BACH & CHARPENTIER
BAROQUE CHRISTMAS
Monteverdi Choir
English Baroque Soloists
Christophe Rousset
Tue 17 Dec 2024, 7.30pm St Martin-in-the-Fields, London
Monday 2 December 2024, 8pm
La Scala, Milan
Sunday 8 December 2024, 8pm
Alte Oper, Frankfurt
Saturday 14 December 2024, 8pm
Elbphilharmonie, Hamburg
Tuesday 17 December 2024, 7.30pm
St Martin-in-the-Fields, London
Monteverdi Choir & Orchestras presents
BACH & CHARPENTIER BAROQUE CHRISTMAS
Monteverdi Choir
English Baroque Soloists
Christophe Rousset – conductor
Jonathan Sells – choir director, assistant conductor
Hilary Cronin – soprano
Keri Fuge – soprano
Rebecca Leggett – mezzo soprano
Ruairi Bowen – tenor
Edward Ross – tenor
Florian Störtz – bass-baritone
This concert brings together music composed for Advent and Christmas Day, from two very different cultural traditions. But Bach’s cantatas BWV 36 and BWV 110, as well as Charpentier’s Messe de minuit all have a feature in common: they incorporate pre-existing music which would have been familiar to the people who first heard them.
Marc-Antoine Charpentier brilliantly bases his setting of the mass on no less than seven ‘noëls’ (French Christmas carols): for the congregation at its first performance in Saint Louis in Paris, the effect must have been as arresting as hearing the tune of ‘Jingle Bells’ pop up in the middle of the service.
Bach’s Protestant congregation in Leipzig would have been accustomed to hearing hymn tunes within the cantatas he wrote for the church of St Nicholas – and in BWV 36, Martin Luther’s Advent hymn, with its ancient melody, pervades several movements of the piece.
The wonderful space of St Martin-in-the-Fields was built at the very same time Bach was composing in Leipzig, and I’m thrilled to make my UK debut with the Monteverdi ensembles here. And with this varied music – by turns intimate and extrovert – we wish you all a happy and musical Christmas.
– Christophe Rousset
BACH & CHARPENTIER
BAROQUE CHRISTMAS
M.-A. CHARPENTIER Noëls sur les instruments, H.531 (1, 2, 3) & H.534 (4 & 2)
O Créateur
Laissez paître vos bêtes
Vous qui désirez sans fin
Or nous dites Marie
Où s’en vont ces gais bergers
M.-A. CHARPENTIER Messe de minuit pour Noël, H.9
M.-A. CHARPENTIER Noëls sur les instruments, H.534 (1, 3, 5, 6)
Les Bourgeois de Chastre
Joseph est bien marié
À la venue de Noël
Une jeune pucelle interval
J.S. BACH Schwingt freudig euch empor, BWV 36
J.S. BACH Unser Mund sei voll Lachens, BWV 110
BACH & CHARPENTIER
BAROQUE CHRISTMAS
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PROGRAMME NOTES
Dr Andrew Frampton
Although Marc-Antoine Charpentier composed in all the major genres of his day, it is his sacred music—numbering almost 500 works in total—that assumes the most significant place in his output. Many of these compositions reveal his love of the dramatic Italian liturgical style, acquired during his studies in Rome with the great oratorio composer Giacomo Carissimi. After returning to France around 1670, Charpentier served a succession of church and aristocratic appointments as maître de musique, including at the prestigious SainteChapelle. France’s own musical style, however, was very different from that of Italy: it was courtly and grand, featuring extravagant ornamentation, and dominated by the figure of JeanBaptiste Lully.
The Council of Trent, in the sixteenth century, had technically forbidden the use of secular tunes in church, but there was nonetheless a long-standing tradition in France of the liturgical performance of popular, folk-like Christmas carols. As a result, many French composers of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries composed instrumental carol settings to be played in church. Charpentier’s Noëls sur les instruments (H. 531), for two flutes (recorders), strings and basso continuo, dates from the early 1690s, and was designed to be performed alongside his grand Christmas motet In nativitatem Domini canticum (H. 416). Subsequently, he
composed another set of seven Noëls (H. 534, including one, ‘Les bourgeois de Chastre’, in two versions); these were intended as companion pieces for his eight so-called ‘O’ antiphons that were sung in the week before Christmas.
Most of the tunes from the Noëls reappear in the Messe de Minuit pour Noël (Midnight Mass for Christmas), H.9. Written around 1694 for the Jesuit church of Saint-Louis in Paris, this work was designed to evoke the special atmosphere of the Midnight Mass. Here, however, Charpentier took a daring step: rather than simply arranging ten carols as instrumental movements to supplement a vocal work, he decided to incorporate them into the mass itself, by setting sections of the Latin text to these secular tunes. In doing so, he also utilised a contrapuntal, concertante style of instrumental writing, already seen in his earlier masses, that is distinctively Italian. The Messe de Minuit is therefore a work of remarkable synthesis, uniting elements of the French and Italian national styles, modality with tonality, and the sacred with the profane.
The extraordinary effect created by Charpentier’s use of the carols can be heard from the very first ‘Kyrie eleison’, which is based on the tune ‘Joseph est bien marié’. After the carol melody is heard and then repeated in full, Charpentier proceeds to alter it using different kinds of instrumentation and
carol ‘Tous les bourgeois de Chastre’ represents the awakening of the shepherds. The carols have a striking influence on the character of the whole work, often giving it an unusual modal flavour and an enchanting, dance-like quality that both seem perfectly suited to Christmas.
