Monteverdi Choir
Jonathan Sells
Ely, Oxford, Greenwich 16–20 October 2024
Wednesday 16 October 2024, 7.30pm
Ely Cathedral
Ely
Thursday 17 October 2024, 8.00pm
Christ Church Cathedral
Oxford
Sunday 20 October 2024, 6.00pm
Chapel of St Peter & St Paul, Old Royal Naval College
Greenwich
concert
Monteverdi Choir & Orchestras presents
Monteverdi Choir
Jonathan Sells – Conductor
James Johnstone – Organ
All information in this programme was correct at the time of going to print.
On the face of it, Bruckner and Gesualdo don’t seem to have much in common. But if we disregard their time, place, and background, and consider their music on its own terms, a dialogue of similarities emerges which shortcircuits our traditional ideas about the trajectory of musical history and style. We invite you to close your eyes (literally or figuratively), forget anything you know about these composers, and allow yourself to be taken on a musical journey of exploration without context or compartmentalisation. Above all, listen with your entire body, as this is music with a powerful physicalemotional impact.
Anton Bruckner, born 200 years ago this year, was embedded in the past through his connection to the Catholic liturgy, as a chorister at the Augustinian monastery of St Florian, and as an organist. Though in later years he became a huge admirer of Richard Wagner, many of his choral motets seem to look back rather than forward, maintaining a Classical balance and control that correspond to a general sense of stability in much of his music. Within this stable framework, Bruckner nevertheless manages to pack highly passionate and emotional expression.
Harmonic dissonance is the tension which ties our stomachs in knots and for whose release tonal music always longs. Wagner famously stretched this
tension to breaking point, and occasionally we feel Bruckner testing the same boundaries. 250 years previously, Carlo Gesualdo was experimenting with mind-bending chromatic expressionism and enharmonic shifts in a remarkably similar way. This orginality and audacity perhaps explains why Gesualdo’s music has cut through to modern audiences more than that of his contemporaries.
These motets should be heard in conversation with one another, the tormented twists of Gesualdo answered by the comforting words of Bruckner’s settings, or at times taken on and expanded before arriving at a point of tranquillity and catharsis. We seek what they have in common more than what divides them, as we should indeed do with our neighbour in all walks of life.
— Jonathan Sells
Palestrina ed. Wagner — Stabat Mater
Bruckner — Nachspiel in D minor, WAB 126/1
Gesualdo — Illumina faciem tuam
Bruckner — Christus factus est, WAB 11
Gesualdo — Ave dulcissima Maria
Bruckner — Ave Maria, WAB 6
interval
Bruckner — Prelude & Fugue in C minor, WAB 131
Lotti — Crucifixus (a 8)
Gesualdo — Tribulationem et dolorem
Bruckner — Os justi, WAB 30
Gesualdo — O vos omnes (a 5)
Bruckner — Salvum fac populum tuum, WAB 40
Gesualdo — Peccantem me quotidie
Bruckner — Vexilla regis, WAB 51
Gesualdo — Laboravi in gemitu meo
Bruckner — Locus iste, WAB 23
Bruckner & Gesualdo
Scan to listen on Spotify
Simon Brackenborough
In many ways, the lives of Anton Bruckner and Carlo Gesualdo, separated by more than two centuries, could not have been more different. The first was the son of a provincial Austrian schoolteacher, the second an Italian prince. Bruckner’s long journey into Viennese musical society was won through immense hard graft, while Gesualdo enjoyed a nobleman’s privileged access to leading musicians of his day. While they composed in very different musical eras, both men left us a body of sacred choral music whose deep feeling comes with an expressive approach to harmony.
The first piece on the programme represents an important musical trend during Bruckner’s lifetime. The Cecilian movement aimed to reform church music in favour of clarity of expression and subservience to the liturgy. Palestrina was its paragon, and the Renaissance master’s translucent Stabat Mater, in which two choirs of four voices exchange chordal phrases, decorated with small touches of polyphony, exemplifies the Cecilian ideal. More surprising, perhaps, is that a progressive like Richard Wagner made an arrangement of this piece. We’ll hear his concert version of the Stabat Mater, which splits passages between soloists and full choir, and specifies a range of dynamics.
