zimmerman Building, Church Street, and offers hot and cold drinks and light refrehments.
festivA l vill Age
The Festival Village, situated to the rear of 1 Castle Street, promises to be the social hub of the festival. The Friends of Hereford Three Choirs Festival will again provide their popular hot suppers together with a café in the Sports Hall of Hereford Cathedral School. There will be a Quiet Room for relaxation and the Sports Hall will also be the location for the Friends art exhibition (more details on p 6). The Festival Bar will be open from noon until midnight for pre- and post-concert refreshments, serving a range of local real ales and ciders, wines, spirits and soft drinks.
The Friends of Hereford Three Choirs Festival provide three-course meals with waitress service at 6 pm every evening, in the dining room of Hereford Cathedral School, 1 Castle Street. They cost £20 and must be pre-booked via the ticket office.
Menus are as follows:
Saturday 25 July
Darne of salmon
Sunday 26 July
Steak and kidney pie
Monday 27 July
Cottage pie
Tuesday 28 July
Coq au vin
Wednesday 29 July
Gammon, pineapple and tomato
Thursday 30 July
Lamb dish/casserole
Friday 31 July
Fish in batter
Saturday 1 August
Loin of pork with apple sauce
There is a vegetarian option every night and a selection of desserts plus a cheeseboard, wine, soft drinks and coffee with mints.
fAC ilities
f estivA l sH op
The Friends of Hereford Three Choirs
Festival will be running a Festival Shop in the Stonemasons’ Yard next to the north transept of the cathedral, selling a range of gifts and souvenirs. The work of Hereford Cathedral’s head stonemason Simon Hudson will be on sale and a speciallycommissioned sculpture will be raffled at the end of the week.
left bA nk
The Left Bank is a modern function suite situated a few minutes’ walk from Hereford Cathedral in a spectacular location by the 15th-century stone bridge over the River Wye. Thanks to a partnership with the new owners, we shall be using it for the first time for the majority of the talks and society meetings in this year’s festival.
Jon At HA n g ibbs b ooks
Jonathan Gibbs makes a welcome return this year, based in the spacious surroundings of the Left Bank coachhouse. His range of books and music will be complemented by CDs available from Outback Records in Church Street.
friends
friends of H ereford t H ree CH oirs festivA l
The Friends of Hereford Three Choirs
Festival are a dedicated team of volunteers who support the festival by fundraising, hospitality and sponsorship. They are always delighted to hear from anyone wishing to become a member or volunteer. For further information please contact Fi Hanks on 07816 622681 or fihanks@aol.com
flo
W ers
The Friends of Hereford Three Choirs Festival organize a group of volunteers to do all the flower arrangements in Hereford Cathedral, the Cathedral School and Bishop’s Palace. Individual arrangements can be sponsored in memory of friends or relatives or on behalf of companies. To arrange sponsorship please contact Susan Hunter on 01981 240561 or charles.hunter@phonecoop.coop
v enue i nfor MAtion
Hereford City Centre
1. Hereford Cathedral
Cathedral Close HR1 2NG
Zone A:
Nave and most of tower plinth (unrestricted view).
Zone B:
Nave front two rows and rear of plinth; side seats in the nave (partially restricted view).
Zone C:
Side seats in the nave, side aisles and quire stalls (no direct view or very restricted view, but with TV monitor available).
Zone D:
Seats on the plinth side steps, front four rows of the transepts, seats in the quire and sanctuary (no direct view but TV monitor available).
Zone E (unreserved seating):
Rear of the transepts (no direct view but TV monitor available).
Zone F (unreserved seating):
Quire side aisles, retro-quire and Lady Chapel (no direct view but TV monitor available).
2. Holy Trinity Church
164 Whitecross Road HR4 0DF
Zone A: Central Nave
Seating in this area is on the flat, with an unrestricted view of the stage.
Zone B: Rear Nave and Side Aisles
Seating in the rear nave is on the flat, and looks forward towards the stage.
Seating in the side aisles is unreserved and has varying view of the stage due to pillars.
*Please note that access to the balcony is via stairs only
3. All Saints Church
High Street HR4 9AA
Zone A: Nave and Ground
Floor Café area
Seating in both of these areas will be reserved, and offers either an unrestricted view of the stage, or a partially restricted view due to pillars and other furniture.
Zone B: Café Balcony
Seating in this area will be unreserved at café tables, and will afford varying levels of view of the stage due to pillars and the overhang of the balcony.*
Zone C: Standing Tickets
4. St Francis Xavier Church
19 Broad Street HR 4 9 AP
Unreserved seating in the nave and balcony areas.*
5. The Courtyard
Edgar Street HR4 9JR
Reserved seating in the stalls or gallery, all with an unrestricted view of the stage.
6. St John’s Methodist Church
St Owen Street HR 1 2 PR
Unreserved seating in the ground floor and balcony areas.*
7. Festival Ticket Office Zimmerman Building, Hereford Cathedral School, Church Street HR 1 2 LR
8. Cathedral Barn
St John Street HR 4 9 BN
9. Festival Village Rear of No 1 Castle Street
10. Bishop’s Palace and Garden
HR 4 9 BN
11. Left Bank
Bridge Street HR 4 9 DG
12. Apple Store Gallery Unit 1, Rockfield Road HR 1 2 UA
13. St Peter’s Church
St Peter’s Square HR 1 2 PG
14. Leominster Priory Church Street, Leominster HR6 8NH
Zone A: Central Nave, South Side Aisle & Norman Nave
Seating in the central nave and Norman nave will have an unrestricted view of the stage.
Zone A side aisle seating will have a partially restricted view due to pillars in the peripheral vision.
Zone B: South Side Aisle & Quire Stalls
Zone B side aisle seating will have a restricted view of the stage, with pillars falling centrally in the line of vision. Seating in the quire stalls will be behind the stage.
Zone C: Unreserved Norman Nave
Seating in this area will have little or no direct view of the stage.
15. Dore Abbey off B4347 near Ewyas Harold HR 2 0 AA
16. Lugwardine Church Junction of A438 and Rhystone Lane, Lugwardine village HR 1 4 AE
17. Hereford Museum Resource and Learning Centre
58 Friars Street HR 4 0 AS
f estivA l progr AMM e
Hereford 2015
s AturdAy
25 J uly
Opening Service
11.30 am Hereford Cathedral
Entrance is by ticket only (free of charge)
Purcell Te Deum in D
Handel With cheerful notes
Handel Hallelujah
Handel Music for the Royal Fireworks
Hereford Cathedral Choir
Three Choirs Festival Chorus
Corelli Ensemble
Peter Dyke organ
Geraint Bowen conductor
RCO Young Performers Recital 1
12.45 pm Holy Trinity Church
£10 unreserved
James Bowstead organ
The first of our young artists lunchtime concert series in Holy Trinity Church features a soloist chosen by the Royal College of Organists.
A coach will depart from Broad Street at 12.15 pm.
Ticket £5.