The synthesis of sacred and secular elements, and of different national styles, are also hallmarks of the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. In May 1723, after having spent much of his life working as a court composer, Bach took up the post of musical director at St. Thomas Church in the city of Leipzig, for which he was required to supply a cantata for almost every Sunday and feast day of the church year. Faced with such a daunting workload, Bach sometimes turned to music he had already written for other (usually oneoff) occasions, repurposing it for use in new contexts.
imitation, and by quoting it only in part. This kind of varied motivic development continues in the second ‘Kyrie’, and beyond. Indeed, musical diversity, whether in treatment of the carol melody, texture, or scoring, is central to this piece. In some sections, such as in the Kyrie, Sanctus and Agnus Dei, the carols are used throughout; in addition, Charpentier alternates between movements for instruments only, and movements for voices (and, within these, also alternates between solo and choral textures). Other movements only partially feature carol tunes, and sometimes they are not used at all. The Gloria, for example, opens with a nocturnal scene, featuring muted strings and vocal echoes; this is then sharply contrasted with the following ‘Laudamus te’, in which the
The long and complicated history of the Advent cantata Schwingt freudig euch empor (‘Soar joyfully aloft’), BWV 36, reflects this practice, known as ‘parody’. The opening chorus and the arias were originally written in the spring of 1725 for a secular birthday cantata with the same title (BWV 36.1), dedicated to an unnamed scholar at Leipzig University. The following year, Bach reused this music in another birthday cantata, for Princess Charlotte Friederike Wilhelmine of Anhalt-Cöthen, Steigt freudig in die Luft (BWV 36.2); much later, it was parodied again as Die Freude reget sich (BWV 36.3). Sometime around 1726–1730, Bach transformed his secular model into a sacred cantata for the First Sunday in Advent (BWV 36.4) by doing nothing more than mapping a
Portrait of the composer Marc-Antoine Charpentier (1634-1704)
he treats it more subtly, varying the chorale’s presentation across the work.
In No. 2, for instance, it appears as an imitative duet for soprano and alto with oboes d’amore, featuring overlapping entries, expressive leaps and chromaticisms that emphasise the text. By contrast, in No. 6 it is presented in unadorned long notes sung by the tenors, this time against a background of virtuosic figuration in the duetting oboes, representing Christ’s ‘victory over the flesh’. The only time the ‘Nun komm’ melody is not used is in the closing chorale to Part I (No. 4), which retains the Nicolai hymn from BWV 36.4.
honoured ‘even with subdued, weak voices’. Finally, Luther’s chorale reappears once again in its eighth verse, a collective hymn of praise (No. 8).
new text onto the existing movements and adding a harmonisation of Philipp Nicolai’s hymn ‘Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern’ as a final chorale. Clearly, however, he was particularly fond of this piece: for Advent Sunday 1731, he decided to revise and expand it into an eight-movement cantata in two parts (BWV 36.5), for which he wrote out a new autograph score.
The structure of BWV 36, in its final form, is unique among Bach’s cantatas: the recitatives that usually separate the other movements are replaced here by chorale verses, drawn from Luther’s Advent hymn ‘Nun komm, der heiden Heiland’ (‘Come now, Saviour of the gentiles’). This famous chorale provided the basis for the opening choruses of Bach’s two earlier Advent Sunday cantatas (BWV 61 and 62); in BWV 36,
Before all this, however, comes an ebullient, madrigal-like opening chorus (No. 1). From the outset, its exhortation to ‘soar joyfully aloft’ is evident in the exuberant swinging triplet figure in the strings. When the voices enter, each is like another link in a chain, as the choir ascends higher and higher towards the stars. The irregular metrical accents found throughout the movement only serve to heighten the acrobatics, used to particular effect in the middle section when the choir sings ‘Doch haltet ein!’ (‘Yet, stop!’), briefly and dramatically silencing the orchestra. Following the first chorale is a gentle tenor aria (No. 3), an allegorical depiction—common in Bach’s time—of Jesus as the bridegroom of the soul; this theme continues in the next chorale, and in the jubilant aria for bass that opens Part II (No. 5). The touching ‘Auch mit gedämpften, schwachen Stimmen’ (No. 7), meanwhile, owes much of its special intimacy to the muted solo violin that accompanies the soprano voice. The delicate manner in which soprano and violin weave around each other directly evokes the text, which affirms that God’s majesty is
By mid-1725, Bach had already completed two annual cycles of cantatas, and then proceeded to embark on a third. It is from this third cycle that the Christmas Day cantata Unser Mund sei voll Lachens (‘Let our mouth be full of laughter’), BWV 110, comes. Like Bach’s other Christmas cantatas for 1725, its text is by the Darmstadt poet Georg Christian Lehms (1684–1717), and is imbued with the special luminosity that characterises Bach’s festive music. The lavish opening chorus (No. 1) takes the form of the courtly French Overture, featuring stately outer instrumental sections and a faster contrapuntal middle section, symbolising the birth of the King of Heaven. Bach adapted it from the overture to an early version of his fourth Orchestral Suite (BWV 1069), to which he added a pair of flutes, trumpets and drums, along with vocal parts for the central fugue. The doubling of the instrumental lines by the voices not only adds an extra richness and sparkle to the texture, but the ‘laughter’ of the text is now brilliantly portrayed in the music itself, as the fugal entries tumble in on top of each other, dancing with irresistible joy and élan.
Two of the three arias in this work eschew the more typical da capo form, whereby the first section is repeated, in favour of a two-part structure. In the meditative tenor aria (No. 2), the tenor is supported by a pair of duetting flutes; the alto aria (No. 4), meanwhile, features a solo oboe d’amore, along with angular melodies that reflect the questioning character of the text. In between is a
short but expressive accompanied recitative for bass (No. 3). For the enchanting duet ‘Ehre sei Gott in der Höhe’ (No. 5), Bach once again turned to pre-existing music, the antiphon ‘Virga Jesse floruit’ from the first version of his Magnificat (BWV 243.1) that he had performed on Christmas Day 1723. This was no mere act of recycling, however: Bach made extensive revisions to ensure the music fitted perfectly with the cantata text. In this movement, the soprano and tenor voices soar over the continuo line in long, florid arabesques, representing the angels’ song of praise.
The rousing bass aria that follows (No. 6) seems to anticipate the aria ‘Großer Herr, o starker König’ from the Christmas Oratorio. Gone is the lilting, pastoral style of the duet, replaced instead by a call to attention from a virtuosic trumpet. This striking triadic motif is then transferred to the bass voice, with the words ‘Wacht auf!’ (‘Wake up!’), although both trumpet and oboes drop out in the middle section when the singer addresses the ‘devout strings’. The cantata closes with a chorale setting from Kaspar Füger’s ‘Wir Christenleut’ (No. 7), as if now fulfilling the bass singer’s bidding to sing ‘Freudenlieder’ (‘songs of joy’). For Bach’s congregation, it must have been a rousing send-off into the Christmas season.
J.S. Bach depicted in a stained glass window in St. Thomas Church, Leipzig
TEXTS & TRANSLATIONS
CHARPENTIER — MESSE DE MINUIT POUR NOËL, H. 9
KYRIE
Kyrie eleison. Christe eleison. Kyrie eleison.
