WELCOME
From the single ethereal lines of medieval plainchant performed by the three tenor voices of Conductus to the vast forces that will assemble for Mahler’s ‘Symphony of a Thousand’, this year’s programme encompasses the entire spectrum of classical choral music.
We are marking the 800th anniversary of the coronation of the nine-year-old Henry III in Gloucester Abbey with more medieval music in a concert by the vocal consort Stile Antico. Sir Willard White makes his festival debut in the title role of Mendelssohn’s Elijah. Mozart’s Requiem will be performed by the Three Cathedral Choirs and our wonderful orchestra-in-residence the Philharmonia; and the Three Choirs Festival Youth Choir presents Rossini’s effervescent Petite Messe solennelle. Former Gloucester Cathedral chorister Edward Gardner conducts the Three Choirs Festival Chorus in a mighty work rarely heard outside metropolitan concert halls: the Grande messe des morts by Berlioz.
We have instrumental recitals too, of course; and our focus on youth includes appearances by the Gloucestershire Youth Choir and Orchestra and the National Youth String Orchestra. We’re also pleased to be working with the CAVATINA Chamber Music Trust to provide free tickets for a selection of instrumental recitals to those aged 8-25, and to stage one of two events especially designed for those aged 5+ and their families.
© Sally Corrick
Festival commissions include Memento Musica, an orchestral fantasy by Joseph Phibbs inspired by the work of our festival charity Mindsong; and War Passion by Philip Lancaster to be premiered as part of the festival’s continuing centenary commemoration of the First World War. Works by English composers of that era whose music has always been associated with the Three Choirs Festival and with Gloucester – Parry, Vaughan Williams, Howells, Finzi and Gurney – feature prominently in concerts and cathedral services.
Gloucester has been undergoing a transformation recently with the redevelopment of the city’s historic Quays and its role in hosting last year’s hugely-popular Rugby World Cup. We’ll be transforming the festival environment too this year with a new-look Festival Village and revamped catering, featuring hot meals from StarBistro, picnic boxes and a pre-concert champagne bar. Read on to see what’s on offer; book your tickets by post, telephone or online and do come and join us!
Adrian Partington Artistic Director
SEASON TICKETS
All 12 cathedral concerts 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 between 5 and 9 different cathedral concerts and receive a 5% discount
• Request the same seat for every concert, or choose from 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 five) 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 at the time of booking.
STEWARDSHIP
A season ticket holder who is attending ten 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
CATHEDRAL SERVICES
The various cathedral services during the week are at the very heart of our unique festival, and information about the Opening Service, Festival Eucharist, daily Evensongs and two late-night services of Compline can be found in this brochure.
The Opening Service is a ticketed event, although 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. No other services are ticketed; admission to the Festival Eucharist, Evensong and Compline is free and all are most welcome to attend.
CATHEDRAL REHEARSALS
Admission to rehearsals in Gloucester Cathedral is restricted to Three Choirs Festival Society members, those who have purchased season tickets 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 day (some of which will only be issued on the day itself) for accompanied children under 16, senior citizens and music students. No photography or recording is permitted, other than by an accredited festival photographer.
Derek Foxton
MINDSONG
Singing My Way to Yesterday
Our festival charity Mindsong will be gently weaving the theme of dementia awareness throughout the festival. One strand of the thread will take the form of a special installation of chairs donated by Gloucestershire care homes placed strategically around the cathedral and its environs, and used as the basis for artworks by textile artist Pauline Hearn, dementia specialist Jane Rothery MBE and composer Fiona Taylor.
Each chair reflects the life of an individual care home resident, using their own words, thoughts and feelings about their dementia. Pauline will create individual pieces using a variety of innovative techniques that will populate each chair. Multi-layered rugs, cushions, upholstery and antimacassars will all feature. Some chairs will feature sound, activated by touch, that will entice the viewer to listen closely to a poem or a song. Each site is chosen for its impact and will affect the mood of individual pieces, a darker corner reflecting on loneliness for example, or a gradual disappearance from society.
The installation is based on reflection and reminiscence and the aim is to encourage viewers to see the person behind every sufferer from dementia.
RUSH-HOUR RECITALS
5 pm Monday 25 – Friday 29 July Admission free. Refreshments available.
Each weekday evening of the festival, St Mary de Crypt Church in Southgate Street will showcase the talent of local musicians in rush-hour recitals lasting 40 minutes.
CATHEDRAL CHIMES
Since the last Gloucester Three Choirs Festival, the cathedral chimes have been revived and redeveloped. Gloucester Cathedral’s chimes were first mentioned in a repair agreement of 1525, which specified the two plainsong hymn melodies which they played. A chiming machine installed in 1762 served until 1974, and was replaced by a new electric chiming system installed as part of the re-hanging of the bells in 1979. It stopped working in 1991, but in 2013 a new digital controller was installed which drives the electro-magnetic hammers of 1979. It has a repertoire of over a hundred tunes, arranged into playing schedules which as far as possible follow the Church’s calendar.
The chimes normally ring at 8 am, 1 pm and 5 pm (4 pm at weekends). During festival week there will also be a special sequence of tunes played each evening at 7.15 pm. In addition there will be a talk ‘The Life and Times of Gloucester’s Chimes’ at 11.30 am on Tuesday 26 July in St Nicholas Church, Westgate Street.
FAMILIES AND YOUNG PEOPLE
Family-Friendly Concerts
Each weekend of this year’s festival features a concert especially designed for children aged 5+ and their families. On Sunday 24 July, join the Gloucester Cathedral’s own Nia Llewellyn Jones for a fun and friendly Family Come and Sing (details on page 20), and on Saturday 30 July accompany the Carducci Quartet on an interactive, whistle-stop tour of music for string quartet (details on page 32).
Free Tickets and Rehearsal Passes
There are plenty of ways for young people to hear music free of charge at this year’s festival. Accompanied children under the age of 16 can attend selected cathedral rehearsals – a perfect way to introduce a child to choral music outside a formal concert setting. This opportunity is also open to full-time music students.
We are also pleased to announce that thanks to a partnership with the CAVATINA Chamber Music Trust, free chamber music tickets are available for those aged 8–25 at the following events:
Mon 25 July, 10.30 am Cello Classics
Mon 25 July, 1 pm Young Artists Recital I
Tue 26 July, 2.45 pm Death and the Maiden Thu 28 July, 10.15 pm Clarinet Goes to Town
To apply for free tickets or rehearsal passes please contact our ticket office.
Tickets ordered through the CAVATINA scheme will be retained on the door, where date of birth must be provided to qualify for the offer (proof of age may be requested).
Children’s Chimes
In the weeks leading up to the festival we’ll be working with local schoolchildren to learn a new set of songs commissioned from local composer Thomas F Johnson, written for children’s chorus and church bells. We’ll be making use of Gloucester Cathedral’s magnificent electronic chiming system for what may well be the cathedral’s first chance to duet on a premiere performance! The full performance will take place in the Festival Village after the Street of Bugles concert on the morning of Tuesday 26 July. See our website from May onwards for more details of this project.
Compose a Chime Competition
In April, we’ll be launching a search for some new tunes for the Cathedral Chimes to play. Winning tunes will be selected in junior, senior and adult categories, and will ring out across Gloucester as part of the daily rendition of chimes specially programmed for festival week. Further details of how to write for the chimes will be available at www.3choirs.org.
SOUVENIR PROGRAMME 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 song 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 for Gloucester 2016 will be on sale for £17. If pre-ordered before 1 June, however, the cost is only £15, a discount of £2.
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 Gloucester, or posted to you in advance for an additional charge of £5 (UK only). Please tick the appropriate box(es) on the booking form at the end of this brochure.
Julian Lloyd Webber
FESTIVAL FACILITIES
FESTIVAL TICKET OFFICE
The on-site Festival Ticket Office will be conveniently located close to our city-centre venues. Please check our website from late June for further details of all our temporary venues and the Festival Village.