Supported by Father Michael Thomas
General booking opens on 13 April
0845 652 1823
Song of the Hero
2.30 pm Holy Trinity Church
£25, £20
Vaughan Williams Four Last Songs
Tim Torry The Face of Grief
Howells Four Songs
Rhian Samuel A swift radiant morning festival commission: world premiere
Elgar Sea Pictures
Roderick Williams baritone
Susie Allan piano
In the first of two festival appearances, Roderick Williams revisits some of the themes from last year’s First World War centenary commemoration. His recital focuses on the grief of those left behind when armies went off to fight, and includes a festival commission from the Welsh composer Rhian Samuel, a setting of poetry by C H Sorley, who was killed in action in 1915.
A coach will depart from Broad Street at 1.30 pm. Ticket £5.
Supported by Michael Guittard, Harry Prince and The Alan Cadbury Charitable Trust
Festival Reception
6.00 pm Bishop’s Palace
£10
The Friends of Hereford Three Choirs Festival invite you to join them for drinks and canapés before the evening concert.
© Benjamin Ealovega
Roderick Williams
Neal Davies
Sarah Connolly
© Peter Warren
General booking opens on 13 April
The Dream of Gerontius ★
7.45 pm Hereford Cathedral
£49, £45, £27, £20, £15, £7
Elgar The Dream of Gerontius
Sarah Connolly mezzo-soprano
Peter Auty tenor
Neal Davies bass
Three Choirs Festival Chorus
Philharmonia Orchestra
Geraint Bowen conductor
Our evening concert series begins with the work which has been most closely associated with the Three Choirs Festival for the past 100 years. Sarah Connolly joins us to reprise the role of the Angel for which she was acclaimed on last year’s Chandos recording.
Supported by the Friends of Hereford Three Choirs Festival and the Friends of Hereford Cathedral
Sarah Connolly supported by Peter and Hilary Hillier
Fireworks Reception
10.00 pm Bishop’s Palace
£16 including refreshments
Hereford Cathedral Perpetual Trust invites you to celebrate the first night of our 300th anniversary festival in spectacular style.
Keep the Home Fires Burning
10.15 pm All Saints Church
£15, £12, £10
Audrey Palmer mezzo-soprano
Simon McEnery tenor
David Rhind-Tutt piano
This musical commemoration of the First World War features classic popular songs of the early 20th century. Some highlight the poignant weight of wartime sorrow; others show the dark humour of war; some are touching love songs. The programme also includes songs from a slightly later era by Coward, Porter, Gershwin and Berlin.
sundAy 26 J uly
Orchestral Eucharist
10.30 am Hereford Cathedral
Haydn Paukenmesse
Mozart Ave verum corpus
Mozart Laudate Dominum
Lucy Bowen soprano
Jeanette Ager mezzo-soprano
James Oxley tenor
David Stout baritone
Hereford Cathedral Choir
Philharmonia Orchestra
Geraint Bowen conductor
RCO Young Performers Recital 2
12.45 pm Holy Trinity Church £10 unreserved
John Bachelor organ
The second of our young artists lunchtime concert series features another soloist chosen by the Royal College of Organists.
A coach will depart from Broad Street at 12.15 pm. Ticket £5.
Supported by Father Michael Thomas
James Oxley Jeanette Ager
Summer Music
2.30 pm Courtyard Centre for the Arts
£25
Reicha Quintet in B flat
Barber Summer Music
Ligeti Six Bagatelles
Jim Parker Mississippi Five
Debussy Syrinx
Krzysztof Penderecki Prelude for solo clarinet
Ensemble 360
Sheffield-based Ensemble 360 is a flexible grouping of acclaimed players who can perform in many different permutations, combining virtuosic playing with relaxed presentation. This afternoon they bring us seasonal music for wind quintet by the Czech Anton Reicha and the American composer Samuel Barber.
A coach will depart from Broad Street at 1.30 pm.
Ticket £5.
Supported by the Finzi Circle
The Tramp
5.00 pm Courtyard Centre for the Arts
£8
Charlie Chaplin’s film The Tramp is 100 years old; come and see a screening at the Courtyard.
A coach will depart from Broad Street at 4.15 pm.
Ticket £5.
Choral Evensong
5.30 pm Hereford Cathedral
Humphrey Clucas Responses
Raymond Warren Bristol Service
Anthony Piccolo The Key
Langlais Fête
To include the premiere of the winning introit from the inaugural Three Choirs Festival Choral Composition Competition. Hereford Cathedral Voluntary Choir
William Fox organ
Peter Dyke conductor
0845 652 1823
Turangalîla ★
7.45 pm Hereford Cathedral
£45, £41, £27, £20, £15, £7
Wagner Prelude & Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde
Messiaen Turangalîla-Symphonie
Alwyn Mellor soprano
Valerie Hartmann-Claverie ondes martenot
Steven Osborne piano
Philharmonia Orchestra
Jac van Steen conductor
Prepare to be blown away by the unique soundworld of Messiaen’s extraordinary TurangalîlaSymphonie in a rare performance – and the first at the Three Choirs Festival – of this vast work, that involves all the resources the Philharmonia Orchestra can summon. It’s preceded by the prelude and searing apotheosis from the epochmaking opera by Wagner, whose central theme of romantic love and death was its direct inspiration. Supported by the Chairman’s Circle
Jac van Steen supported by Elizabeth and Simon Allen
Lay Clerks in Concert
10.15 pm All Saints Church
£15, £12, £10
Who knows what delights the gentlemen of Hereford Cathedral Choir have in store for us in their traditional late-night performance of secular repertoire, always a favourite with festival audiences. General
Ensemble
© Ben Ealovega and David Shapiro
Breakfast with Bach
9.30 am Left Bank
£12 to include continental breakfast
Join Matthew Brook, James Oxley and Roderick Williams in a discussion of the St Matthew Passion over coffee and croissants. Approaches to the interpretation of the characters of the Evangelist, Christ and Pilate have changed markedly over time and vary considerably from singer to singer. This is a unique opportunity to hear these three world-renowned Bach singers in conversation.
Requiem for 500 Years
11.00 am St Francis Xavier Church
£25 unreserved
Dust and Ashes: Requiem for 500 Years
Programme to include:
Brumel Missa pro Defunctis
Plainchant sequences
Dufay Lamentatio Sanctae Matris Ecclesiae
Constantinopolitanae
Gabriel Jackson On the bridge over the narrow river
Ockeghem Mort, tu as navré ton dart
Orlando Consort
The Orlando Consort’s exploration of the Requiem Mass juxtaposes acknowledged masterpieces of medieval times with the works of living composers who have applied medieval techniques in their music. The music is complemented by readings from sources including early English documents, John Donne, Sir Thomas Wyatt, Helen Thomas (the widow of poet Edward Thomas, killed in the First World War) and modern war correspondents Feargal Keane and Daniel Counihan.
Supported by The Very Reverend Michael Tavinor
General booking opens on 13 April
Agincourt
11.15 am Left Bank
£10
Professor Andrew Kirkman speaker
The first of our anniversary talks looks at Henry V’s victory over the French at Agincourt, in October 1415. Andrew Kirkman, Peyton and Barber Professor of Music at the University of Birmingham and Director of the Binchois Consort, will draw on his own specialist research to link the circumstances of the battle to the music the English and Continental armies of the time would have known.
Three Choirs Festival Society
Lunch
12.30 pm Left Bank
£26
This annual event is open to Three Choirs Festival Society members only.