GLORIA
Gloria in excelsis Deo
Et in terra pax hominibus bonæ voluntatis.
Laudamus te, Benedicimus te, Adoramus te, Glorificamus te, Gratias agimus tibi propter magnam gloriam tuam.
Domine Deus, Rex cælestis, Deus Pater omnipotens.
Domine Fili Unigenite, Jesu Christe, Domine Deus, Agnus Dei, Filius Patris, Qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis; Qui tollis peccata mundi, Suscipe deprecationem nostram, Qui sedes ad dexteram Patris, Miserere nobis.
Quoniam tu solus Sanctus, Tu solus Dominus, Tu solus Altissimus, Jesu Christe, Cum Sancto Spiritu, In gloria Dei Patris.
Amen
CREDO
Credo in unum Deum Patrem omnipotentem, factorem cæli et terræ, Visibilium omnium et invisibilium: Et in unum Dominum, Jesum Christum, Filium Dei unigenitum: Et ex Patre natum ante omnia sæcula;
Deum de Deo, lumen de lumine, Deum verum de Deo vero:
Genitum, non factum, consubstantialem Patri, Per quem omnia facta sunt: Qui propter nos homines et propter nostrum salutem Descendit de cælis:
Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
Glory be to God on high and on earth peace, good will towards men.
We praise thee. We bless thee.
We worship thee. We glorify thee.
We give thanks to thee for thy great glory.
O Lord God, heavenly king, God the Father almighty.
O Lord the only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, O Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father, Who takest away the sins of the world, have mercy on us; Who takest away the sins of the world, receive our prayer, Thou, that sittest at the right hand of God the Father, have mercy on us.
For thou only art holy, Thou only art the Lord, Thou only art most high. Jesus Christ. With the Holy Spirit. in the glory of God the Father. Amen.
I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible: And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten son of God: born of his Father before all worlds; God of God, light of light, very God of very God: begotten not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made: Who for us men, and for our salvation, came down from heaven:
Et incarnatus est de Spiritu sancto, ex Maria Virgine:
Et Homo factus est.
Crucifixus etiam pro nobis, sub Pontio Pilato, Passus et sepultus est: Et resurrexit tertia die, Secundum Scripturas:
Et ascendit in cælum, Sedet ad dexteram Patris.
Et iterum venturus est cum Gloria Judicare vivos et mortuos: Cujus regni non erit finis.
Et in Spiritum sanctum Dominum, et vivificantem, Qui ex Patre Filioque procedit; Qui cum Patre et Filio simul adoratur et conglorificatur, Qui locutus est per Prophetas.
Et Unam, Sanctam, Catholicam et Apostolicam Ecclesiam. Confiteor unum Baptisma in remissionem peccatorum.
Et expecto resurrectionem mortuorum, Et vitam venturi sæculi. Amen.
SANCTUS
Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus, [Dominus Deus Sabaoth,] Pleni sunt cæli et terra gloria tua. Hosanna in excelsis.
Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini. Hosanna in excelsis.
AGNUS DEI
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi: miserere nobis.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi: dona nobis pacem.
and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary: and was made man.
And was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate, he suffered and was buried:
And the third day he rose again according to the scriptures.
And ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of the Father. And he shall come again with glory to judge both the quick and the dead: whose kingdom shall have no end.
And in the Holy Spirit, Lord and giver of life, who proceedeth from the Father and Son; who with the Father and Son is worshipped and glorified, who spoke by the prophets.
And in one, holy, catholic and apostolic church. I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins. And I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.
Holy, Holy, Holy, [Lord God of hosts,] Heaven and earth are full of thy glory. Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who cometh in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.
Lamb of God, that takest away the sins of the world: have mercy upon us.
Lamb of God, that takest away the sins of the world: grant us peace.
BACH – SCHWINGT FREUDIG EUCH EMPOR, BWV 36
I TEIL
Coro
Schwingt freudig euch empor zu den erhabnen Sternen, ihr Zungen, die ihr itzt in Zion fröhlich seid! Doch haltet ein! Der Schall darf sich nicht weit entfernen, es naht sich selbst zu euch der Herr der Herrlichkeit.
Text: Picander (?)
PART I
Chorus
Soar joyfully aloft to the sublime stars, ye voices, who now gladly dwell in Zion! Yet, stop! The sound shall not have to travel far, the Lord of glory Himself approaches you.
Choral: Sopran, Alt
Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, der Jungfrauen Kind erkannt, des sich wundert alle Welt, Gott solch Geburt ihm bestellt.
Text: Martin Luther
Aria: Tenor
Die Liebe zieht mit sanften Schritten sein Treugeliebtes allgemach. Gleichwie es eine Braut entzücket, wenn sie den Bräutigam erblicket, so folgt ein Herz auch Jesu nach.
Text: Picander (?)
Choral
Zwingt die Saiten in Cythara und lasst die sü.e Musica ganz freudenreich erschallen, dass ich möge mit Jesulein, dem wunderschönen Bräut’gam mein, in steter Liebe wallen!
Singet, springet, jubilieret, triumphieret, dankt dem Herren! Groß ist der König der Ehren.
Text: Philipp Nicolai
II TEIL
Aria: Bass
Willkommen, werter Schatz!
Die Lieb und Glaube machet Platz vor dich in meinem Herzen rein, zieh bei mir ein!
Text: Picander (?)
Choral: Tenor
Der du bist dem Vater gleich, führ hinaus den Sieg im Fleisch, dass dein ewig Gotts Gewalt in uns das krank Fleisch enthalt.
Text: Martin Luther
Aria: Sopran
Auch mit gedämpften, schwachen Stimmen wird Gottes Majestät verehrt. Denn schallet nur der Geist darbei, so ist ihm solches ein Geschrei, das er im Himmel selber hört.
Text: Picander (?) Choral
Lob sei Gott, dem Vater, g’ton, lob sei Gott, sein’m ein’gen Sohn, lob sei Gott, dem Heil’gen Geist, immer und in Ewigkeit!
Text: Martin Luther
Chorale: Soprano, Alto
Come now, Saviour of the gentiles, recognised as the Virgin’s child, all the world stands amazed that God ordained Him such a birth.
Aria: Tenor
Love now draws on with gentle tread its true beloved more and more. Just as the bride is enchanted to behold the bridegroom, even so the heart seeks Jesus.