FESTIVAL VILLAGE
Gloucester Three Choirs Festival will have a new look this year with the creation of a Festival Village in the Cathedral Close where visitors can relax and meet friends between events.
EATING AND DRINKING
A range of options for refreshments will be available all day in the Festival Village. They will include a café selling hot drinks and snacks and a beer tent with a selection of real ales and ciders, and there will be a champagne and Pimms bar in the Cloister Garth prior to evening concerts.
PILGRIMS COFFEE SHOP
Pilgrims Coffee Shop at the west end of the cathedral will be open as usual during the festival for hot meals and snacks.
PICNIC BOXES
Picnic baskets including three-course suppers with a choice of two menus will be available in the Cloister Garth before the evening concerts. These cost £40 each to serve two people and must be booked in advance through the Three Choirs Festival Ticket Office.
Picnic box menu 1
⋅ Crudités with home-made houmous, roll and butter and Tyrrell’s lightly sea-salted potato Crisps
⋅ Cold wine-baked salmon fillet with cucumber and dill sauce OR goats’ cheese and three-pepper quiche with green salad, tabbouleh and mixed bean salad (V)
⋅ Chocolate and raspberry brownie
Picnic box menu 2
⋅ Mushroom paté, roll and butter and Tyrrell’s lightly sea-salted potato crisps
⋅ Cold chicken breast with Dijon mustard and honey sauce OR broccoli and spinach quiche with green salad, apple coleslaw, organic three-grain rice (V)
⋅ Meringue nest with strawberries and blueberries
Both picnic menus served with bottled water
*Hot suppers this year will be provided by StarBistro, a sustainable eatery that delivers simple, in-season dishes with ingredients sourced from Gloucestershire, the Cotswolds and the South West of England. A joint venture between charities National Star and The Wiggly Worm, this unique workplace offers young people with disabilities the opportunity to gain experience within a bustling dining environment
HOT SUPPERS *
HOT SUPPERS MENUS
Hot suppers will be served at 6 pm in the Festival marquee and MUST be ordered in advance using the booking form at the back of this brochure. The price of £25 includes a starter, main course and dessert. Coffee, wine and other drinks will be available for purchase.
Saturday 23 July
⋅ Smoked salmon with dressed leaves
⋅ Malaysian lamb rendang with toasted coconut and coriander
⋅ Lemon tart with bitter orange sauce
Sunday 24 July
⋅ Ham hock terrine with toasted brioche and chutney
⋅ Coq au vin with smoked bacon and red wine
⋅ Dark chocolate delice
Monday 25 July
⋅ Assiette of Cotswold charcuterie with pickles
⋅ Fish pie with nutmeg mash and dill white wine sauce
⋅ Pimms summer jelly
Tuesday 26 July
⋅ Asparagus, little gem and walnut salad with a chive dressing
⋅ Duck leg confit with citrus, cinnamon and five-spice
⋅ Spiced orange and polenta cake with summer berries and crème fraiche
Wednesday 27 July
⋅ Shortcrust tartlet of aromatic vegetables with saffron vinaigrette
⋅ Chicken, coconut and cardamom curry
⋅ Summer pudding with crème fraiche
Thursday 28 July
⋅ Home cured salmon gravadlax with cucumber tagliatelle
⋅ Braised beef with baby onions, lardons and fines herbes
⋅ Chocolate brownie with summer fruit coulis
Friday 29 July
As 23 July
Saturday 30 July
As 24 July
Vegetarian options are available on request. Please let us know if you have any special dietary requirements.
and develop life skills that are valuable both in and out of the kitchen. StarBistros at Ullenwood Manor, Cheltenham, and Royal Crescent, Cheltenham have won certificates of excellence on TripAdvisor and were named ‘People’s Favourite’ in the prestigious UK Sustainable Restaurant Awards 2015. We are delighted to welcome the team to Gloucester in a new partnership with the Three Choirs Festival.
FESTIVAL SHOPS
FRIENDS OF GLOUCESTER THREE CHOIRS FESTIVAL SHOP
The Friends of Gloucester Three Choirs Festival will be running a shop in the Chapter House, selling Three Choirs branded gift items, such as aromatic candles, mugs, cheeseboards, chopping boards, notelet cards, aprons, tote bags, pencils, pens, umbrellas and tea towels. The Chapter House is situated within the cloisters, on the north side of the cathedral.
GLOUCESTER CATHEDRAL SHOP
Gloucester Cathedral Shop will move to the Chapter House for the duration of the festival, and will sell a range of guide books, postcards, books, CD recordings and other souvenirs.
JONATHAN GIBBS BOOKS
Jonathan Gibbs will be bringing a selection of second-hand and antiquarian books on music and related subjects, including composer biographies, books on church music, sheet music and orchestral and vocal scores. He can be found in the Chapter House.
GUILDS OF CRAFTSMEN
The Cotswolds, Hereford and Worcester Guilds of Craftsmen will be exhibiting as usual at this year’s festival. You can find them on the south side of the cathedral where ceramics, stained glass, woodturning, knitwear, needlework, painting and more by some of the finest craft artists in the Three Choirs area will be on display and available for purchase.
FRIENDS
FRIENDS OF GLOUCESTER THREE CHOIRS FESTIVAL
Among the many charms of the Three Choirs Festival is its well-known and much-appreciated hospitality, such as the Festival Village, Garden Party and Reception provided in Gloucester by the Friends of Gloucester Three Choirs Festival.
The GTCF Friends are also instrumental in fund-raising, by arranging a variety of events between festivals, such as our ‘Come and Sing’ Verdi Requiem in March in Gloucester Cathedral, open to all.
None of this could be achieved without the recruitment of a band of willing volunteers who wish to contribute some of their time and effort to this wonderful festival, while enjoying the company of other like-minded individuals. Do come and join us by giving as much or as little time as you are able.
If you would like to help in any way, please contact:
Judith Armiger, Chairman, Gloucester TCF Friends
judith@armiger.org.uk T 01452 303760 or by post to:
Bellapais, 144 Tuffley Avenue, Gloucester GL1 5NS
© Ash Mills
VENUE INFORMATION
1. Gloucester Cathedral
College Green, Glos GL1 2LX
Zone A: Nave
Flat and raked seating with view straight onto stage. Please note that the raked seating is only accessible by stairs and that there is no handrail on the central aisle staircase.
Zone B: Nave front row and last two rows of the flat seating; side seats in nave
Partially restricted view due to proximity to the stage and the nave pillars.
Zone C: Side Aisles
Pillar-restricted view with TV monitors.
Zone D: Side Aisle seating in front of the Dean’s Door
No direct view but TV monitors available.
Zone E (unreserved seating): South Transept and Quire
No direct view – there will be TV monitors in most areas but a direct view is not guaranteed from all seats.
2. St Mary de Lode Church
Archdeacon St, Glos GL1 2QX
Distance from the cathedral 0.1 mile, 2 minute walk. Access is via the south door.
A reserved plan will be used for the ‘Gloster Gossip’ event only. All other events in this venue will be unreserved.
Zone A: Nave, tiered balcony seating
Seating in these areas looks straight onto the stage. Please note that access to the balcony and to tiered seating is via stairs only.
Zone B: Rear Nave
Seating in these areas will have a partially restricted view due to pillars. The back row of nave seating is on benches.
Zone C: Side Aisles
Seating in this area will have heavily restricted view due to pillars and the pulpit.
3. St Peter’s Catholic Church London Road, Glos GL1 3EX
Distance from the cathedral 0.4 miles, 8 minute walk
Zone A: Nave
Seating in this area is unreserved in pews, looking straight onto the stage.
Zone B: Side Aisles
Seating in the side aisles is unreserved and has varying view of the stage due to pillars.
4. St Barnabas Church Stroud Road Tuffley Glos GL1 5LJ
Distance from the cathedral 2.5 miles, 15 minute drive
Zone A: Nave
Seating in this area is on the flat with a view straight onto the stage.