RCO Young Performers Recital 3
12.45 pm Holy Trinity Church
£10 unreserved
Donal McCann organ
The final organ recital of our young artists lunchtime concert series features a third soloist chosen by the Royal College of Organists.
A coach will depart from Broad Street at 12.15 pm. Ticket £5.
Supported by Father Michael Thomas
Orlando Consort
© Eric Richmond
Chichester and
Chilcott
2.30 pm Hereford Cathedral
£26, £21, £16, £11, £5, £1
Bob Chilcott Requiem
Bernstein Chichester Psalms
Three Choirs Festival Youth Choir
Christopher Allsop organ
Peter Nardone conductor
★
Three Choirs Festival Society AGM
6.30 pm Left Bank
Morning Heroes ★
7.45 pm Hereford Cathedral
£45, £41, £27, £20, £15, £7
Sibelius Symphony No 5
Bliss Morning Heroes
Ahead of Wednesday’s first broadcast performance by the Three Cathedral Choirs of Bob Chilcott’s new evening service, our TCF Youth Choir performs his beautiful Requiem published in 2010. This is paired with the famous setting of Hebrew psalm texts commissioned in 1965 for a festival in Chichester Cathedral by its then Dean, The Very Revd Walter Hussey.
Supported by The Perry Family Charitable Trust
Arthur Bliss Society Tea and Talk
4.00 pm Left Bank
£15
Andrew Burn, Chairman of The Bliss Trust, gives a talk entitled ‘Now, trumpeter, for thy close: an introduction to Bliss’s Morning Heroes’.
Supported by The Bliss Trust
Choral Evensong
5.30 pm Hereford Cathedral
Ayleward Responses
Greene Evening Service in C
Purcell O Lord God of Hosts
Purcell Voluntary for Double Organ
Three Cathedral Choirs
Jonathan Hope organ
Adrian Partington conductor
Samuel West narrator
Three Choirs Festival Chorus
Philharmonia Orchestra
Sir Andrew Davis conductor
This choral symphony by Arthur Bliss, dedicated ‘to the Memory of my brother Francis Kennard Bliss and all other Comrades killed in battle’, continues our First World War commemoration begun with last year’s premiere of Torsten Rasch’s A Foreign Field. Premiered at the Norwich Festival in 1930, it sets texts from Homer’s Iliad and poems by Walt Whitman, Wilfred Owen, Li Tai Po and Robert Nichols; the composer said that writing it helped to exorcise the nightmare memories of his own wartime experiences.
Supported by The Bliss Trust and The Music Reprieval Trust
Samuel West supported by Gabbs Solicitors
Sir Andrew Davis supported by Pamela White
Golden Apples of the Sun
10.15 pm All Saints Church
£15, £12, £10
Juice
The three female singers of Juice are at the forefront of the UK’s experimental/classical scene, performing new vocal music which draws on a wide variety of genres including jazz, folk, improvisation and theatre. Their concert programmes are fluid and full of surprises; ‘Golden Apples of the Sun’ may contain works by Gabriel Jackson, Tarik O’Regan, Cecilia McDowall or James MacMillan – or it may not!
Steven
Osborne
11.00 am Holy Trinity Church
£25, £20
Schubert Sonata in B flat D 960
Beethoven Sonatas Op. 90 and Op. 101
Steven Osborne piano
Ranging from ethereal delicacy to barn-storming power, the ‘unique magic’ of Scottish pianist
Steven Osborne’s sound was cited among the qualities that earned him the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Instrumentalist of the Year Award in 2013. All these are sure to be on display in his performances of Schubert’s last sonata and two masterpieces of Beethoven’s middle-to-late period.
A coach will depart from Broad Street at 10.00 am.
Ticket £5.
Henry IV (Part I and II)
11.00 am Bishop’s Palace Garden
£16, £10.50 for Under-16s
Festival Players
In 2012 the Gloucestershire-based Festival Players took over the UK’s longest established outdoor touring Shakespeare company, Theatre Set-Up. The first production of the new-look company at this year’s Three Choirs presents the story of the contrasting approaches to imminent war of Henry IV and his son Prince Hal.
Three Choirs @ 300
11.15 am Left Bank
£10
Dominic Jewel speaker
In today’s anniversary talk Dominic Jewel, chief executive of the Three Choirs Festival, looks at our own past, present and future, drawing anecdotes from the past 300 years of music meetings in Hereford, Gloucester and Worcester to reveal how much has changed yet so much remains the same as this very special event prepares to enter its fourth century.
Three Choirs Festival Young Musicians of 2014
12.45 pm Holy Trinity Church
£10 unreserved
Emily Garland soprano
Dominic Sedgwick baritone
The joint winners of Dame Felicity Lott’s competitive singing masterclass at last year’s Worcester Three Choirs Festival in recital. Both are studying on postgraduate opera courses at London conservatoires.
A coach will depart from Broad Street at 12.15 pm. Ticket £5.
Elgar Birthplace Visit and Talk
2.00 pm Elgar Birthplace Museum
Lower Broadheath, Worcester WR2 6RH
£15 including tea and coach
Michael Trott of the Elgar Society will deliver a talk entitled ‘What do we mean by Elgarian?’ As a self-taught musician, Elgar was not shaped by the musical tradition that gave us Stanford and Parry, but by his own close study of scores by Wagner, Brahms and others. How did this influence his compositional style? There will be a chance to look round the museum.
A coach will depart from Broad Street at 12.15 pm.
V0ces8 © Decca / Paul Stuart
Three Centuries in One Afternoon
2.30 pm St Francis Xavier Church
£25 unreserved
Gibbons O clap your hands
Ola Gjeilo Ubi caritas
Tavener Mother of God, here I stand Morley/Purcell Second dirge anthem/Thou knowest, Lord
Sullivan The long day closes Britten Hymn to St Cecilia
Alec Roth new work festival commission: world premiere
Stanford Beati quorum via Walford Davies God be in my head
Pearsall Lay a garland
Selection of jazz and pop arrangements to be announced from the stage Voces8
Vocal ensemble Voces8 have been topping the classical charts in recent years with immaculately produced recordings, giving a modern polish to repertoire that has been familiar to choristers down the ages. Making their Three Choirs debut, they intersperse tracks from their latest album
Lux with repertoire chosen to reflect the festival’s history and a new work by Alec Roth commissioned for the occasion.
The Wulstan Atkins Lecture
5.00 pm Left Bank
£10
Timothy Day, former Director of the British Library Sound Archive and an authority on the recorded sound of English cathedral choirs, now lives in Plas Gwyn, Hereford, a former home of Edward Elgar. In the Wulstan Atkins Lecture, given annually in memory of Elgar’s godson and great friend, he discusses historic performance, Bach and the Three Choirs Festival.
Supported by Katharine O’Carroll and Robert Atkins
Evening Prayer (said)
5.30 pm Hereford Cathedral
St Matthew Passion ★
7.00 pm Hereford Cathedral
£45, £41, £27, £20, £15, £7
Bach St Matthew Passion
James Oxley Evangelist
Matthew Brook Christus
Elizabeth Watts soprano
William Towers counter-tenor
Anthony Gregory tenor
Roderick Williams baritone
Three Cathedral Choirs
Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment
Geraint Bowen conductor
The period-instrument OAE makes its Three Choirs debut accompanying the boys and men of our Three Cathedral Choirs in one of the greatest masterpieces of the choral repertoire, with a stellar line-up of soloists, under the baton of our artistic director, Geraint Bowen.