Bruckner was a devout believer, and the church played an important role in his
upbringing. He was a boy chorister at St Florian monastery, and returned there as a young man to teach for ten years. Despite mastering the organ (he was a renowned improvisor), two short works from his St Florian era –the Nachspiel in D minor and Prelude and Fugue in C minor – are among a surprisingly small number he composed for the instrument. Both swap grand chordal passages for episodes of contrapuntal ingenuity. The sacred music of the Baroque composer Antonio Lotti would also have been part of monastery life during this time. His 8-part Crucifixus setting has a dignified air: it begins with eight imitative entries rising successively from the bass, before a passage of elegant chordal imitation leads to a solemn close.
Bruckner’s mature sacred music was composed during his later years in Linz, where he was Cathedral organist, and subsequently in Vienna, where he taught at the Conservatory. The earliest work we’ll hear tonight is the seven-part Ave Maria of 1861, which combines rich chordal writing with passages of imitation. The monumental starkness of its A major fanfare at ‘Jesus’, followed by a dramatic pause, is a particularly Brucknerian gesture, familiar from his symphonies.
However, by the time of Christus factus est in 1884, Bruckner had absorbed the progressive harmonic practice of his idol Wagner, which unlocked the expressive
power of remote modulations. Here it becomes a powerful tool in his nimble approach to word-setting, which contrasts the solemnity of Christ’s death with the glory of his exaltation, and masterfully builds to a fortissimo climax before gradually subsiding to a quiet close.
By way of contrast, the serenely beautiful Os justi of 1879 – dedicated to the choirmaster of St Florian, Ignaz Traumihler – finds Bruckner adhering to Cecilian ideals. Remarkably, the entire piece is composed in the Lydian mode (the notes of C major but centred on F) without a single accidental. The restriction is so skilfully managed that it sounds in no way lacking. A similarly archaic flavour can be found in Salvum fac populum (1884), which is based on a recurring bass chant, alternating
with repeated chords and flourishes of polyphony.
Bruckner’s late strophic hymn Vexilla regis, from 1892, sums up his choral style in a beautifully condensed form. Each verse opens in the austere Phrygian mode, before rising to a majestic ‘Dresden Amen’ – a famous cadence in German church music –after which exquisite modulations lead us back to a bare open fifth on E. The Dresden Amen featured prominently as the ‘Grail’ motif in Wagner’s Parsifal, an opera whose premiere Bruckner had attended ten years before. Arguably, the chorale-like opening of Locus Iste also carries a hint of his hero’s opera Tannhäuser, though the charming sincerity of this miniature is all Bruckner’s own.
As a child, Carlo Gesualdo was likely marked out for a career in the clergy, before the death of his older brother made him the heir to the Principality of Venosa, part of the Kingdom of Naples. Music seems to have been his chief obsession in life, and as a composer he left a considerable body of vocal music, both sacred and secular. His works tonight are taken from the 1603 collection of motets for five voices, Sacrae Cantiones – sadly its companion collection, for six and seven voices, only survives with missing parts.
A key influence on Gesualdo’s mature compositional style were two years he spent at the court of Ferrara, having married Eleonora d’Este, the Duke of Ferrara’s cousin, in 1594. Ferrara
was a major centre of artistic patronage and progressive musical activity, home to the virtuoso madrigal composer Luzzasco Luzzaschi and Concerto delle donne, the Duke’s renowned female vocal ensemble.
However, no Gesualdo biography can avoid some infamous facts. In October 1590 the Prince murdered his first wife Maria d’Avalos and her adulterous lover, the Duke of Andria. 13 years later –around the time of the Sacrae Cantiones – two women of his household were tortured and imprisoned for alleged witchcraft (one apparently his mistress), which only reinforces the lurid reputation of this rather Gothic figure. Little wonder, then, that Gesualdo himself has become the subject of numerous
operas. In music, his recurring choice of texts on themes of penitence and suffering, along with reports of melancholy behaviour, have led many to understand the Prince as a guiltridden man, tormented by demons. What must be acknowledged, however, is that his status in a brutally patriarchal society granted him impunity while others – especially women – suffered.