Zone B: Quire Stalls and Sanctuary
Seating in this area is behind the stage, and some quire stalls seats have partially restricted views due to pillars.
5. Cirencester Parish Church Market Place, Cirencester Gloucestershire GL7 2NX
Distance from the cathedral 20 miles, 35 minute drive
Zone A: Central Nave and Tower Plinth
Seating in these areas is on the flat and looks straight onto the stage. Access to the tower plinth is via 1 shallow step.
Zone B: Side Aisles
Seating in the side aisles is unreserved and has varying view of the stage due to pillars.
6. Gloucester Guildhall Theatre
23 Eastgate St, Glos GL1 1NS
Distance from cathedral 0.3 miles; 5 minute walk
Unreserved seating on the flat with tiered seating behind. All seating looks straight onto the stage.
7. Blackfriars
Ladybellegate St, Glos GL1 2HN
Distance from the cathedral 0.3 miles, 6 minute walk
Unreserved seating on two levels. Seating on the raised level is flat, not tiered.
8. St Mary de Crypt Church
Southgate St, Glos GL1 1TP
Distance from cathedral 0.3 miles, 5 minute walk
Unreserved seating.
9. Bishopscourt Pitt St, Glos GL1 2BQ
Distance from the cathedral 0.3 miles, 5 minute walk
10. Old Bishop’s Palace Garden Pitt St, Glos GL1 2BQ
Distance from the cathedral 0.3 miles, 5 minute walk
Outside venue with limited seating. Bring your own deck chair or picnic blanket.
11. St Nicholas Church Westgate St, Glos GL1 2PG
Distance from the cathedral 0.2 miles, 3 minute walk
Unreserved seating.
12. The Wharf House
Horseshoe Drive, Over, nr Highnam, Glos GL2 8DB
Distance from the cathedral 1.5 miles 5 minute drive
Free car parking, disabled access. On foot: 30 minutes on flat path across Alney Island.
GLOUCESTER CITY AND CATHEDRAL
Thanks to its strategic position, on the River Severn and close to the Welsh border, Gloucester has a rich historic past stretching back to Roman times. It is currently undergoing a transformation, with the development of Gloucester Quays as its increasingly popular leisure quarter and significant investment in the regeneration of the central area.
Last year the city played host to visitors from all over the world when Kingsholm Stadium was one of the venues for the Rugby World Cup. Food and drink fairs, heritage weeks and music festivals are all enhancing Gloucester’s vibrant atmosphere.
At the heart of the city, in the beautiful setting of College Green, stands the Norman cathedral. It is an extraordinary building with many treasures that are of national significance. Here in 1216 the nine-year-old Henry III was crowned in what was then St Peter’s Abbey – the first coronation of an English monarch to have taken place outside Westminster. A particular glory of the cathedral is its stained glass, dating from the fourteenth century to the present. Access to some areas of the cathedral will be restricted during festival week, but you can still climb the tower, explore the ancient crypt or walk in the footsteps of Harry Potter around the magnificent fan-vaulted cloisters.
A walk down narrow cobbled streets and past ancient buildings leads into the main pedestrianised shopping area. From there it is a short stroll to the dramatic waterfront of the Victorian
docks with its impressive converted warehouses. Here you will find the Gloucester Quays shopping centre, a cinema and a wide range of stylish new restaurants and bars.
Also in the docks area is the Soldiers of Gloucestershire Museum, which tells the story of the Gloucestershire Regiment (‘the Glosters’) through interactive displays, contemporary film records, and its rich collection of medals, uniforms, weapons and souvenirs from all corners of the globe. The City Museum and Art Gallery in Brunswick Road and the Folk Museum in Westgate Street are also well worth a visit if you have some time to spare between concerts.
More information and opening times: www.gloucestercathedral.org.uk www.thecityofgloucester.co.uk
FESTIVAL PROGRAMME
Gloucester 2016
SATURDAY 23 JULY
Opening Service
11.30 am Gloucester Cathedral
Entrance is by ticket only (free of charge)
James d’Angelo Festival Fanfare
Widor Salvum fac populum
Elgar Civic Fanfare
Walton Coronation Te Deum
Finzi God is gone up
Gloucester Cathedral Choir
Three Choirs Festival Chorus
Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama Brass Ensemble
Jonathan Hope organ
Adrian Partington conductor
Supported by Severn House Publishers
Talk: A new War Passion
1 pm St Mary de Lode
£5 unreserved
Composer Philip Lancaster introduces one of this year’s major new works, his War Passion, in conversation with Jonathan Hope who will conduct the St Cecilia Singers and the Bristol Ensemble in the following day’s premiere performance of the work.
General booking opens on 11 April 01452
Mindsong
2.45 pm St Barnabas, Tuffley
£27, £22
Berlioz Three songs
Ravel Histoires naturelles
Schumann Wanderlied
Wolf Mörike Songs
Mahler Des Knaben Wunderhorn
Gurney Two songs
Warlock Two songs
James Gilchrist tenor
Anna Tilbrook piano
James Gilchrist trained as a doctor before turning professional as a singer, and is president of our festival charity Mindsong, which uses music to enrich the lives of people suffering from memory loss and dementia. The programme for this recital has been chosen to explore the links between music and mental health and includes works by Berlioz and Gurney who both suffered episodes of mental breakdown.
A coach will depart from Lower Westgate Street at 2.10 pm. Ticket £5.50 return
Choral Evensong
5.30 pm Gloucester Cathedral
Ashley Grote Responses
Stanford Psalm 150
Stanford Evening Service in A James MacMillan A New Song
Gloucester Cathedral Youth Choir
William Peart organ
Nia Llewellyn Jones conductor
Supported by the Honourable Company of Gloucestershire
Festival Reception
6 pm Hospitality Marquee
£13
The Friends of Gloucester Three Choirs Festival invite you to join them for drinks and canapés before the evening concert.
Anna Tilbrook & James Gilchrist
SUNDAY 24 JULY General
Talk: Parry’s Jerusalem
6 pm St Mary de Lode
£10
Professor Jeremy Dibble speaker
Parry’s biographer Jeremy Dibble discusses the political and musical history of this great anthem, which the composer always referred to by its first line: ‘And did those feet in ancient time’.
The Holy City and the Heavenly Kingdom ★
7.45 pm Gloucester Cathedral
£52, £48, £30, £24, £13
Parry Jerusalem
Elgar The Kingdom
Claire Rutter soprano
Sarah Connolly mezzo-soprano
James Oxley tenor
Ashley Riches bass
Three Choirs Festival Chorus
Philharmonia Orchestra
Adrian Partington conductor
Our evening concert series opens with the work that many people consider to be the finest of Elgar’s sacred choral works. The Kingdom followed The Apostles as the second of an uncompleted trilogy on the early Christian church. Conductor Sir Adrian Boult thought it was a much more balanced work than The Dream of Gerontius, maintaining throughout ‘a stream of glorious music’. In our concert it is preceded by one of the most famous works by the composer who had such an influence on his musical style.
This evening’s concert is sponsored by Great Western Railway with support from Judith Holroyd for The Kingdom
Festival Eucharist
10.15 am Gloucester Cathedral
Neil Cox A Gloucestershire Mass
Gloucester Cathedral Choir
Christopher Allsop organ
Adrian Partington conductor
Howells and Lancaster
3.30 pm Cirencester Parish Church
£27, £22
Howells Requiem
Philip Lancaster War Passion festival commission: world premiere
St Cecilia Singers
The Bristol Ensemble
Jonathan Hope conductor
Philip Lancaster’s new War Passion for chamber choir combines the Biblical Passion story with the words of nine First World War poets, paralleling the sacrifice of Christ with the sacrifice of soldiers for similar ends. It is paired with the searing Requiem by Herbert Howells, inspired by the death from polio of the composer’s nine-year-old son Michael.