Supported by Angela Day
Gwilym Simcock
10.15 pm All Saints Church
£15, £12, £10
Gwilym Simcock piano
Mike Walker guitar
The second of our relaxed late night events in All Saints features one of the UK’s most popular jazz pianists. Classically-trained Gwilym Simcock was the first jazz performer to be a BBC New Generation Artist, and has composed music for broadcast and for the stage as well as for his own ensembles. Tonight he’s joined by Salford-born guitarist Mike Walker, with whom he regularly performs as ‘The Impossible Gentlemen’.
Elgar Society Talk and Lunch
10.45 am Left Bank
£35 talk and lunch £14 talk only £23 buffet only
Join the Elgar Society for the annual talk, given in this tercentenary year of the Three Choirs Festival by the Society’s President, cellist and now conductor Julian Lloyd Webber. Entitled ‘Elgar in the 21st century’, the talk will be illustrated with musical examples and followed at 12.45 pm by lunch.
The Cuckow: Europe in 1715
11.00 am Leominster Priory
£25, £20, £15
Dall’Abaco Concerto Grosso IV in A Op. 2
Bononcini Overture to Il trionfo di Camilla Valentini Concerto Grosso XI in A minor Op. 7
Telemann Concerto in G for four violins
TWV 40:201
Vivaldi Violin Concerto in A ‘The Cuckow’ RV 335 Vivaldi Concerto in B minor for four violins
RV 580
La Serenissima
Adrian Chandler director/violin
The centrepiece of this concert is Vivaldi’s concerto ‘The Cuckow’, which was a particular favourite in England. An advertisement of 1717 in The Post Man for a new edition of the concerto described it as ‘the choicest of all his works’.
RV 580 is the tenth in Vivaldi’s best-selling set of concertos L’estro armonico and inspired Bach to arrange it for four harpsichords.
La Serenissima’s programme includes lively works by some lesser-known composers of the Italian baroque.
A coach will depart from Broad Street at 9.30 am. Ticket £7.50.
Supported by the Pippin Trust
General booking opens on 13 April
Waterloo
11.15 am Left Bank
£10
The Battle of Waterloo in June 1815 brought an end to 23 years of European warfare and prevented Napoleon I from fulfilling his dream of making France the continent’s most powerful nation. The third of our ‘15’ anniversary talks sets in context this decisive moment in British history, as significant in its way as the defeat of the Spanish Armada or the Battle of Britain.
Young Artists Recital 1
12.45 pm Holy Trinity Church
£10 unreserved
Mathilde Milwidsky violin
Today’s recitalist is a holder of one of the Philharmonia Orchestra’s Martin Musical Scholarship Awards 2015.
A coach will depart from Broad Street at 12.15 pm. Ticket £5.
Supported by Father Michael Thomas
As You Like It
2.00 pm Bishop’s Palace Garden
£16, £10.50 for Under-16s
Festival Players
For their second performance this year the Gloucester-based Festival Players offer Shakespeare’s comedy of manners As You Like It, a witty exploration of love, loyalty and friendship.
Adrian Chandler
© Riccardo Alchaide
0845 652 1823
From My Life
2.30 pm Leominster Priory
£25, £20, £15
Haydn String quartet in G Op. 54 No 1
Smetana String quartet No 1 ‘From my Life’
Beethoven String quartet in C minor Op. 18 No 4
Wihan Quartet
Celebrating their 30th birthday this year, the Wihan Quartet from the Czech Republic have chosen a semi-autobiographical work by their great compatriot Smetana as the centrepiece of this afternoon’s programme. ‘From my Life’ was written after Smetana, like Beethoven, had gone deaf, and the ringing that he experienced in his ears is represented in music in the last movement of the piece.
A coach will depart from Broad Street at 1.00 pm. Ticket £7.50.
Supported by Katharine Wedgbury
Choral Evensong
3.30 pm Hereford Cathedral
Philip Moore Responses (set III)
Neil Cox Keep me as the apple of an eye
Bob Chilcott Three Choirs Service festival commission: first broadcast performance
Malcolm Archer Veni, Sancte Spiritus first broadcast performance
Jonathan Dove The Dancing Pipes
Three Cathedral Choirs
Peter Dyke organ
Geraint Bowen conductor
The congregation is asked to be seated by 3.15 pm. This is a live broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and late admittance will not be possible.
The commissioned work by Bob Chilcott is supported by The Frank Clarke-Whitfeld Trust and Clare Wichbold
Missa Solemnis ★
7.45 pm Hereford Cathedral
£45, £41, £27, £20, £15, £7
Beethoven Missa Solemnis
Eleanor Dennis soprano
Jennifer Johnston mezzo-soprano
Mark le Brocq tenor
Marcus Farnsworth bass
Three Choirs Festival Chorus
Philharmonia Orchestra
Adrian Partington conductor
Written over several years at around the same time as his ‘Choral’ Symphony, Beethoven’s virtuosic Mass in D, known as the ‘Missa Solemnis’, was the closest he came to an expression of religious faith. Full of emotion and drama, it represents a deeply personal journey on a theatrical scale.
Supported by Richard Arenschieldt and Hereford City Council
Celtic Song
10.15 pm All Saints Church £15, £12, £10
Bardic Trio
Jamie MacDougall tenor
Sharron Griffiths harp
Matthew McAllister guitar
Commissioned works from composers such as Edward Maguire and Arturo Marquez alongside specially-created arrangements of Mexican, Scottish, Welsh and Irish songs feature in the repertoire of this innovative trio. Jamie MacDougall’s speaking voice may be as familiar to audiences as his singing voice; he combines his performing career with presenting classical concerts for BBC Radio 3.
t
Poets and Princes: An Entertainment
11.00 am Dore Abbey
£55 including coach travel and lunch
Sir Roy Strong speaker
Charlotte Asprey actor
Gareth Rees-Roberts lute
In the beautiful setting of Dore Abbey in the Golden Valley, Sir Roy Strong takes us on a journey through the lives and times of some of the most memorable kings and queens of England, from Richard II to Edward VII, in their own words and those of their contemporaries, with occasional observations by the inimitable Messrs Sellar & Yeatman and appropriate musical interludes.
A coach will depart from Broad Street at 9.30 am. There will be a post-lunch guided tour of Dore Abbey, limited to 60 people. Tickets £5.
The Jacobite Uprising
11.15 am Left Bank
£10
Robert Howarth speaker
Today’s ‘15’ anniversary talk looks at the rebellion in Scotland provoked by the death of Queen Anne and the accession of George I. Conductor Robert Howarth, a specialist in early classical repertoire, will set the event in a musical context.
Young Artists Recital 2
12.45 pm Holy Trinity Church
£10
Victoria Principe piano
Today’s recitalist is a holder of one of the Philharmonia Orchestra’s Martin Musical Scholarship Awards 2015.
A coach will depart from Broad Street at 12.15 pm. Ticket £5.