Chorale
Play the strings in Cythera and let sweet Musica sound out with naught but joy, that I may with little Jesus, this exquisite groom of mine, pilgrimage in constant love!
Sing, dance, rejoice, exult, thank the Lord! Great is the King of honour.
PART II
Aria: Bass
Welcome, precious treasure!
Love and faith prepare a place for Thee in my pure heart, come dwell in me!
Chorale: Tenor
Thou who art like the Father, bring about victory over the flesh, that Thy God’s eternal power may keep sick flesh away from us.
Aria: Soprano
Even with subdued, weak voices God’s majesty is revered. For though our soul alone may sound, this to Him is a mighty shout that He in heaven itself doth hear.
Chorale
Praise be to God, the Father, praise be to God, His only son, praise be to God, the Holy Ghost, always and eternally!
English translations: Richard Stokes
Coro
Unser Mund sei voll Lachens und unsre Zunge voll Rühmens. Denn der Herr hat Großes an uns getan.
Text: after Psalm 126:2-3
Aria: Tenor
Ihr Gedanken und ihr Sinnen, schwinget euch anitzt von hinnen, steiget schleunig himmelan und bedenkt, was Gott getan!
Er wird Mensch, und dies allein, dass wir Gottes Kinder sein.
Text: Georg Christian Lehms
Recitativo: Bass
Dir, Herr, ist niemand gleich. Du bist groß, und dein
Name ist groß und kannst’s mit der Tat beweisen.
Text: Jeremiah 10:6
Aria: Alt
Ach Herr, was ist ein Menschenkind, dass du sein Heil so schmerzlich suchest?
Ein Wurm, den du verfluchest, wenn Höll und Satan um ihn sind; doch auch dein Sohn, den Seel und Geist aus Liebe seinen Erben heißt.
Text: Georg Christian Lehms
Aria (Duetto): Sopran, Tenor Ehre sei Gott in der Höhe und Friede auf Erden und den Menschen ein Wohlgefallen!
Text: Luke 2:14
Aria: Bass
Wacht auf, ihr Adern und ihr Glieder, und singt dergleichen Freudenlieder, die unserm Gott gefällig sein. Und ihr, ihr andachtsvollen Saiten, sollt ihm ein solches Lob bereiten, dabei sich Herz und Geist erfreun.
Text: Georg Christian Lehms
Choral
Halleluja! Halleluja! Gelobt sei Gott, singen wir all aus unsers Herzens Grunde. Denn Gott hat heut gemacht solch Freud, die wir vergessen solln zu keiner Stun.
Text: Kaspar Füger
Chorus
Let our mouth be full of laughter and our tongue of singing. For the Lord hath done great things for us.
Aria: Tenor
All you thoughts and meditations, soar aloft at once, climb swiftly heavenwards and think what God has done! He becomes man, merely that we might be heaven’s children.
Recitative: Bass
There is none like unto Thee, O Lord. Thou art great, and Thy name is great in might.
Aria: Alto
Ah, Lord, what is man that Thou, through such pain, would redeem him? A worm, whom Thou dost curse, when hell and Satan surround him; but yet Thy Son, whom soul and spirit out of love call their inheritance.
Aria (Duet): Soprano, Tenor Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men!
Aria: Bass
Awake, you veins and limbs, and sing those songs of joy which are pleasing to our God.
And you, you strings of deep devotion, should offer Him such praise, that heart and soul rejoice.
Chorale
Alleluia! Alleluia! All praise to God, let us all sing from the depths of our hearts. For God today has wrought such joy, that we shall always remember. English translations: Richard Stokes
CHRISTOPHE ROUSSET
Conductor
The founder of the ensemble Les Talens Lyriques and internationally-renowned french harpsichordist, Christophe Rousset, is an inspired musician and conductor with a passion for opera and the rediscovery of the European musical heritage.
Christophe Rousset won the coveted First Prize in the Seventh Bruges International Harpsichord Competition at the age of 22. He then followed up by creating his very own ensemble, Les Talens Lyriques, in 1991 and is now regularly invited to perform with them all over the world, giving him a perfect grasp of the richness and diversity of the Baroque, Classical, and preRomantic repertoires.
As a harpsichordist and chamber musician, his recordings of pieces by Louis and François Couperin, Rameau, D’Anglebert, Royer, Duphly, Forqueray, Balbastre, Scarlatti, and J.S. Bach are considered as essential references. Latest publications by Aparté include: Bach’s Die Kunst der Fuge (2023), and Bach’s seven toccatas for harpsichord (2024).
With Les Talens Lyriques he has recorded over 100 albums, including many modern premieres operas (Salieri, Traetta, Jommelli, Méhul, Mondonville, Desmarest, etc.). He is currently completing the complete set of tragédies-lyriques by Jean-Baptiste Lully.
He has also published monographs devoted to Jean-Philippe Rameau and François Couperin through Actes Sud.
Teaching is of the upmost importance for Christophe Rousset who runs many masterclasses and academies all over Europe.
Christophe Rousset also appears regularly as a guest conductor: Liceu Barcelona, La Scala Milan, London’s Royal Opera House, Orquesta Nacional de España, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Orchestre du Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Akademie für alte Musik Berlin etc.
Christophe Rousset has been decorated with the awards of “Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur” and “Officier Ordre National du Mérite”. Moreover, he was named “Commandeur des Arts et les Lettres”, the highest distinction of this French order for Outstanding Achievement in Music.
HILARY CRONIN
soprano
Praised by Classical Voice North America for her “shining, rounded timbre,” Hilary Cronin has appeared with ensembles including Early Opera Company, Academy of Ancient Music, Arcangelo, The English Concert, Florilegium, Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, Irish Baroque Orchestra, London Handel Orchestra, La Nuova Musica, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and The Sixteen, as well as with BBC Philharmonic, Britten Sinfonia, the Hallé and Scottish Chamber Orchestra. She won the London Handel International Singing Competition and was selected by BBC Music Magazine as a “Rising Star of 2022.”
Engagements during 2024 / 2025 include J.S. Bach Actus Tragicus with Dunedin Consort, St John Passion and Messiah with Polyphony, St Matthew Passion and Bellezza Il Trionfo del tempo e del disinganno with Irish Baroque Orchestra, Beethoven Missa Solemis with Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Fauré Requiem with Royal Northern Sinfonia, Esther with The English Concert, Messiah with Huddersfield Choral Society, First Harlot Solomon with The Gabrieli Consort and Haydn Nelson Mass with The Sixteen.