A coach will depart from Lower Westgate Street at 2.15 pm. Ticket £9 return
Supported by the Finzi Trust, the Jerusalem Trust and John Lawrence
Ashley Riches
© Debbie Scanlan
01452 768 928
Family Come and Sing
2 pm St Mary de Lode
£6 Adults, Children Free
Ideal for ages 5–8
Join Nia Llewellyn Jones, Singing Development Leader at Gloucester Cathedral, for an hour-long session exploring fun and easy songs that families can learn and sing together at home, regardless of musical experience.
Coronation 1216:
Saving the English Monarchy
6 pm St Mary de Lode
£10
Dr Timothy Brain speaker
Festival chairman and historian Dr Timothy Brain looks at the coronation of the nine-year-old Henry III in Gloucester Abbey on 28 October 1216 in the volatile context of events in early 13th-century England, and demonstrates how it proved crucial to the survival of the English monarchy.
Orchestral Classics ★
7.45 pm Gloucester Cathedral
£48, £44, £30, £24, £13
Sibelius Finlandia
Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto
Dvořák Symphony No 9 in E ‘From the New World’
Jack Liebeck violin
Santtu-Matias Rouvali conductor
Philharmonia Orchestra
Savour the familiar melodies of some of classical music’s most popular and enduring works in this concert directed by a young Finn who has been garnering international praise for his conducting. ‘Definitely a conductor of whom to hear more,’ commented the Guardian after Rouvali made his London debut with the Philharmonia earlier this year.
Compline
10.30 pm Gloucester Cathedral Lady Chapel
Psalm 31 (vv1-6) In te, Domini, speravi
Sheppard In manus tuas III
Mouton Nesciens mater
William Peart conductor
A quiet, meditative service on Advent themes sung by the lay clerks and choral scholars of Gloucester Cathedral
Santtu-Matias Rouvali
Jack Liebeck
© Kaapo Kamu
© Kaupo Kikkas
Cello Classics
10.30 am St Barnabas Church, Tuffley, Gloucester
£27, £22, Under-26s free
Schubert Arpeggione Sonata
Shostakovich Sonata
Debussy Sonata
Franck Sonata
Jamal Aliyev cello
Maria Tarasewich piano
Stile Antico: Sacred or Profane?
2.45 pm Gloucester Cathedral
£36, £31, £26, £17, £10
Anon L’homme armé
Dufay Kyrie ‘Missa L’homme armé’
Monteverdi/Coppini Rutilante in nocte
Jamal Aliyev is from Azerbaijan; he has been first prizewinner in four international competitions including the Bromsgrove International Young Musicians Competition 2015 for which this recital was his prize. He has appeared several times on BBC Radio 3, and last year his first solo CD was released by Champs Hill Records. He will demonstrate his skill in four masterpieces of the cello repertoire.
A coach will depart from Lower Westgate Street at 9.55 am. Ticket £5.50 return
Supported by Dr Jim and Mrs Hoyland
Three Choirs Festival Society Lunch
12.30 pm Hospitality Marquee
£27
Open to Three Choirs Festival Society members only. Applications to join the Society may be made at any time through our website or by calling our Ticket Office.
Young Artists Recital 1
1 pm St Mary de Lode
£10, Under-26s free
Hugh Roberts flute
Glain Dafydd harp
A recital by a young artist who is a recipient of the Philharmonia Orchestra’s Martin Musical Scholarship Award. Please check our website for details of repertoire to be played.
Supported by Father Michael Thomas
The Friends of Gloucester Three Choirs Festival invite you to join them for their party in the garden of Bishopscourt, home of the Bishop of Gloucester, the Right Reverend Rachel Treweek. All welcome. MONDAY 25 JULY
Clemens non Papa Entre vous filles de quinze ans
Lassus Gloria ‘Missa Entre vous filles’
Janequin La guerre
Victoria Credo ‘Missa pro Victoria’
Monteverdi/Coppini Plorat amare
Anon Westron Wynde
Taverner Sanctus and Benedictus
‘Western Wynde Mass’
Monteverdi/Coppini O Jesu mea vita
Josquin Milles regretz
Morales Agnus dei ‘Missa milles regretz’
Gombert Mort et fortune
Lassus Magnificat tertii toni super Mort et fortune
Stile Antico
A cappella vocal consort Stile Antico, who record for the Harmonia Mundi label, blur the boundary between sacred and secular music of the renaissance, in works that transform risqué chansons into masses and magnificats, and ribald folksongs into prayerful polyphony.
Some of the repertoire in this recital dates back to the 13th century, tying in with this year’s 800th anniversary of the Coronation of Henry III in Gloucester Abbey.
‘The singing is staggeringly beautiful’
Sunday Times
Supported by Professor Clair Chilvers
Festival Friends Garden Party
4 pm Bishopscourt, Pitt Street, Gloucester £12
General booking opens on 11 April
01452 768 928
The Hereford and Gloucester Canal: Past, Present and Future
2.30 pm Walk from Gloucester Lock, GL1 2LE to The Wharf House, Over
5 pm Talk at The Wharf House
£6 Walk only, £10 Talk only, £14 Walk and Talk
John Hammond speaker
The Herefordshire and Gloucestershire Canal Trust
The Hereford and Gloucester Canal follows a course for 34 miles through the glorious countryside of Gloucestershire and Herefordshire. The afternoon begins with an optional two-mile guided walk along the canal from Gloucester city centre via Llanthony Locks across Alney Island Nature Reserve, to the canalside ‘restaurant with rooms’ The Wharf House, at Over. It continues with an illustrated talk by John Hammond, vice-chairman of the Herefordshire & Gloucestershire Canal Trust, who will take a look at the history of the canal and explain how the trust is progressing with its aim to restore the entire route and make it navigable once more. Those not going on the walk should arrive at The Wharf House any time after 3 pm if they would like to explore the restored canal and heritage boats.
A wide range of refreshments may be purchased on arrival. Those who wish to stay on for a post-event dinner may book tables by contacting The Wharf House directly 01452 332900
A coach for the talk only will depart from Lower Westgate Street at 4.15 pm. Ticket £5.50 return (immediately after the talk)
Choral Evensong
5.30 pm Gloucester Cathedral
Howells Responses
Howells Psalm 40
Howells St Paul’s Service
Howells Like as the hart
Three Cathedral Choirs
Jonathan Hope organ
Geraint Bowen conductor
Three Choirs Festival Society AGM
6 pm Hospitality Marquee
Elijah ★
7.45 pm Gloucester Cathedral
£48, £44, £30, £24, £13
Mendelssohn Elijah
Eleanor Dennis soprano
Susan Bickley contralto
Peter Auty tenor
Sir Willard White bass-baritone
Three Choirs Festival Chorus
Philharmonia Orchestra
Peter Nardone conductor
Elijah was performed at the Gloucester Three Choirs Festival in 1847, the year after its triumphant Birmingham premiere, and has equalled Handel’s Messiah in popularity with festival audiences ever since. Bass-baritone Sir Willard White makes his Three Choirs Festival debut in this performance.
Lay Clerks in Concert
10.30 pm Blackfriars
£20
The Lay Clerks of Gloucester Cathedral shake off their surplices and entertain us with an informal programme of music both sacred and secular.
Supported by the Three Choirs Vineyard
TUESDAY
Three Choirs Festival Society Outing
10 am Stanway House and Fountain
Cheltenham, GL54 5PQ
£20 to include return coach travel
Stanway is an extraordinary Jacobean manor house, owned by Tewkesbury Abbey and then by the Tracy family and their descendants the Earls of Wemyss. Its glorious 18th-century water garden, probably designed by Charles Bridgeman, features Britain’s tallest fountain and has recently been restored.