Gesualdo was composing at a time of prominent Mannerist influence, a trend which favoured a bold approach to word setting. But in some respects, the Sacrae Cantiones motets show concern for older practice. Illumina faciem tuam, which takes words from Psalm 30, is written as a continuous flow of smooth polyphony, with only moderate chromaticism. It’s a beautiful piece, but the minor-major sharpening of the uppermost line in the final bars is its only real expressive surprise.
Nonetheless, at times Gesualdo alighted upon idiosyncratic progressions which, from today’s standpoint, sound uncannily modern. Ave dulcissima
Maria begins in a polyphonic vein, but breaks dramatically into imploring chords at ‘O Maria’. The following section, appealing to Mary to ‘pray for us’, darkens in atmosphere with a series of remarkable harmonic shifts – extraordinary not in their dissonance, but in the remoteness of the chords’ relationships to one another.
This tendency – to change from a lively texture to still chords at the point of harmonic dislocation – is perhaps Gesualdo’s most distinctive expressive act, one that provides a creepy sensation of the musical language breaking down. It’s as though the composed face
dissolves, so to speak, on a word of particular significance.
Time and again, the pivot point relates to penitence. For the Psalm setting Tribulationem et dolorem, which starts despondently but soon acquires florid movement, a short dissolution occurs at ‘miserecors’ (merciful). In Peccantem me quotidie, a Responsory from Matins for the dead, an even more startling chordal progression interrupts the flow at ‘miserere Mei Deus’ (have mercy upon me, God). Coming from the same liturgical office, Laboravi in gemitu meo (I have struggled with my grief) transports us between the alien worlds of C# minor to A minor for ‘lacrimis’ (with tears).
But perhaps the most extraordinary motet we’ll hear today is O vos omnes, a setting of text from the Old Testament book of Lamentations. It begins very simply with broad chords, before a contrapuntal outburst leads to an arresting chromatic cadence (once more, the top line ratchets up by a semitone). In the passage that follows, Gesualdo’s harmonies repeatedly misdirect us, while weaving in beautiful floating suspensions. As a result, the words – ‘see if there is any sorrow like my sorrow’ – are charged with the poignant sense of being bereft, of not knowing which way to turn. Even four hundred years after his death, the strange and visionary music of this fascinating and troubling figure has lost none of its capacity to surprise us.
Stabat mater dolorosa
Iuxta crucem lacrimosa
Dum pendebat filius.
Cuius animam gementem, Contristantem et dolentem, Pertransivit gladius.
O quam tristis et afflicta
Fuit illa benedicta
Mater unigeniti;
Quae moerebat et dolebat
Pia mater dum videbat
Nati poenas incliti.
Quis est homo qui non fleret
Christi matrem si videret
In tanto supplicio?
Quis non posset contristari
Christi matrem contemplari
Dolentem cum filio?
Pro peccatis suae gentis
Vidit Jesum in tormentis, Et flagellis subditum.
Vidit suum dulcem natum
Moriendo, desolatum, Dum emisit spiritum.
Eia mater, fons amoris, Me sentire vim doloris
Fac, ut tecum lugeam.
Fac ut ardeat cor meum
In amando Christum Deum
Ut sibi complaceam.
Sancta mater, istud agas, Crucifixi fige plagas
Cordi meo valide.
Stood the sorrowful mother weeping by the cross while her son hung there.
Through her sorrowful heart, crushed with sadness and grief, there passed a sword.
O how sad and how afflicted was that blessed woman, the mother of the sole begotten;
How she grieved and sorrowed the pious mother, when she saw the pains of her glorious son.
What man would not weep to see the mother of Christ in such great anguish?
Who could not feel her grief, to think on the mother of Christ grieving with her son?
She saw Jesus in agony and scourged by the lash for the sins of his people.
She saw her own sweet son dying and forsaken, until he yielded up his spirit.
O mother, fount of love, make me feel the force of your sorrow, that I too may grieve with you.
Make my heart burn with love for Christ my God, that I may be pleasing to him.