She will make her debut at MusikTheater an der Wien during the 2025 / 2026 season. Hilary Cronin appears regularly with the Monteverdi Choir and the English Baroque Soloists and can be heard on the newly released recording of J.S. Bach’s Christmas Oratorio.
KERI FUGE
soprano
Keri Fuge’s recent and future engagements include Anastasio Giustino (Royal Opera House, Covent Garden – Linbury Theatre), Iris Semele (cover, Royal Opera House, Covent Garden), and Helena A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Royal Opera House, Muscat and Teatro Carlo Felice, Genova).
Past opera engagements have included Sabina Adriano in Siria (Aalto Theatre, Essen and Musikfestspiele Potsdam Sanssouci)
Philidel/Nymph/Honour King Arthur, and Créuse Médée (Grand Theatre de Genève), Angel It’s a Wonderful Life (English National Opera), Cupid in Rossi’s Orfeo (Royal Opera House at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse), Poppea Agrippina (Brisbane Baroque), Flavia Lucio Silla (Internationale Handel-Festspiele Göttingen), Amore Orfeo ed Euridice (Landestheater fur Vorarlberg), Sophie Werther, Zerlina Don Giovanni, Morgana Alcina, Noémie Cendrillon (Stadttheater Klagenfurt), Atalanta Serse (Early Opera Company) and Aquilio in Pergolesi’s Adriano in Siria (Słowacki Theatre, Krakow).
Keri has performed concerts with Komische Oper Berlin, Royal Northern Sinfonia, London Handel Festival Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, London Mozart Players, Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Bach Akademie Stuttgart, Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo and Academy of Ancient Music, at venues such as Wigmore Hall, Royal Albert Hall and Royal Festival Hall.
REBECCA LEGGETT
mezzo soprano
Singing with ‘grace and beauty’ (The Telegraph), Rebecca Leggett is creating a name for herself in the field of early music. Since joining the 11th edition of Les Arts Florissants’ scheme Jardin des Voix, the British singer has performed worldwide the ensemble’s production of Purcell’s The Fairy Queen, in such prestigious halls as Philharmonie de Paris, The Lincoln Center NYC, Palau de Artes in Valencia as well as at festivals in Luzern, Bremen and Utrecht; upcoming venues include Teatro alla Scala and the Royal Albert Hall for the BBC Proms 2024. She has also been invited to sing with the ensemble for William Christie’s 80th birthday tour in 2025 as well as the role of Piacere in Handel’s Il Trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno
In the UK, Rebecca is currently a ‘Rising Star’ with Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, and has appeared with ensembles including Arcangelo, the Sixteen, London Handel Players, The Instruments of Time and Truth, City of London Sinfonia and the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra at concert venues such as Wigmore Hall and the South Bank. She was a finalist at the Kathleen Ferrier Award in 2023, and an Emerging artist with the Oxford lieder festival. On the opera stage, Rebecca sang at Teatro Maggio Fiorentino and Glyndebourne (Britten’s The Turn of the Screw), Blackheath Halls Opera (John Blows’ Venus and Adonis) and Collegium Music Bergen (Handel’s Theodora).
RUAIRI BOWEN
tenor
A graduate of King’s College, Cambridge, Ruairi Bowen has collaborated with conductors including Emmanuelle Haïm, Maxim Emelyanychev, Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Stephen Layton, Peter Whelan and John Wilson. He made his debut with English National Opera as Earl Tolloller in Iolanthe, and his operatic engagements have further included Damon in Acis and Galatea for Opera Holland Park; staged performances of Die Schöpfung at Lithuanian National Opera; First Armed Man in Die Zauberflöte with Scottish Chamber Orchestra at Edinburgh International Festival; The Indian Queen with Le Concert d’Astrée in Caen, Antwerp and Luxembourg; and Cyril in Princess Ida with Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment.
Highlights of his concert career have included Bach’s Mass in B minor with Opole Philharmonic and St John Passion with Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, Dvorak’s Requiem with Philharmonia Orchestra at Three Choirs Festival; Handel’s Messiah with London Handel Orchestra; Mozart’s Requiem at Händel Festspiele Halle.
Ruairi Bowen is currently engaged at Prague National Theatre, where he is singing Thesipis and Mercure in Platée with Collegium 1704 directed by Václav Luks. His recordings include participation in Proud Songsters, an album of English Solo Song with Simon Lepper; Delius’ Hassan – Complete Incidental Music with Britten Sinfonia on Chandos CD; and Percy Grainger’s Brigg Fair for BBC Radio 3 .
EDWARD ROSS
tenor
Edward Ross is an acclaimed English tenor specialising in Baroque and Early Music. Known for his bright, natural tone and versatile musicality, he is in demand as a soloist across Europe.
In the 2023/24 season, Ross performed the complete masses of Josquin with the Tallis Scholars at the Utrecht Early Music Festival and toured the United States with the Monteverdi Choir and Dinis Sousa, singing Bach’s Mass in B minor. He also joined the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment under Masaaki Suzuki for a European tour of Bach’s Weihnachtsoratorium. Other notable engagements included solo performances of Haydn’s Die Jahreszeiten and Händel’s Messiah with the Nieuwe Philharmonie Utrecht.
This December, alongside his role as a soloist in the Monteverdi Choir’s Charpentier tour, Ross will perform twice as the Evangelist in Bach’s Weihnachts-oratorium at the Alfredo Kraus Auditorium in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. At Easter, he returns to Bachkoor Holland to sing the Evangelist role in Bach’s Matthäus-Passion in Lochem and Delft.
Originally from London, Ross began his musical journey as head chorister of the London Oratory School Schola under Mike McCarthy, gaining international recognition as a treble. He studied horn with Simon de Souza at the Junior Royal Academy of Music and completed his Master’s at the Royal Academy of Music, where he trained with the distinguished Scottish tenor Neil Mackie.