The coach leaves at 10 am from Lower Westgate Street, Gloucester. Those who wish to travel independently should arrive at Stanway by 11 am
Street of Bugles ★
11 am Gloucester Cathedral
£21, £19, £16, £11, £5
Elgar Serenade for Strings in E minor
Butterworth On The Banks of Green Willow
Thomas F Johnson Street of Bugles
Local primary school choirs
Gloucestershire County Youth Choir
Gloucestershire County Youth Orchestra
Glyn Oxley conductor
Premiered at last summer’s Festival of Music for Youth in Symphony Hall, Birmingham, Street of Bugles is an oratorio by Gloucestershire composer
Thomas Johnson and librettist Karen Hayes, telling the story of how young music-makers in the county were affected by the First World War, and put together for performances by their present-day counterparts following creative writing sessions with local teenagers and primary school children. It is paired with two masterpieces of English orchestral music.
Supported by Michael Guittard and Harry Prince
The Life and Times of Gloucester’s Chimes
11.30 am St Nicholas Church
Admission free
Jonathan MacKechnie-Jarvis speaker
A talk about the Gloucester Cathedral chimes, which has been restored to working order since the last Three Choirs Festival and is playing two different specially-chosen tunes from its vastly-increased repertoire each day. St Nicholas Church is managed by the churches
Conservation Trust.
Young Artists Recital 2
1 pm St Mary de Lode
£10, Under-26s free
Margarita Balanas cello
A recital by a young artist who is a recipient of the Philharmonia Orchestra’s Martin Musical Scholarship Award. Please check our website for details of repertoire to be played.
Supported by Father Michael Thomas
Death and the Maiden
2.45 pm St Barnabas Church, Tuffley
£27, £22, Under-26s free
Howells Fantasy String Quartet
Ravel String Quartet in F
Schubert String Quartet No 14 in D minor
‘Death and the Maiden’
Carducci String Quartet
Herbert Howells is best known for his church music, particularly his many settings of evening canticles that suit the glorious architecture and acoustics of cathedrals such as Gloucester so well, and the same ecstatic singing quality can be heard in his string quartet. The Gloucestershirebased Carducci Quartet set this work by a composer with local roots in the context of pillars of the repertoire by Ravel and Schubert. A coach will depart from Lower Westgate Street at 2.10 pm. Ticket £5.50 return
Ralph Vaughan Williams Society Tea and Talk
4.30 pm Hospitality Marquee
£20 inclusive
Choral Evensong
5.30 pm Gloucester Cathedral
Sumsion Responses
Parry Psalm 119 VV 169–176
Wesley Evening Service in E
Wesley Ascribe unto the Lord
Three Cathedral Choirs
Jonathan Hope organ
Peter Nardone conductor
England’s Glory ★
7.45 pm Gloucester Cathedral
£48, £44, £30, £24, £13
Conductus: The Forgotten Songs of the Middle Ages
10.15 pm St Nicholas Church
£20
Rogers Covey-Crump tenor
John Potter tenor
Christopher O’Gorman tenor
The three tenors collectively known as Conductus take us back in sound to the thirteenth century. Ethereal and poetic, the medieval conductus is a freely-composed setting of a single Latin text. John Potter and Rogers Covey-Crump, former members of the Hilliard Ensemble, are joined by Christopher O’Gorman to present a new selection of atmospheric repertoire brought to life as a result of a research project with the University of Southampton and Hyperion Records. Historic St Nicholas Church, which dates from 1190 and is now managed by the Churches Conservation Trust, should prove a magical venue. General booking opens on 11 April
Vaughan Williams Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis
Butterworth A Shropshire Lad
Vaughan Williams The Lark Ascending
Vaughan Williams Dona Nobis Pacem
Johane Ansell soprano
Alex Ashworth baritone
Zsolt-Tihamér Visontay violin
Three Choirs Festival Chorus
Philharmonia Orchestra
Geraint Bowen conductor
The beautiful Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis by Vaughan Williams is arguably the most famous Three Choirs Festival commission, first performed in Gloucester Cathedral in 1910. The Lark Ascending, with its exquisite violin solo perfectly evoking an English summer day, was written in 1914 on the eve of the First World War, commemorated in the cantata Dona nobis pacem. A Shropshire Lad by George Butterworth, who died on the Somme in August 1916, completes the programme.
Geraint Bowen supported by Pamela White
Johane Ansell
WEDNESDAY 27 JULY
T HE Wu LST a N aT ki NS L Ec T ur E
Gloster Gossip
300 years of Gloucester Meetings in Image, Word, & Music
10.30 am St Mary de Lode
£26, £21, £16
Quentin Letts narrator
Gabrielle Bullock, Paul Feldwick, Katharine O’Carroll, Roger Thorn, Philip Vaughan, Stephen Williams speakers
Vicki Field soprano
Ensemble Sine Nomine
Sebastian Field conductor
Anecdotes from the past 300 years of Three Choirs Festivals in Gloucester create the narrative framework for this portrait of some of the characters who have walked these streets before us, including the Hyett family who lived in Westgate Street and were buried in the cathedral; Mary Yorke, the first woman festival steward; and the composer Frederick Delius, who in 1925 struggled to hear a radio broadcast of one of his pieces in his home at Grez-surLoing in deepest France. Musical illustrations will include excerpts from Okeover Grant we beseech thee
Purcell Jubilate in D major Handel Alexander’s Feast
Greene Florimel or Love’s Revenge
Bliss The Beatitudes and works by Stafford Smith, Vaughan Williams, Delius, Kodály, Finzi and more.
Supported by Katharine O’Carroll and Robert and Sherill Atkins
Hamlet
12 noon Old Bishop’s Palace Garden
£16.50, Under-16s £10
Festival Players
In Shakespeare’s 400th anniversary year, Gloucestershire’s all-male touring company brings us one of his greatest masterpieces.
Note: This is an outdoor performance and cannot be relocated in the event of rain. Please check weather forecasts on the day and bring appropriate waterproof clothing/umbrellas. The performance will continue if at all possible; refunds are not available unless it is abandoned.
RCO Young Organist 1
1 pm St Peter’s Church, Gloucester £10
A recital by a young performer selected by the Royal College of Organists. Please check our website for details of the recitalist, who will be chosen following the results of the college’s diploma exams later in the spring.
Supported by Father Michael Thomas
Zsolt-Tihamér Visontay
© Guy Wigmore, Philharmonia Orchestra
Gloucester Lads
2.45 pm St Barnabas Church, Tuffley
£27, £22
Gurney Lights out
Matthew Martin Sonnets of Petrarch world premiere
Finzi Earth and Air and Rain
Marcus Farnsworth baritone
James Baillieu piano
Gerald Finzi was born in London in 1901 but moved to Painswick, Gloucestershire in 1922 in order to compose in tranquillity. Earth and Air and Rain sets verses by Thomas Hardy on the subject of death and the transcience of life. Ivor Gurney grew up and was a cathedral chorister in Gloucester itself, where his father had a tailor’s shop. A poet as well as a musician, he was a prolific writer of songs. Lights out reflects his experiences in the First World War as a private in the Gloucestershire Regiment. These two song cycles are complemented by a new work by Matthew Martin, recently appointed director of music at Keble College, Oxford.
A coach will depart from Lower Westgate Street at 2.10 pm. Ticket £5.50 return
Choral Evensong
3.30 pm Gloucester Cathedral
Bernard Rose The spacious firmament
Bernard Rose Responses
Kendrick Partington Psalm 60
Ian King The Gloucester Service festival commission
Stanford For lo, I raise up
Three Cathedral Choirs
Jonathan Hope organ
Adrian Partington 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.
An Unlikely Trio Howells, Gurney and Novello
5.30 pm St Mary de Lode
£10
Herbert Howells, Ivor Gurney and Ivor Novello were contemporaries in the choirstalls as choristers of Gloucester Cathedral. Conductor, composer and author Paul Spicer, who studied with Howells, discusses their lives and very different musical legacies.
Paul Spicer speaker
Cathedral Friends Reception
6.15 pm Hospitality Marquee
£15
The Friends of Gloucester Cathedral invite you to meet conductor and former Gloucester cathedral chorister Edward Gardner at a reception to celebrate the festival. The ticket price includes canapés and a glass of wine. All welcome.