Supported by Father Michael Thomas
Finzi Friends Lunch and Lecture
1.00 pm Left Bank
£15
‘A Soldier of the Great War: Francis Purcell Warren’ Rolf Jordan talks about an outstanding musician who lost his life on the Somme. Warren was both a cherished friend and an inspiration to Howells and Gurney and his music was championed by Finzi. This event is open to all.
The Rite of Spring ★
2.30 pm Hereford Cathedral £34, £29, £24, £15, £10, £5
Dukas La Péri
Stravinsky Le sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring)
National Youth Orchestra of Wales
Paul Daniel conductor
Witnessing a youth orchestra encountering for the first time the power and drama of one of classical music’s most ground-breaking works is always a thrilling experience. This concert in which the cream of Wales’s young musicians tackle Stravinsky’s complex and demanding score looks set to be a highlight of our festival. ‘The Rite’ is preceded by the last substantial work by the French composer Paul Dukas, his poém dansée La Péri.
Supported by The Perry Family Charitable Trust and the Purcell Circle
Charlotte Asprey Marcus Farnsworth
General booking opens on 13 April
1823
Friends’ Garden Party
4.00 pm Bishop’s Palace Garden
£10
Join the Friends of Hereford Three Choirs Festival for the annual garden party, open to all.
Choral Evensong
5.30 pm Hereford Cathedral
Tallis Responses
Wood Great Lord of Lords
Wood Evening Service in E
Walker I will lift up mine eyes
Rheinberger Agitato (Sonata No 11)
Three Cathedral Choirs
Peter Dyke organ
Geraint Bowen conductor
Lux Aeterna ★
7.45 pm Hereford Cathedral
£45, £41, £27, £20, £15, £7
Nielsen Hymnus Amoris
Mathias Lux Aeterna
Sarah Fox soprano
Jennifer Johnston mezzo-soprano
Claudia Huckle contralto
Robert Murray tenor
David Stout baritone
Barnaby Rea bass
Choristers of the Three Cathedral Choirs
Three Choirs Festival Chorus
Philharmonia Orchestra
Peter Nardone conductor
Inspired by a Titian painting on the theme of a jealous husband which the composer and his wife saw on their honeymoon, the highly romantic Hymnus Amoris sets a Danish text which was translated into Latin because Nielsen felt it would be easier to sing and would convey the universal emotion of human love more effectively. Lux Aeterna by the Welsh composer William Mathias, who died in 1992, was premiered at the Hereford Three Choirs Festival in 1982.
Supported by The Elmley Foundation
Amy Roberts
10.15 pm All Saints Church £15, £12, £10
Amy Roberts
Richard Exall Quintet
Join Amy Roberts and the Richard Exall Quintet for this evening’s session at All Saints and find out why they were voted Band of the Year 2014 by Rochdale Jazz Society. Amy is a charismatic performer on flute (her main instrument), clarinet and saxophone. She was the first female musician to join the Big Chris Barber Band and is a mentor for young jazz musicians in Worcestershire.
© Benjamin Ealovega
Jennifer Johnston
Claudia Huckle Amy Roberts
David Stout
British Music Society Symposium and AGM
10.15 am – 3.30 pm Left Bank
£22 including tea/coffee
A one-day workshop with keynote talks on Arthur Bliss and the influence of Sibelius on British music. BMS president Raphael Wallfisch gives a short cello recital as another highlight to the day. CDs from the BMS/Naxos catalogue and BMS publications will be on sale too.
Celebrity Organ Recital ★
10.30 am Hereford Cathedral
£21
Mendelssohn (arr. Best) Overture to St Paul
Bach Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor BWV 582
Mozart Adagio and Allegro in F minor K 594
Franck Choral no 2 in B minor
Anthony Powers O Gott, du frommer Gott festival commission: world premiere
Cecilia McDowall Wo Gott der Herr nicht bei uns hält
Lemare Concert Fantasia
Dupré Variations sur un Noël
John Scott organ
After 26 years at St Paul’s Cathedral, London, in 2004 John Scott moved to New York where he is Organist and Director of Music at St Thomas Church, Fifth Avenue. He has described the Willis organ of Hereford Cathedral as one of his favourite instruments; today’s programme of music from three centuries has been chosen to display its magnificent character and capabilities. It includes a new work by Anthony Powers commissioned as part of the international Orgelbüchlein Project, which aims to fill in the 118 missing pieces from Bach’s ‘Little Organ Book’ for which the composer had noted the titles but never completed the music. Cecilia McDowall’s Wo Gott der Herr nicht bei uns hält was written for the Orgelbüchlein Project in 2011.
Magna Carta
11.15 am Left Bank
£10
Canon Chris Pullin speaker
Hereford Cathedral holds the finest and most important version of Magna Carta, the revision of 1217 issued by King John’s son, Henry III.
In our final anniversary talk, the cathedral’s Chancellor will discuss this and another priceless Hereford treasure, the sole surviving copy of King John’s Writ, a letter sent by royal officials across England after the king’s meeting with his barons at Runnymede.
Young Artists Recital 3
12.45 pm Holy Trinity Church £10 unreserved
Rosanna Rolton harp
Today’s recitalist is a holder of one of the Philharmonia Orchestra’s Martin Musical Scholarship Awards 2015.
A coach will depart from Broad Street at 12.15 pm. Ticket £5.
Supported by Father Michael Thomas
Three Choirs Festival Society Outing
2.30–5.30 pm Hereford Museum Resource and Learning Centre, 58 Friars Street Hereford HR4 0AS £10
Explore the collections of Hereford Museum not normally seen by the public, with tours of the fine & decorative arts and social history stores, including Georgian costumes and other items relevant to the early Three Choirs Festivals. This event is open to Three Choirs Festival Society members only, and limited to 40 people. A coach will be available to take people to the resource centre in Friars Street. NB This is a different location from Hereford City Museum itself.
The coach will depart from Broad Street at 2.00 pm. Ticket £5.
Natalie Clein
2.30 pm Holy Trinity Church
£25, £20
Debussy Sonata for Cello and Piano
GyÖrgy Kurtág Hommage à John Cage, from Signs, Games and Messages
GyÖrgy Kurtág Az Hit...
GyÖrgy Kurtág Shadows
Britten Cello Sonata in C Op. 65
Rachmaninov Cello Sonata in G minor Op. 19
Natalie Clein cello
Håvard Gimse piano
‘Natalie Clein is a comprehensively gifted player who performs these pieces with an ideal combination of warm-hearted expressiveness and astonishing technical ability,’ said one reviewer of her recording of two Saint-Saëns cello concertos released last year on Hyperion. Vividly remembered for her winning performance as a 16-year-old in the BBC Young Musician of the Year competition, she has more than fulfilled her early promise. This programme displays both her commitment to contemporary music and her passionate approach to romantic repertoire.
A coach will depart from Broad Street at 1.30 pm. Ticket £5.
Deans’ Croquet Match
3.30 pm Deanery Garden
£7.50
Enjoy a refreshing cup of tea in one of Hereford Cathedral’s beautiful gardens as you watch the Deans of the three cathedrals square up to one another on the croquet lawn.