FLORIAN STÖRTZ
bass-baritone
German bass-baritone Florian Störtz gained recognition with victories at the 2023 International Handel Singing Competition and Helmut Deutsch Song Competition. He also won the Prix de mélodie at the 2023 Lili et Nadia Boulanger competition in Paris and the Young Artists Platform at the 2024 International Song Festival Zeist. His 2024-25 season includes major débuts with the Monteverdi Choir, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, NFM Wrocław Philharmonic, and The English Concert, with tours and a recording for Delphian. Florian has performed with renowned conductors such as Masaaki Suzuki and Laurence Cummings and recorded Duruflé’s Requiem with the Choir of Trinity College, Cambridge. He has given recitals at venues like Carnegie Hall and Wigmore Hall. A Royal Academy of Music alumnus, Florian is supported by the City Music Foundation and is also a trained physicist, exploring the connection between science and music. Based in London, he has strong ties to the musical environment of Trier Cathedral, Germany.
JONATHAN SELLS
choir director, assistant conductor
Jonathan Sells is an internationally renowned artistic director, conductor, and singer. A member of the Monteverdi Choir from 2009-2018, Sells made his conducting debut with the Choir and English Baroque Soloists in June 2024. The performances – Bach motets at St Martin-in-the-Fields, London and Bachfest Leipzig – were met with a rapturous reception from audiences and critics.
In October he conducted a programme of Bruckner and Gesualdo with the Choir in Ely, Oxford and the Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich, which was recorded live in concert for the MCO’s record label, Soli Deo Gloria.
In 2008 he founded the baroque collective Solomon’s Knot, “one of the UK’s most innovative and imaginative ensembles” and now Resident Baroque Ensemble at Wigmore Hall. As artistic director, he has spearheaded bold projects and fruitful collaborations at top festivals in Europe and North America.
Under his leadership, Solomon’s Knot “set new standards” with productions of J.S. Bach’s St John and St Matthew Passion, semi-staged by John La Bouchardière at Bachfest Leipzig, Thüringen Bachwochen, Snape Maltings, and Wigmore Hall. On the recommendation of Sir John Eliot Gardiner, he made his Bachfest Leipzig debut as musical director in 2016 with Bach’s Magnificat, later recorded and released on Sony Classical. Solomon’s Knot’s recording of J.S. & J.C. Bach motets was released by Prospero Classical in 2023, and “demonstrates the innermost essence of this music like never before” (Klassisk Musikk).
Leading from within the ensemble, Sells has directed memorised performances including Bach’s Mass in B minor, St Michael’s Day cantatas (BBC Proms), Hunt Cantata and Mass in F major (Bachwoche Ansbach), and Christmas Oratorio (Wigmore Hall), and Handel’s Messiah and Esther (HändelFestspiele Halle, Regensburg Tage Alter Musik) as well as Dixit Dominus (Bachfest Schaffhausen, Brighton Festival, De Singel Antwerp). In 2025 he will head Solomon’s Knot in the world premiere of Chad Kelly’s new reconstruction of Bach’s Köthener Trauermusik at Wigmore Hall, Tage alter Musik Regensburg, and Bachfest Leipzig. Sells has a burning curiosity for neglected geniuses of the 17th and 18th centuries such as Johann Kuhnau, George Jeffreys, and Barbara Strozzi, as well as later repertoire: he has conducted Beethoven, Dvorak, Prokofiev, Nielsen, and Varèse, and has worked with choirs from the UK to the Middle East.
MONTEVERDI CHOIR
The Monteverdi Choir celebrates its 60th anniversary in 2024. Over the course of its life, it has established itself as one of the greatest choirs in the world. Through a combination of consummate technique, historically-inspired performance practice and a strong appreciation for visual impact, the Choir constantly strives to bring fresh perspectives, immediacy, and drama to its performances.
The Monteverdi Choir was proud to be named ‘Best Choir’ at the Oper! Awards in January 2024. The Oper! Awards jury noted that “at festivals, on concert tours and in their numerous recordings, this is an ensemble whose quality will always leave the listener speechless…Whether in music of the Baroque, Classical or Romantic periods, their singing is always unerringly tailored to the specific stylistic requirements. Again and again they have proven that, in addition to religious introspection, they are also masters of the grand operatic gesture, astounding us in Berlioz’s ‘Les Troyens’.”
The Choir’s 2024 season opened with a spectacular tour to Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw to perform Brahms Ein Deutsches Requiem in February and March. Over three mesmerising concerts conducted by its Associate Conductor Dinis Sousa, the Choir captivated audiences and critics, and the performances were met unanimously with 5-star reviews from the press, with Bachtrack calling them “truly one of the finest choirs of their time”.
In March the Choir performed Handel’s Biblical oratorio Israel in Egypt with the English Baroque Soloists, conducted by Peter Whelan, in London and on a European tour, with The Observer commenting that “the choir took top honours: every word audible, every note, even when roared, bang in tune.”
The Choir joined the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique, conducted by Dinis Sousa, for performances of Beethoven’s Mass in C major and Symphony No. 9 at St Martin-in-the-Fields in London and the Philharmonie de Paris in May (“rich and full-blooded in sound as always” – The Telegraph).
In June, conducted by Jonathan Sells, the Choir performed Bach’s sacred motets in London and Leipzig with “extraordinary class: an unearthly purity of intonation, unparalleled clarity of articulation, playful word-painting” (Leipziger Volkszeitung).
Jonathan Sells returned to conduct the Choir in performances of sacred music by Bruckner and Gesualdo in Ely Cathedral, Christ Church Cathedral,
Oxford, and the Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich in October.
Founded in 1964 by John Eliot Gardiner, the Monteverdi Choir has released over 150 recordings and won numerous prizes. The Choir and English Baroque Soloists were honoured to perform at the Coronation of their Patron, HM The King, in May 2023, with The Telegraph proclaiming “if the Monteverdi Choir isn’t singing when I get to the gates of Heaven, I want my money back.”
BAROQUE CHRISTMAS MONTEVERDI CHOIR
St Martin-in-the-Fields, London
17 December 2024
Soprano
Hilary Cronin*
Keri Fuge*
Rachel Allen
Lucy Knight
Charlotte La Thrope
Rebecca Ramsey
Alto
*Rebecca Leggett
Mercè Bruguera
Abelló
Annie Gill
Hamish McLaren
Tenor
Ruairi Bowen*
Edward Ross*
Mark Bonney
Tom Kelly
Bass
Florian Störtz*
Robert Davies
Tristan Hambleton
Jack Lawrence-
*soloist
The Monteverdi Choir performing at the Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich, conducted by Jonathan Sells
Jones
ENGLISH BAROQUE SOLOISTS
The English Baroque Soloists (EBS) seeks to challenge preconceptions of 200 years of music ranging from Monteverdi to Mozart. Equally at home in chamber, symphonic and operatic performances, their distinctively warm and incisive playing is instantly recognisable.