Berlioz: Grande messe ★
7.45 pm Gloucester Cathedral
£48, £44, £30, £24, £13
Berlioz Grande messe des morts Op. 5
Robert Murray tenor
Three Cathedral Choirs
Three Choirs Festival Chorus
Philharmonia Orchestra
Edward Gardner conductor
The vast scale of the Grande messe des morts, written in 1837, means that it is rarely performed anywhere, and it had to wait until 1966 for its first appearance at the Three Choirs Festival (in Worcester). A Requiem Mass written in commemoration of the second French Revolution of 1830, it is an apocalyptic vision of the Last Judgment.
Supported by the Chairman’s Circle
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
10.15 pm Gloucester Cathedral
£15
An improvised soundtrack using all the dramatic resources of Gloucester Cathedral’s thousands of organ pipes will bring the story to life and intensify the chilling atmosphere of this famous black and white film. Prepare to be moved, thrilled and terrified!
Jonathan Hope organ
THURSDAY 28 JULY
The Rodolfus Choir: By Special Arrangement
10.30 am St Peter’s Church, Gloucester
£26, £21
Gabriel Jackson To Morning
Mahler arr. Clytus Gottwald Die zwei blauen Augen
Puccini arr. Ralph Allwood Christo Smarrito
Tavener Hymn to the Mother of God
J S Bach arr. Ralph Allwood Die mit Tränen
Barber Agnus Dei
Palestrina, ed. Richard Wagner Stabat Mater
Debussy, arr. Clytus Gottwald Des pas sur la neige
Edward Chapman The Three Ravens
Thomas Recknell Ozymandias
Allegri arr. Ivor Atkins Miserere mei, Deus Chopin arr. Ralph Allwood Pro peccatis suae gentis (C minor prelude)
Arvo Pärt Tribute to Caesar
Howells Even Such is Time
The Rodolfus Choir consists of singers aged 25 or under, all alumni of the famous Eton Choral Courses run each year by the choir’s founder director, Ralph Allwood, and his colleagues. Frequently praised for the blend, balance, power and flexibility of their performances, they were described in a Times review last year as ‘as energising as a shot of Tequila’. This concert features a number of sacred and secular works which have been arranged, edited or otherwise given a fresh perspective – sometimes through the eyes of someone other than the original composer. Some of our best-loved choral and instrumental works have been subject to such adaptations and refinement, from the masterly, rich texture of Clytus Gottwald’s large-scale arrangements of Mahler and Debussy to the timeless beauty of Gregorio Allegri’s Miserere mei, Deus as treated by Ivor Atkins and Barber’s own vocalisation of his Agnus Dei.
The Rodolfus Choir
Ralph Allwood conductor
Edward Gardner
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Benjamin Ealovega
Hamlet
12 noon Old Bishop’s Palace Garden
£16.50, Under-16s £10
Festival Players
In Shakespeare’s 400th anniversary year, Gloucestershire’s all-male touring company brings us one of his greatest masterpieces. Note: This is an outdoor performance and cannot be relocated in the event of rain. Please check weather forecasts on the day and bring appropriate waterproof clothing/umbrellas. The performance will continue if at all possible; refunds are not available unless it is abandoned.
Sanders Society Lunch
12.30 pm Hospitality Marquee
£30
Bob Chilcott speaker
All are welcome to enjoy lunch and a glass of wine with members of the Sanders Society, which commemorates John Sanders, organist of Gloucester Cathedral and conductor of Gloucester Three Choirs Festival 1967–94. The speaker, Bob Chilcott, is one of the most widely-performed living composers of choral music in the world; his talk is entitled ‘Music for Life: What being a chorister has given me’. Bob is a member of the judging panel for the John Sanders Memorial Competition for Young Composers 2016. The winning composition will be performed at this afternoon’s Choral Evensong.
Young Artists Recital 3
1 pm St Mary de Lode
£10, Under-26s free
Jâms Coleman piano
A recital by a young artist who is a recipient of the Philharmonia Orchestra’s Martin Musical Scholarship Award. Please check our website for details of repertoire to be played. Supported by Father Michael Thomas
Songs and Songs without words
2.45 pm St Barnabas Church, Tuffley
£27, £22
Chopin Songs
Mendelssohn Songs without words
Viardot, Kosenko and Skoryk Selected songs
Zador and Lysenko Ukrainian folk songs
Olga Pasichnyk soprano
Natalya Pasichnyk piano
Polish–Ukrainian sisters Olga and Natalya Pasichnyk are graduates of the Chopin Academy in Warsaw and winners of numerous international competitions. Their recital has an Eastern European theme and includes a selection of rarely-heard songs by Chopin, which have been overshadowed by Chopin’s piano music but display a similar combination of delicacy, power and beauty, together with some of his mazurkas transcribed for voice (with Chopin’s permission) by the singer Pauline Viardot. Natalya performs some of Mendelssohn’s beautiful Songs without Words and the recital also includes folksongs from the sisters’ native Ukraine.
A coach will depart from Lower Westgate Street at 2.10 pm. Ticket £5.50 return
Choral Evensong
5.30 pm Gloucester Cathedral
Jeremy Dibble Responses
Psalm 62
Walton Chichester Service
Anthem: Sanders Competition winner
St Cecilia Singers
William Peart organ
Jonathan Hope conductor
Mozart in Excelsis ★
7.45 pm Gloucester Cathedral
£48, £44, £30, £24, £13
Mozart Te Deum
Mozart Clarinet Concerto
Mozart Requiem
Alexandra Hutton soprano
Kitty Whately mezzo-soprano
Nick Pritchard tenor
John Savournin bass
Emma Johnson clarinet
Three Cathedral Choirs
Philharmonia Orchestra
Simon Halsey conductor
There is a reason why some classical works become more popular than others: they are great music which speaks eloquently to any listener. This programme features two such pieces, Mozart’s effervescent Clarinet Concerto and the Requiem that was left incomplete at his death, together with his less familiar Te Deum.
Clarinettist Emma Johnson joins our resident
Philharmonia Orchestra and the boys, men and women of our Three Cathedral Choirs in this concert conducted by Simon Halsey, choral director of the London Symphony Orchestra and City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra.
Cathedral choristers supported by
Lee Bolton Monier-Williams
Clarinet Goes to Town
10.15 pm Gloucester Guildhall
£20, Under-26s free
Emma Johnson clarinet
John Lenehan piano
Paul Clarvis percussion
Emma Johnson reveals a lighter side to her musical personality as she follows her concerto performance in the cathedral with a jazz-style gig in the informal setting of the Guildhall.
Supported by two anonymous donors
FRIDAY
Rossini: Petite Messe solennelle
11 am Gloucester Cathedral
£31, £28, £24, £15, £10
Rossini Petite Messe solennelle
Mary Pope soprano
Olivia Ray mezzo-soprano
Mark Wilde tenor
Adrian Powter bass
Steven Kings piano
Christopher Allsop piano
Peter Dyke harmonium
Three Choirs Festival Youth Choir
Geraint Bowen conductor
The Three Choirs Festival Youth Choir made its debut in Tewkesbury Abbey six years ago and since then has enabled several hundred of the most talented young singers in the Three Choirs counties to benefit from training and rehearsal days with some of the UK’s top choral conductors and from singing a wide range of repertoire. This year they present Rossini’s sparkling Petite Messe solennelle, with its unique sound-world created by the accompanying ensemble of piano duet and harmonium.
Elgar Society Lecture and Lunch
11 am Lecture: Gloucester Guildhall
£16
1 pm Lunch: Hospitality Marquee
£25
Inside the Mind of Elgar: A Natural Orchestrator
In this year’s Elgar Society Lecture, Dr Martin Firth takes Elgar’s organ sonata of 1895 and its orchestration by Gordon Jacob as his starting point for an exploration of Elgar’s instinctive gift for writing with an orchestra in mind – and the technical difficulties that this presents to organists when they tackle the original version of the sonata. Hosted by the South West Branch of the Elgar Society, and open to all.