Choral Evensong
5.30 pm Hereford Cathedral
Leighton Responses
Howells Gloucester Service
Ireland Greater Love
Vierne Allegro risoluto (Symphony No 4)
Three Cathedral Choirs
Peter Dyke organ
Peter Nardone conductor
Verdi Requiem ★
7.45 pm Hereford Cathedral
£49, £45, £27, £20, £15, £7
Verdi Requiem
Katharine Broderick soprano
Catherine Wyn-Rogers contralto
Gwyn Hughes Jones tenor
Alastair Miles bass
Three Choirs Festival Chorus
Philharmonia Orchestra
Geraint Bowen conductor
All the drama and passion of Verdi’s famous operas are present in his setting of the Requiem Mass, written in memory of the Italian poet and novelist Alessandro Manzoni and first performed in 1874.
From the hushed opening to the cataclysmic
Dies irae, this is an evening sure to remain in the memory as we bring down the curtain on this year’s concerts with the Philharmonia.
Supported by Bernard Day
Tord Gustavsen Quartet
10.15 pm All Saints Church
£20, £15, £10
Pianist Tord Gustavsen is a leading figure on the Norwegian jazz scene and tours worldwide with a variety of ensembles. The cool, contemporary elegance of his Scandinavian roots is infused with the energy of gospel and Caribbean music. He is sure to bring our late-night series at All Saints to a laid-back close.
sAturdAy 1 August
Summer Saxophones
11.00 am Courtyard Centre for the Arts
£15
Ferio Saxophone Quartet
Formed in 2012 by graduates of the Royal College of Music, Ferio aims to break the mould of a traditional saxophone quartet by collaborating with composers to create original concepts and performing their own arrangements to develop a wide-ranging and varied portfolio of music. Join them for a chilled Saturday morning session of music from the lighter end of their repertoire.
A coach will depart from Broad Street at 10.00 am. Ticket £5.
300th Anniversary Bach Organ Masterclass with Henry Fairs
2.00 pm Lugwardine Parish Church
£10 unreserved
Henry Fairs is Head of Organ Studies at Birmingham Conservatoire and a native of Hereford who received his early musical training as a chorister at Leominster Priory. Since winning first prize at the Odense International Organ Competition, his concert career has taken him around the world. The session will focus on the ‘Great 18’ chorale settings by Bach; the new Nicholson organ at Lugwardine is perfectly suited to this repertoire. Participants will be advanced students selected by prior invitation. Observers are welcome and the afternoon concludes with a showcase and informal adjudication.
Song of the Widow
2.30 pm Holy Trinity Church
£25, £20
Purcell Three Divine Hymns
Domenick Argento Equal Mistress
Torsten Rasch A Welsh Night festival commission: world premiere
Novello Glamorous Night
Gurney Three Cabaret Songs
Howells Cabaret Song
Wood Roses of Picardy
Sarah Connolly mezzo-soprano
Joseph Middleton piano
The centrepiece of Sarah Connolly’s recital is a sequence of texts by the Welsh poet of the Second World War Alun Lewis (1915–44), set to music by the German composer Torsten Rasch in the third of his Three Choirs commissions.
A coach will depart from Broad Street at 1.30 pm.
Ticket £5.
The Torsten Rasch commission is supported by Anwen Walker
The Gathering Wave ★
7.45 pm Hereford Cathedral
£14, £12, £9, £7, £5, £3 with half price for under-18s
Pete Churchill Echoes: A Song of Poland festival commission: world premiere
Songs from around the world
Jenny Smith soprano
Njabulo Madlala baritone
The Gathering Wave community choir
Hilary Smallwood, Jon Watson musical directors
Community and school choirs from Hereford city and beyond come together for this celebration of songs from around the world, which includes the premiere of Echoes: A Song of Poland, a choral piece by Pete Churchill inspired by the experiences of Polish immigrants who settled at Foxley, near Hereford, in 1947.
Supported by The Gibbs Charitable Trust and The Very Revd Michael Tavinor
live A rt
Co M edy
tA lks
WA lk
A nd d r AW
s treet
dA n C e
M A ke your o W n re Cording bA nds
Works H ops p oetry
k nitting
s treet dA n C e
p uppet t H e Atre
s tory telling for CH ildren p ottery J ive
tA ngo
pH otogr A p H y JAZZ
l e A rn t H e HA r Moni CA
Three Choirs Plus (TC+) is an extension of the main Three Choirs Festival, representing additional art forms and providing a platform for talented young performers. Look out for exciting art events at the Apple Store Gallery in Hereford, as well as workshops on ‘The Art of ...’ Pantomime, Pottery, Flower Arranging, Playing the Harmonica, Knitting, Jewellery, Architecture and Tibetan calligraphy.
There will be guided walking tours of Elgar’s Hereford and Historic Hereford, and a series of concerts featuring young musicians. Enjoy work by the poet-in-residence and of course there are events for young people, such as a puppet theatre and the ‘Shakespeare Alive’ workshop.
Free events … … include street tango, jive and renaissance dance, bands, a photography exhibition, pop-up music science.
Book tickets for TC+ workshops and talks via the Three Choirs Festival website before they are sold out!
The full TC+ programme will be published in print and on the Three Choirs Festival website at the end of March. Tickets can be booked online at 3choirs.org or by phone from 0845 652 1823. The on-site Ticket Office will open in the Zimmerman building of Hereford Cathedral School, Church Street, from Wednesday 15 July.
tH ursdAy 23 July
Sister Act
Mel and Coky Giedroyc in conversation about the Art of Television from both sides of the camera
7.30 pm The Courtyard, £12 (concs £10)
Mel will talk from her perspective as a comedian (The Mel and Sue Thing, French and Saunders), as a writer (Slice, From Here to Maternity and Downsized) and as a presenter of hit shows such as The Great British Bake-Off, The Gift and Mel and Sue: tales of terror, hilarity, deadlines and how to avoid a soggy bottom. Coky will talk about her role as the director of period dramas such as Oliver Twist, Wuthering Heights, The Virgin Queen and The Hour and of thrillers such as What Remains; and about her new departure into US TV shows which feature werewolves and vampires. They will discuss the work they have collaborated on – Life’s a Bitch, Spies of Warsaw – and the upcoming dramedy Downsized which they are writing for Channel 4. Sister Act will be an informal chat with clips from the two women’s work and a Q&A with the audience.
sAturdAy 25 July
Music and … Film
Coky Giedroyc, film director, and Nick Bicât, film composer
4 pm Coach House, Left Bank, £5
Coky Giedroyc has directed several films, including Women Talking Dirty and Stella Does Tricks; and directed numerous television dramas, including Wuthering Heights, The Virgin Queen, Oliver Twist, Fear of Fanny, Carrie’s War, and three episodes of Blackpool. In 2007 she was nominated for a Best Drama Serial BAFTA Award for The Virgin Queen. In 2010, her directing work for the BBC television series The Nativity was praised by critics. She has also directed BBC’s The Hour and What Remains and two episodes of the 2014 Showtime horror television series Penny Dreadful. Coky will discuss Music and Film with BAFTA award winning film music composer Nick Bicât.