One of the world’s leading period instrument orchestras, the ensemble has performed at many of the world’s most prestigious venues including Milan’s Teatro alla Scala, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and the Sydney Opera House.
In December 2024 the EBS performs Bach and Charpentier with the Monteverdi Choir on a European tour to La Scala Milan, Alte Oper Frankfurt, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg and at our London home at St Martinin-the-Fields. The conductor for the tour is renowned French Baroque specialist Christophe Rousset, making his MCO debut.
In March and July 2024 the EBS joined the Monteverdi Choir for performances of Handel’s biblical oratorio Israel in Egypt, conducted by Peter Whelan. As well as a performance at St Martinin-the-Fields, this programme toured to the Palau de la Música Barcelona, Philharmonie Luxembourg, Chapelle Royale Château de Versailles, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, and Haus für Mozart Salzburg.
In 2023 the EBS and the Monteverdi Choir, conducted by Dinis Sousa, performed Bach’s Mass in B minor, as well as Handel’s pastoral ode L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato, on their American tour in October following a European tour of Bach’s monumental work in April. In May the EBS and the Monteverdi Choir were honoured to perform at the Coronation of HM The King.
The ensemble famously took part in the iconic Bach Cantata Pilgrimage in 2000 alongside the Monteverdi Choir, performing all of Bach’s sacred cantatas throughout Europe.
Founded in 1978 by John Eliot Gardiner, the EBS has also participated in major opera productions alongside the Choir in works by Handel, Purcell and Monteverdi, and recorded Mozart’s greatest operas for Deutsche Grammophon in the 1990s.
BAROQUE CHRISTMAS ENGLISH BAROQUE SOLOISTS
St Martin-in-the-Fields, London
17 December 2024
Violin I
Madeleine Easton
Jayne Spencer
Naomi Burrell
Claudia Delago-Norz
Anna Lester
Violin II
Pavlo Beznosiuk
Sarah Bealby-Wright
Will McGahon
Will Harvey
Viola I
Anne Sophie Van Riel
Mari Giske
Viola II
Oscar Holch
George White
Cello
Ruth Alford*
Gavin Kibble
Rebecca Truscott
Pedro da Silva
Double Bass
Rosie Moon*
Flute/Recorder
Elizabeth Walker
Annabel Knight
Oboe
Rachel Chaplin
Mark Baigent
Cait Walker
Bassoon
Philip Turbett*
Trumpet
Russell Gilmour
William Russell
Gareth Hoddinott
Timpani
Ben Fullbrook
Theorbo
Elodie Brzustowski*
Harpsichord
Paolo Zanzu*
Organ Satoko Doi-Luck*
*continuo
The Monteverdi Choir, English Baroque Soloists and Christophe Rousset performing at La Scala, Milan earlier this month
MONTEVERDI APPRENTICES PROGRAMME
The Monteverdi Apprentices Programme is a training scheme for young musicians that seeks to bridge the gap between higher education and a professional, freelance music career. By crafting supportive learning environments for talented young artists, providing rewarding performance opportunities alongside our ensembles, and exposing them to coaching from experts in a range of fields, the Monteverdi Choir and Orchestras aim to nurture the next generation of musical talent.
Over the course of their year-long programme, our Apprentices take part in workshops and masterclasses with a focus on historically inspired performance practices. Recently, these have been led by leading singers and vocal coaches including Jean-Paul Fouchécourt, Sophie Daneman, Mark Padmore, Matteo Dalle Fratte and Richard Stokes, as well as MCO’s Librarian & Artistic Advisor James Halliday and our Associate Conductor, Dinis Sousa.
By the end of each Apprenticeship, we expect to have equipped these young musicians with the skills and experience needed to thrive in their careers, and to work as professionals with the Monteverdi Choir and Orchestras and other similar organisations worldwide. Now in its sixteenth year, the Programme has over 100 alumni, and many former Apprentices still perform regularly with the Monteverdi ensembles.
Each Apprentice is also matched with an experienced member of the MCO, who serves as a mentor, offering personalised artistic and practical support throughout their Apprenticeship. The mentorships provide the Apprentices with invaluable guidance, from navigating project preparation to helping Apprentices integrate into the wider ensemble, whilst also supporting individual growth and development.
The Monteverdi Apprentices are also given the opportunity to perform with our world-class ensembles, and join the Monteverdi Choir and Orchestras for concerts both in the UK and overseas. Our 2023-24 cohort of 10 vocal Apprentices joined the Monteverdi Choir for their spectacular tour of Bach’s Mass in B minor (April 2023), the landmark European tour of Berlioz’s Les Troyens which conquered Festival Berlioz, Salzburg, Versailles, Berlin and the BBC Proms
(August-September 2023), and our critically acclaimed performances of Brahms’s Ein deutsches Requiem with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam (February 2024).
FUTURE MONTEVERDI APPRENTICES
Planning for our next year of the Apprenticeship Programme is underway, and we expect to welcome our new group of Apprentices in 2025. Building on the success of previous years, we are designing another enriching programme, filled with learning opportunities to challenge and inspire our next cohort of young artistic talent. Applications will open in the coming months, with auditions taking place in 2025. More details about the application process and the content of the upcoming Apprenticeship Programme will be available on our website in due course.
The apprenticeship has exposed to me to a level of music making I have never experienced before and continues to inspire me.”
– Joseph Taylor, Monteverdi Apprentice 2023-24
Monteverdi Apprentices rehearsing at The Warehouse in London
SUPPORT THE MONTEVERDI ENSEMBLES
Monteverdi Choir & Orchestras’ (MCO) mission is to bring fresh perspectives, immediacy and drama to historically inspired musical performances around the world. MCO is made up of three internationally-renowned ensembles that lead the field of period performance: the Monteverdi Choir, English Baroque Soloists and Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique. Performing regularly in London concert venues, as well as touring worldwide, MCO is in its 60th year of delivering outstanding performances and recordings to global critical acclaim.