RCO Young Organist 2
1 pm St Peter’s Church, Gloucester
£10
A recital by a young performer selected by the Royal College of Organists. Please check our website for details of the recitalist, who will be chosen following the results of the college’s diploma exams later in the spring.
Supported by Father Michael Thomas
An English Rachmaninov?
2.45 pm St Barnabas Church, Tuffley £27, £22
Gurney Sehnsucht (from original manuscripts)
Gurney Preludes
Howells Rhapsody Op. 14
Ireland Rhapsody (1905)
Bowen Romance
Bowen Preludes Op. 102
Rachmaninov Sonata in B flat minor
Mark Bebbington piano
Mark Bebbington ‘has almost single-handedly demonstrated that 20th-century British piano scores have an exciting role to play in the concert hall and recording studio,’ according to International Piano magazine; but which of the English composers whose music he will play in this recital does he consider to be the equivalent of Rachmaninov? Come to his concert and find out.
A coach will depart from Lower Westgate Street at 2.10 pm. Ticket £5.50 return
Choral Evensong
5.30 pm Gloucester Cathedral
Tomkins Responses
Finzi Psalm 47
Finzi Magnificat
David Bednall Nunc Dimittis
Finzi Lo, the full, final sacrifice
Three Cathedral Choirs
Jonathan Hope organ
Peter Nardone conductor
Music and Memory
6 pm St Mary de Lode £10
Pre-concert talk with singer James Gilchrist and composer Joseph Phibbs
Enigma and Carmina ★
7.45 pm Gloucester Cathedral
£48, £44, £30, £24, £13
Joseph Phibbs Memento Musica festival commission: world premiere
Elgar Enigma Variations
Walton Spitfire Prelude & Fugue
Orff Carmina burana
Anna Patalong soprano
Russell Painter tenor
David Stout baritone
Three Choirs Festival Chorus
Philharmonia Orchestra
Adrian Partington conductor
The work of our festival charity Mindsong inspires Joseph Phibbs’ new orchestral fantasia exploring themes connected to music and memory.
The contrasting characters of some of his closest friends are vividly depicted in Elgar’s nostalgic ‘Enigma’ Variations. Walton’s ‘Spitfire’ Prelude and Fugue celebrates Gloucester’s heritage as the birthplace of the jet engine and the 150th birthday of the British Aeronautical Society. We conclude with the raucous revelry of Orff’s colourful settings of distinctly secular medieval verse.
Carmina burana supported by Richard Arenschieldt General booking opens on 11 April
Further Beyond Tango
10.15 pm Gloucester Guildhall
£20
Adrián Varela Trio
Adrián Varela is a first violinist with the Philharmonia but has many other musical lives. His band plays anything from Herbie Hancock to Bach and is proud to be the only ‘prog-rock post-tango ensemble’ to grace the Radio 3 airwaves. Their scintillating performance at the 2013 Gloucester Three Choirs Festival was a huge success – get in quick to hear what they have in store for us this year.
Supported by two anonymous donors
Compline
10.30 pm Gloucester Cathedral Lady Chapel
Psalm 4 Cum invocarem
Byrd Christe qui lux es et Dies
Rob Waters Nolo mortem peccatoris
William Peart conductor
A quiet, meditative service on Lenten themes, sung by the lay clerks and choral scholars of Gloucester Cathedral.
SATURDAY
Celebrity Organ Recital
Thomas Trotter ★
11 am Gloucester Cathedral
£23
Parry Fantasia and Fugue in G
Anthony Powers Chorale-prelude ‘O Gott, du frommer Gott’
J S Bach Chorale-Partita ‘O Gott, du frommer Gott’ BWV 767
Howells Master Tallis’s Testament
Sanders Toccata
Jonathan Dove The Dancing Pipes
Reger Fantasia on the Chorale: Straf’ mich nicht in deinem Zorn
Prokofiev Toccata for Piano arr. J Guillou
Thomas Trotter organ
City organist of Birmingham since 1983, Thomas Trotter is one of the world’s most respected recitalists, known for his skill in engaging audiences as well as for his technical and stylistic command of an enormous range of repertoire. This year’s Three Choirs Festival recital is typically varied and includes works by composers particularly associated with Gloucester, together with contemporary works by Jonathan Dove and Anthony Powers. Bach and Reger represent the great German tradition of writing for organ, while Guillou’s arrangement of Prokofiev’s virtuosic Toccata is sure to bring the recital to a dazzling close.
Supported by Zyex Ltd
Anna Patalong
Carducci Quartet Family Concert
Family Concert
11 am St Mary de Lode
£6 Adults, Children Free
This interactive, family-friendly concert will provide an approachable, enjoyable introduction to classical chamber music with fun and games and lots of memorable tunes, led by the world-class Carducci Quartet. The minimum age for this concert is five and the content will be aimed at children up to the age of 12. Presented in association with the CAVATINA Chamber Music Trust.
Mahler: Symphony of a Thousand
7.45 pm Gloucester Cathedral
£52, £48, £30, £24, £13
Mahler Symphony No 8
Hye Youn Lee soprano
Mary Plazas soprano
Jennifer France soprano
Catherine Wyn-Rogers mezzo-soprano
Janina Baechle mezzo-soprano
Andrew Staples tenor
Gary Griffiths bass
Three Choirs Festival Youth Choir
Three Cathedral Choirs
Three Choirs Festival Chorus
Philharmonia Orchestra
Adrian Partington conductor
National Youth String Orchestra
3.15 pm Cirencester Parish Church
£27, £22
Mozart Eine kleine Nachtmusik K525
Howells Elegy for Viola, String Quartet and String Orchestra
Elgar Introduction and Allegro
Suk Serenade Op. 6
RTE Con Tempo Quartet
National Youth String Orchestra
Damian Iorio conductor
The centrepiece of this concert, by some of the country’s most gifted young players, is ‘Elegy’ by Herbert Howells, written in 1917 in the composer’s home village of Lydney, Gloucestershire, as a memorial to a college friend who had died at the Battle of Mons.
A coach will depart from Lower Westgate Street at 2 pm. Ticket £9 return
Mahler’s great choral symphony gains its nickname of the ‘Symphony of a Thousand’ because of the vast forces required to perform this epic work on the theme of Redemption. It begins with the Latin Pentecost hymn ‘Veni, creator spiritus’ and builds through a multitude of musical styles to a shattering climax, drawing on the closing scene of Goethe’s Faust. Premiered in Munich in 1910, it was both a popular and critical success. Rarely performed outside the largest concert halls, the symphony is sure to have an unforgettable impact in the dramatic setting of Gloucester Cathedral, bringing the 2016 Three Choirs Festival to a spectacular conclusion.
ConTempo Quartet
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 14 March
• for Standard Members on Monday 21 March
General booking
Booking opens to the general public on Monday 11 April, by telephone, post and online. All postal applications will be processed in order of receipt.
How to book
All bookings are subject to a transaction fee of £2.50
Telephone booking
Call 01452 768 928 (local rate from a UK landline) Monday to Friday from 10 am to 4 pm.
Telephone booking will not be available on Monday 11 or Tuesday 12 July, while the Ticket Office moves to its festival location.
From Wednesday 13 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 13 July at the Festival Ticket Office.
Bookings can be made in person during the following hours:
Wednesday 13 – Friday 15 July 10 am – 4 pm
Saturday 16 July 10 am – 2 pm
Monday 18 – Thursday 21
Payment
The booking form invites you to make a donation of £2 per transaction to help support the future of the Festival. Please indicate on the booking form if you wish to donate.
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 Gloucester.
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 the time booking opens. Should any alterations to your ticket order prove necessary, please notify the Festival Ticket Office immediately.
Tickets ordered after Friday 15 July will not be posted, but will be held in the Festival Ticket Office for you to collect upon your arrival in Gloucester.