Above: Mel and Coky Giedroyc Right: Coky Giedroyc
s undAy 26 July
Music and … Turangalîla
Roger Nichols
4 pm Coach House, Left Bank, £5
Roger Nichols, who wrote the first book in English on Messiaen in 1975 and interviewed the composer several times, looks at the Turangalîla-Symphonie in the context of the French music that preceded it and of Messiaen’s own earlier works, with some thoughts on the love and distaste the symphony has variously inspired.
MondAy 27 July
From Hell to the Stars
Canon Chris Pullin
2 pm The Coach House, Left Bank, £5
Dante in an hour – which will include key moments of The Divine Comedy read out with music and images, plus some explanation, some of Dante’s life story and his significance. All this will create an experience that will be enjoyable, fresh and engaging.
Music and … Faith
Professor Paul Mealor
4 pm Left Bank, £5
Described by Classic FM in 2012 as ‘the nation’s favourite living composer’, Paul Mealor has created a body of work for choir that crosses many divides: from the deeply spiritual (Ubi caritas, written for the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton) to the lyrical and joyous (Wherever You Are written for Gareth Malone and the Military Wives Choir which became the Christmas No 1 in the 2011 pop charts) to the dark and mysterious (The Farthest Shore written for the BBC Singers). All, however are bound by one thing: Mealor’s deep Christian faith. In this talk, Professor Mealor discusses his faith and its impact upon his music.
‘Music is the language of the spirit. It opens the secret of life bringing peace, abolishing strife.’ Kahlil Gibran
t uesdAy 28 July
Music and … Gurney
Canon Jeremy Davies
4 pm Coach House, Left Bank, £5
Ivor Gurney was both a poet and a composer, regarded by Stanford as the most brilliant of his students. Caught up in the carnage of the First World War, he survived but suffered mental illness as a result of the conflict. Jeremy Davies reflects on Gurney’s poetry and music, describing the originality of his work that places him firmly amongst the finest of the poets and musicians of the war.
WednesdAy 29 July
Music and … the Science of the Singing Voice
Alan Watson
4 pm Coach House, Left Bank, £5
A scientific exploration of the nature and properties of the human voice through sound recordings, video clips, animations and images with Alan Watson, senior lecturer in anatomy and neuroscience at Cardiff University. Learn how the larynx produces sound, how it controls the pitch of the voice, and how the throat and mouth are manipulated to alter vocal register and quality. Discover how it is possible for a singer’s voice to fill a concert hall without the use of a microphone … but why does this make the words harder to understand? Experience the lost sound of the castrato voice and the ethereal tones of the throat singers of the Mongolian steppes.
tH ursdAy 30 July
Music and … the Theremin
MortonUnderwood
4 pm Coach House, Left Bank, £5
MortonUnderwood will host an event to explore the beautiful, haunting and intriguing music produced by the theremin – an early electronic instrument that is played without being touched by the musician. They will explore the timbre of the sound produced by the theremin, which is famously often mistaken for other instruments and even for the human voice. They will bring a theremin along to demonstrate how it works and you can even have a go yourself!
f ridAy 31 July
Father Willis’s Masterpiece
Mark Venning and Roy Massey
12.15 pm Hereford Cathedral, £5
Mark Venning, chairman of the organ builders Harrison & Harrison, is joined by Dr Roy Massey, Hereford Cathedral’s Organist Emeritus, to discuss the celebrated Willis organ and take you on a guided tour of its 67 stops.
Threshold of Light: the Celtic Vision in the Welsh Borders
Esther de Waal
4.00 pm Coach House, Left Bank, £5
Esther de Waal grew up in the Welsh Borders and its landscape and buildings have been very influential throughout her life. After writing on monasticism for many years, she has turned in recent years to exploring the importance of the religious imagination and to the role of poetry, both of which play an important role in the Celtic tradition.
Anticipate the Three Choirs Festival with stunning concerts in glorious venues.
SUN 7 JUNE 7.00 PM
WYNDCLIFFE COURT, CHEPSTOW
ENSEMBLE OF THE IRISH CHAMBER ORCHESTRA
MOZART, FINZI, BRITTEN
Daniel Bates oboe
André Swanepoel violin
Anna Cashell violin
Mark Coates-Smith viola
Peggy Nolan cello
SUN 14 JUNE 3.00 PM
BRIDGES CENTRE, MONMOUTH
WYE VALLEY CHAMBER
MUSIC ENSEMBLE
Programme TBA
SAT 21 JUNE 3.00 PM
BISHOPS PALACE, HEREFORD
BRAHMS, SCHUMANN
Rosie Biss cello
Jennifer Johnston mezzo soprano
Ben Frith piano
SUN 28 JUNE 7.00 PM
ST BRIAVELS CHURCH RAVEL, BEETHOVEN
Clara Biss violin
Mei Yi Foo piano
TICKETS £18
www.wyevalleymusic.org.uk
TEL 01291 330020
EMAIL info@wvm.org.uk
Booking and payment information
Please read this section carefully before completing the booking form, especially ‘Payment’.
Priority booking
Three Choirs Festival Society priority booking opens
• for Gold Members on Monday 16 March
• for Standard Members on Monday 23 March
Ordinary
booking
On Friday 10 April Society priority booking ends. Booking opens to the general public on Monday 13 April, by telephone, post and online. All ticket applications will be processed in order of receipt.
How to book
Telephone booking
Call 0845 652 1823 (local rate from a UK landline)
Monday to Friday from 10.00 am to 4.00 pm.
Telephone booking will not be available on Monday 13 or Tuesday 14 July while the Ticket Office moves to the Zimmerman Building of Hereford Cathedral School, which is situated in Church Street. From Wednesday 15 July, the telephone booking hours will be the same as the in-person booking hours listed below.
Please note that all telephone bookings must be paid for by credit or debit card at the time of placing the order.
Online booking
To book online, please follow the links from our website, www.3choirs.org, which uses a secure payment facility.
Postal booking
Completed booking applications should be sent to: Three Choirs Festival Ticket Office, 7c College Green, Gloucester GL1 2LX
Booking in person
Bookings can be made in person from Wednesday 15 July at the Festival Ticket Office, which will be located in the Zimmerman Building of Hereford Cathedral School, which is situated in Church Street.
(Please note that this is not the Festival Ticket Office’s postal address, for which please see below left.)
Bookings can be made in person during the following hours:
Wednesday 15 – Friday 17 July 10 am – 4 pm
Saturday 18 July 10.30 am – 2 pm
Monday 20 – Thursday 23
26 July –
1 August
Payment
A voluntary donation of £2 is added to each transaction to help further the educational work of the festival. Please indicate on the booking form if you wish to opt out.
Payment by cheque
Please make cheques payable to ‘Three Choirs Festival’ and crossed ‘Account Payee only’. Please do not write the value on the cheque but write across the top: ‘Not more than £x’, x being an overestimate of the total cost of the tickets for which you have applied, plus booking fee, etc. This figure must allow for the eventuality that we may allocate you a ticket at a higher price should your requested ticket zone be sold out. We will complete the cheque with the correct amount when the tickets you have requested (or alternatives) have been allocated.
Payment by card
We accept Visa, Mastercard, Delta and Maestro only. Please be ready to show your card if you collect your tickets in person. Remember to print in block letters the cardholder’s name and initials and check that the address given is that of the cardholder and known to the bank issuing the card.