As a registered charity with no public subsidy, the Monteverdi Choir and Orchestras rely on the generosity of our supporters to continue planning our ambitious, historically-inspired artistic programme. This support allows us to deliver projects without compromising on artistic quality or integrity, to share our concerts with music lovers around the world through top-quality film and audio content, and helps us to nurture and develop the next generation of musical talent.
WAYS YOU CAN SUPPORT US
JOIN OUR MEMBERSHIP SCHEME
Our membership scheme starts from £250 per year. Members enjoy a range of benefits including a personalised priority booking service for all our concerts, monthly newsletters, and invitations to post-concert receptions. At higher levels, additional benefits include invitations to exclusive open rehearsals and backstage access after our performances.
BECOME A BENEFACTOR
By supporting our charity at this highest level, you will contribute substantially towards our landmark projects, allow us to perform regularly in our London home at St Martin-inthe-Fields, and share our music globally via our filmed concerts.
BECOME A CORPORATE SPONSOR
We can offer creative and collaborative sponsorship packages that enable you to align your business with our work. There are opportunities to sponsor individual performances, or an entire season of concerts at our London home, St Martin-in-the-Fields.
LEAVE A LEGACY
By choosing to leave a Legacy Gift to the Monteverdi Choir & Orchestras, you will play a crucial role in ensuring that the performers and listeners of the future will continue to be enthralled by the power of our music-making.
JOIN OUR AMERICAN FRIENDS
Our American Friends play a valuable part in supporting and championing the work of the Monteverdi ensembles both in the US and beyond. The American Friends of the Monteverdi Choir & Orchestras, Inc is a registered 501(c)(3) organisation and donations to it are tax-deductible for US taxpayers to the extent allowed by law. EIN:31-1651106.
CONTACT US
If you have any questions about supporting MCO please get in touch. On our website, you will find the facility to make a donation (which we warmly welcome at any level), purchase one of our memberships, or treat a friend via a Gift Membership. If you would like to discuss becoming a Benefactor, or how your organisation could partner with us, please contact us to arrange a discussion with our General Director. development@monteverdi.org.uk www.monteverdi.co.uk/support-us
Opposite: The Monteverdi Choir recording Bruckner & Gesualdo, conducted by Jonathan Sells.
MONTEVERDI SUPPORTERS
The Monteverdi Choir & Orchestras gratefully acknowledges the generous support of the following individuals, organisations and Trusts & Foundations:
PATRON
HM The King
PRESIDENT
Carol Grigor
PRINCIPAL FUNDER
Dunard Fund
BENEFACTORS
Michael Beverley
David & Sandra Brierwood
Christian & Myrto Rochat
Sir David & Lady Walker
MEMBERSHIP SCHEME
PLATINUM
David Best
Lord & Lady Burns
Morny Davison
Lord & Lady Deben
Sir Vernon Ellis
Lady Virginia Fraser
Andrey Kidel
William Lock
Sebastian & Flora Lyon
Francis Norton
Yoshi Onodera
Helen & John Skinner
Clare Woodman CBE
GOLD
Sir Stephen Gomersall
Gordon Gullan
Stephen & Victoria Swift
SILVER
Julia & Martin Albrecht
Geoffrey Barnett
Donald & Corrine Brydon
Rosemary Chadder
Peter & Stephanie Chapman
Sarah & Mike Cuthbert
Yi-Peng Li
Lady Nixon
Mollie Norwich
Nicholas & Christylle Phillips
Professor Richard Portes CBE FBA
Anthony C. Shoults
Professor John Smyth
BRONZE
Tania Bader
Donald D. Campbell
Vanessa Claypole
Dr Carol Cobb
Steve Edge
Jonathan Edwards
Lady Egremont
Nigel Gibson
Jenny Hill
Robert Moreland
Mary Pinnell
Daan Posthuma
Meghan Purvis
Anne Reyersbach
Thomas Richter
Dr Paul A. Sackin
Steven & Olivia Schaefer
Christopher J. H. Thornhill
Jenny & John Wiggins
CORPORATE PARTNERS
Morgan Stanley
TRUSTS & FOUNDATIONS
Dunard Fund
King Charles III Charitable Fund
Garfield Weston Foundation
Mrs F B Laurence’s Charitable Trust
The Thistle Trust
IN MEMORIAM
Roger Chadder
Peter J. Chapman
Ian Hay Davison CBE
Sir Henry Keswick
Judith McCartin Scheide
Nicholas Snowman OBE
LEGACIES
The Estate of Donald Gorman
The Estate of Howard Hodgkin
The Estate of Kevin Lavery
AMERICAN FRIENDS
The Negaunee Foundation
William Dudley
Neil Graham
David Kay
Seth Levi
Jai Shekhawat
Rory Walck
With grateful thanks to those who wish to remain anonymous and to the other individuals who give regular donations in support of our work.
MCO TEAM
Dr Rosa Solinas
General Director
Martin Wheeler Finance & Administration Manager
James Halliday Artistic Advisor & Librarian
Emily Parker Artistic Operations Manager
Andrew Softley Artistic Projects & Choir Manager
Matthew Knight Partnerships & Communications Manager
David Kay Philanthropy Manager
Emily Denton Tours & Concerts Assistant
Philip Turbett Orchestra Fixer
Matthew Muller Stage Manager
Premier Comms PR & media relations
Robin Jennings
Ed Pickering
Keyboard Technicians
Big Man Consultancy Instrument Transport
MCO BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Sir David Walker (Chairman)
Christian Rochat (Deputy Chairman)
David Best
Lady Deben
Virginia Fraser
Sir Stephen Gomersall
Andrey Kidel
Francis Norton
MONTEVERDI CHOIR & ORCHESTRAS
Level 12, 20 Bank Street,
Canary Wharf, London E14 4AD, UK info@monteverdi.org.uk
Registered in England & Wales
Company No. 01277513
Charity No. 272279
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AVAILABLE TO PRE-ORDER NOW
Bruckner & Gesualdo SDG736
Recorded live in concert in October, this release marks the Monteverdi Choir’s 60th birthday and the 200th anniversary of Bruckner’s birth with an album that combines his celebrated a cappella motets with the sacred motets of Carlo Gesualdo (1566–1613).
Performed in 2024 by the Monteverdi Choir in Ely, Oxford and the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich under conductor Jonathan Sells, the album brings alive both the tormented passion and the exultant beauty of both composers’ music.
Released April 2025 pre-order CD or download now shop.monteverdi.co.uk