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 south door of Gloucester 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. Further details about accessibility can be provided by the Ticket Office on request. The cathedral has an audio loop for services, which is also available during 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 fixed 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.
Further information about getting around the city is available from Gloucester Tourist Information Centre, contact details below.
Accommodation
A list of accommodation available in the area can be provided. 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. The list is available via our ticket office.
Gloucester Tourist Information can be contacted on 01452 396576, via email at tourism@gloucester.gov.uk and on their website: www.thecityofgloucester.co.uk
Car parking
There is no public car parking at all in Gloucester Cathedral Close or in the grounds of the King’s School, nor at any of our outside venues.
In addition to the numerous public car parks around Gloucester city centre, 50 spaces will be made available in Barbican car park, on the west side of Ladybellegate Street, which can be booked through our Ticket Office at a cost of £5 per day. Ticket Office staff can also supply car park maps and information about disabled parking.
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 must be accompanied by a responsible person approved by the child’s parent/guardian.
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.
Celebratory Organ Recital Series
To celebrate the 350th anniversary of the Cathedral’s organ case, Gloucester Cathedral organists past and present will perform the chorale-fantasias of Max Reger in the centenary year of his death (1873-1916)
Wednesday 20 April
David Briggs
Organist Emeritus, Gloucester Cathedral
Wednesday 18 May
Jonathan Hope
Assistant Director of Music, Gloucester Cathedral
Wednesday 22 June
William Peart
Organ Scholar, Gloucester Cathedral
Wednesday 21 September
Adrian Partington
Director of Music, Gloucester Cathedral
Wednesday 19 October
Ashley Grote
Master of Music, Norwich Cathedral
• Recitals start at 7.30pm
• Admission free, retiring collection in aid of Cathedral music
• Big-screen projection of the organ console www.gloucestercathedral.org.uk
GloucesterCathedral
@GlosCathedral
Sat 7 May • 7pm
Gloucester Cathedral
Rutter: Gloria
Handel, Bruckner, Elgar & more
Adrian Partington conductor
£25, £20, £15 and £10
Sat 4 June • 9.30am (registration)
The Chapter House
Sing Saturday
Elgar: The Music Makers
£12 on the door
New Season Highlights
Friday 11 Nov • 7.30pm
The Parliament Room
Let’s Talk: Beethoven with Professor Nicholas Marston
Saturday 19 Nov • 7pm
Beethoven: Missa Solemnis
Saturday 3 Dec • 7pm
Handel: Messiah
Friday 10 Mar 2017 • 7:30pm
The Parliament Room
Stephen Johnson (Radio 3’s Discovering Music)
Saturday 18 Mar 2017 • 7pm
Rachmaninov: Vespers
Saturday 6 May 2017 • 7pm
Cirencester Parish Church
Rossini: Petite Messe Solonnelle WORKSHOPS
Saturday 4 Mar 2017 • 9:30am
In & around Gloucester Cathedral
Mag & Nunc Day
A full day workshop rehearsing and performing four versions of Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis, including a new commission.
Music is our passion – share it at
Combining poetry and music inspired by the quintessential English countryside.
Featuring a newly commissioned choral work by Thomas Hewitt-Jones with words by Ivor Gurney. Each concert to be unique to the local area with music inspired by your local landscape.
The Holiday Inn Gloucester – Cheltenham Warmly invites you to stay with us over the Three choirs festival
Only 10 minutes drive from the festival The Cathedral and centre of town is located just 3 miles away.
Comfortable & welcoming hotel 125 fully air conditioned, en-suite bedrooms.
Early breakfast available
Our restaurant opens at 6:30am midweek & 7:30am at weekends. Or have your breakfast delivered to your bedroom for extra convenience.
Spirit Health & Fitness Club
Fully equipped gym, indoor swimming pool, sauna, steam room, spa pool & fitness studio. Or relax with a beauty treatment from one of our therapists.
For our best available room rate, please contact our Reservations Department on 01452 650302 or email reservations@higloucester.com www.higloucesterhotel.co.uk
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LEARN with conducting tutorials from David Hill, chief conductor of the BBC Singers, and organ technique advice from David Goode, organist at Eton College
ENGAGE with in-depth features on choirs, competitions, newly built and restored organs, and repertoire
DISCOVER with profiles of leading choral directors, organs and composers, and specialist reviews of the latest sheet music and CD releases
PLUS stay up to date with the latest international news and competition coverage, get free newly commissioned sheet music, as well as listings for organ recitals across the UK
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
Gloucester City Council –Marketing Gloucester
Friends organisations
Friends of Gloucester
Three Choirs Festival
Three Choirs Festival Society
Corporate
Lee Bolton-Monier Williams
Three Choirs Vineyards
GWR Great Western Railways
Severn House Publishers
Zyex Ltd
Trusts and Foundations
CAVATINA Chamber Music Trust
Finzi Trust
Foyle Foundation
Hawthorne Charitable Trust
Honourable Company of Gloucestershire
Jerusalem Trust
The Perry Family Charitable Trust
Individual Giving –concert sponsorship
Richard Arenschieldt
Prof Clair Chilvers
Michael Guittard
Katharine O’Carroll and Robert & Sherill Atkins
Harry Prince
Judith Holroyd
Dr Jim and Mrs Hoyland
John Lawrence
Father Michael Thomas
Pamela White
Anonymous
Mr and Mrs Peter Hillier
Individual Giving –one off donations
The Earl of Bathurst
Major Wills
Chairman’s Circle
Ms Margaret Austen
Mr & Mrs William Armiger
Dr Timothy Brain
Mrs Anne Cadbury
Mr Colin and Mrs Ann Eddy
Mr Richard Hall
Mrs Judith Holroyd
Dr Jim and Mrs Hoyland
Mr & Mrs Martin Lee-Browne
Mr & Mrs Eric London
Three Choirs Foundation
Single donations
Richard Bailey
Paul Pulman
Sir Sydney & Lady Lipworth
Ravenswood Trust
Severn House Publishers
Francis Witts
Byrd Circle
Michael Guittard
Bruce Herriot
Gillian Peach
Harry Prince
Phoebe Aston
Mark Elliston
Helen King
Howard Sayer
Francis Witts
Angela Wyllie
Tallis Circle
RA Ellis
William Stallard
David Philips
Norman J Griffin
David H Jordan
Alison Millard
Jeremy Wilding and Sue Vaughan
David Williams
Finzi Circle
Alastair Barnett
Dr & Mrs Timothy Brain
Peter Cottingham
Hilary Elgar
Major Martin Everett
Carolyn Pascall
Helen Whittaker
Roy Whittaker
Elspeth Barkes
Mr W Lawrence Banks
David Butler
Lady Gillian Morton Curtis
Richard Hall
An Anonymous Donation
Purcell Circle
Toby Hooper
Graham & Sally Moore
Sir Nigel and Lady Nicholls
Two Anonymous Donations
Graham & Eileen Lockwood
Katherine Wedgbury
Parry Circle
Penny & Terry Moore
Vaughan Williams Circle
Michael Hosking
Elgar Circle
Bernard & Angela Day
Sir Michael & Lady Perry
PHILHARMONIA ORCHESTRA
The Philharmonia, founded in 1945, is one of the world’s great orchestras. It is made up of more than 80 musicians, giving around 40 concerts in London and over 60 concerts around the UK each year, in addition to its touring work all over the world. Its community and education programme brings thousands of young people into contact with the orchestra. The Philharmonia is the worldʼs most recorded orchestra, with over 1,000 releases to its credit.
Based in London at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall, the orchestra is also resident in cities throughout England –in Leicester, Bedford, Canterbury and Basingstoke. Gloucester 2016 marks the fifth year of the orchestra’s residency at the Three Choirs Festival. At its heart, the residency signals a firm commitment from both the festival and the Philharmonia to continue bringing world-class orchestral performances to Gloucester, Hereford and Worcester.
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Lead Sponsor
Orchestra Partners
© Benjamin Ealovega