Processing Payments will not be processed until tickets have been allocated.
Cash
Cash payment is not accepted for postal bookings.
Overseas bookings
Please arrange for payment by credit or debit card (Visa, Mastercard, Delta or Maestro). You will be advised by email of ticket allocations (please ensure you fill in your email address on the form) but, for safety, tickets will be kept at the Festival Ticket Office for you to collect upon your arrival in Hereford.
Despatch of tickets
Tickets (excluding those for overseas) will be sent out as soon as possible after your booking has been processed, unless collection in person is selected. Please check your tickets as soon as they arrive. A detailed seating plan will be available on our website (www.3choirs.org) from Monday 13 April 2015 at the latest. Should any alterations to your ticket order prove necessary, please notify the Festival Ticket Office immediately.
Tickets ordered after Friday 17 July will not be posted, but will be held in the Festival Ticket Office for you to collect upon your arrival in Hereford.
Please ensure that tickets are picked up by 7 pm before an evening concert. (Any tickets not collected by that time will be held at the north door of Hereford Cathedral.) Similarly with other venues, we will try to ensure that uncollected tickets are held on the door, but this cannot be guaranteed.
Accessibility
We welcome all visitors to the festival and will be happy to help with access issues wherever possible. A separate fact sheet is available to be sent out with the ticket order if requested, giving full details of access to all venues. The cathedral has an audio loop for services, but it is not possible to use it for concerts. It will help us to help you if, when booking your tickets, you indicate the nature of your disability and any special requirements you may have, in particular whether you need a wheelchair space for concerts.
Specific wheelchair spaces are available in all price bands within the cathedral.
Please note
that the ordinary seats are not interchangeable with wheelchair spaces in any venue. A very limited number of car parking spaces are available for disabled drivers with a blue badge. These will be allocated on a first come, first served basis. If you need one, please ensure that you request it with the ticket office at the time of booking. The ticket office will confirm within five working days of the ticket reservation being made whether a parking space is available or not. Further information about getting around the city is available from Hereford Tourist Information Centre, contact details below.
Accommodation
A list of accommodation available in the area can be provided by our ticket office, tel 0845 652 1823, email info@threechoirs.org. Please note that none of the details given by third parties have been verified by the Three Choirs Festival and we can accept no responsibility for any aspect of the accommodation listed. All arrangements for accommodation are made privately between the individuals concerned and the owners of the accommodation, and the Three Choirs Festival cannot further advise on any accommodation matters.
Hereford Tourist Information can be contacted on 01432 268430, via email at reception@visitherefordshire.co.uk and on their website: www.visitherefordshire.co.uk
Terms and conditions
• The festival reserves the right in reasonable circumstances (i) to refuse admission to an event venue, (ii) to request any ticket holder to leave a venue and (iii) to take appropriate action to enforce this right.
• Late-comers will only be admitted at a suitable break in the performance.
• In the interests of security, the festival requests that concert-goers refrain from bringing large items of baggage to any event venue, and it reserves the right to search any bags, music cases etc, before entry to the venue.
• Photography and the use of any video or audio recording equipment are prohibited.
• Tickets are sold subject to the festival’s right to make any alterations to the artists, programme or any other advertised arrangements.
• All ticket discounts are subject to availability.
• Tickets cannot be refunded except on cancellation of an event by the Three Choirs Festival committee or substantial alteration to the programme. All sales are final.
• If, unfortunately, you are unable to attend an event or concert, the donation of your ticket would be gratefully received.
• Children under 16 attending as members of audiences remain the responsibility of their parents/guardians/carers.
Data protection
The festival maintains an electronic database of contact details and ticket information relating to its patrons. This information will not be shared without consent. This practice is within the guidelines of the Data Protection Act (1998).
Promoted by
The Three Choirs Festival Association Ltd
7c College Green, Gloucester GL1 2LX
Registered Charity No 204609
All details, programmes and artists published in this brochure are correct at the time of going to press but may be subject to alteration.
The Sports Hall, Hereford Cathedral School, Castle Street, Hereford 10am - 6pm, July 25th - 31st
Please contact Liz Hill for more details 3_choirs_advert.qxp_Layout 1 29/01/2015 12:24 Page 1
En-suite, hotel standard rooms available all year with campus style accommodation during College holidays, we are the perfect venue for your residential music event or Three Choirs Festival visit.
Catered or self -catered options; free parking; accessible facilities; licensed bar available for group bookings.
“Excellent accommodation and brilliant meals, everyone was very accommodating. I would be very happy to recommend you to anyone in the future.” (Visiting Choir, July 14)
The Royal National College for the Blind Venns Lane, Hereford HR1 1DT tel: 01432 376 635 email: gardner@rnc.ac.uk www.gardnerhall.co.uk
3choirs.org
twitter.com/3choirs facebook.com/3ChoirsFestival
Opportunities to support the Three Choirs Festival through sponsorship are still available. At the time of going to press, the festival acknowledges with thanks the generous support of the following:
Public bodies
Hereford City Council
Friends organisations
Friends of Hereford Cathedral
Friends of Hereford Three
Choirs Festival
Three Choirs Festival Society
Corporate
Gabbs Solicitors
Lee Bolton Monier-Williams
Trusts & Foundations
Alan Cadbury Charitable Trust
The Bliss Trust
The Elmley Foundation
The Frank Clarke-Whitfeld Trust
The Gibbs Charitable Trust
The Hawthorne Charitable Trust
The Music Reprieval Trust
The Perry Family Charitable Trust
The Philharmonia Trust
Pippin Trust
Individual Giving
Elizabeth & Simon Allen
Richard Arenschieldt
Angela Day
Bernard Day
Michael Guittard
Hilary & Peter Hillier
Glyn Morgan
Katharine O’Carroll &
Robert Atkins
Harry Prince
The Very Revd Michael Tavinor
Father Michael Thomas
Anwen Walker
Katharine Wedgbury
Pamela White
Clare Wichbold
Chairman’s Circle
Philip Baldwin
Joanna Brickell
Liz Chave
Clare Stevens
Jeremy Wilding & Sue Vaughan
Media partner
BBC Music magazine
Event partner
Rhinegold Publishing/
Choir & Organ magazine
Three Choirs Foundation:
Single donations
Janet Cooper
John E T Corrie
David Kingsmill
P A Moylan
J W Noakes
D J Parry-Smith
R J Read
Byrd Circle
Mark Elliston
Michael Guittard
Bruce Herriot
Gillian Peach
The Frank Clarke-Whitfeld Trust
Harry Prince
Howard Sayer
Francis Witts
Angela Wyllie
Tallis Circle
R A Ellis
David H Jordan
Alison Millard
David Phillips
William Stallard
David Williams
Finzi Circle
Elspeth Barkes
Alastair Barnett
Dr Timothy Brain
Peter Cottingham
Major Martin Everett
Carolyn Pascall
Helen Whittaker
Roy Whittaker
Purcell Circle
Hilary Elgar
Toby Hooper
Sir Nigel Nicholls
Graham Moore
Two anonymous donations
Parry Circle
Penny & Terry Moore
Elgar Circle
Bernard & Angela Day
Sir Michael & Lady Perry