Holy mother, grant me this, fix deep within my heart the wounds of him, crucified.
Tui nati vulnerati, Tam dignati pro me pati, Poenas mecum divide.
Fac me tecum pie flere, Crucifixo condolere, Donec ego vixero.
Iuxta crucem tecum stare, Et me tibi sociare In planctu desidero.
Virgo virginum praeclara, Mihi iam non sis amara: Fac me tecum plangere.
Fac ut portem Christi mortem, Passionis fac consortem, Et plagas recolere.
Fac me plagis vulnerari, Fac me cruce inebriari, Et cruore filii.
Flammis ne urar succensus, Per te, virgo, sim defensus In die iudicii.
Fac me cruce custodiri, Morte Christi praemuniri, Confoveri gratia.
Quando corpus morietur, Fac ut animae donetur Paradisi gloria.
Anonymous, 13th century
Let me share the torment of your wounded son, who deigned to suffer for me.
Let me weep with you, and suffer with the crucified my whole life through.
I yearn to stand with you beside the cross, and join with you in deep lament.
Virgin, all virgins excelling, do not be harsh with me: but let me mourn with you.
Let me bear Christ’s death within me, let me share his passion and be mindful of his wounds.
Let me be riven by his wounds, intoxicated by the cross, and the blood of your son.
Let me not be scorched by flames; may I, through you, O virgin, be defended on the day of judgement.
Let me be guarded by the cross, defended by the death of Christ, and strengthened by his grace.
And grant that when my body dies, my soul may gain the glory of paradise.
(Sacrarum cantionum liber primus, 5vv, Naples, 1603)
Illumina faciem tuam super servum tuum, salvum me fac in misericordia tua: Domine, non confundar, quoniam invocavi te.
Psalm 30: 17-18 (Vulgate)
Shew thy servant the light of thy countenance, save me for thy mercy’s sake: let me not be confounded, O Lord, for I have called upon thee.
BRUCKNER – CHRISTUS FACTUS EST, WAB 11
Christus factus est pro nobis obediens usque ad mortem, mortem autem crucis. Propter quod et Deus exaltavit illum et dedit illi nomen, quod est super omne nomen.
Philippians 2: 8-9; Gradual for Maundy Thursday
GESUALDO – AVE DULCISSIMA MARIA
Christ for us became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him and given him a name which is above every name.
(Sacrarum cantionum liber primus, 5vv, Naples, 1603)
Ave, dulcissima Maria, vera spes et vita, dulce refrigerium!
O Maria, flos virginum, ora pro nobis Jesum.
Anonymous
BRUCKNER – AVE MARIA, WAB 6
Ave Maria, gratia plena, Dominus tecum. Benedicta tu in mulieribus et benedictus fructus ventris tui, Jesus. Sancta Maria, mater Dei, ora pro nobis peccatoribus, nunc et in hora mortis nostrae. Amen.
Anonymous, 13th century
interval
Hail, sweetest Mary, our true hope and our life, O sweet relief!
O Mary, flower of virgins, pray for us to Jesus.
Hail, Mary, full of grace; the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
BRUCKNER – PPRELUDE & FUGUE IN C MINOR FOR ORGAN, WAB 131
LOTTI – CRUCIFIXUS A 8
Crucifixus etiam pro nobis sub Pontio Pilato: Passus, et sepultus est.
From the Nicene Creed
He was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate: He suffered and was buried.
GESUALDO – TRIBULATIONEM ET DOLOREM
(Sacrarum cantionum liber primus, 5vv, Naples, 1603)
Tribulationem et dolorem inveni
Et nomen Domini invocavi: O Domine libera animam eam; Misericors Dominus et justus et Deus noster miseretur.
Psalm 114:3b-5 (Vulgate)
Os iusti meditabitur sapientiam, et lingua eius loquetur iudicium. Lex Dei eius in corde ipsius et non supplantabuntur gressus eius. Alleluia.
Psalm 37: 30-31 (Vulgate)
GESUALDO – O VOS OMNES [A 5]
I met with trouble and sorrow: And I called upon the name of the Lord: O Lord, deliver my soul. The Lord is merciful and just, and our God shows mercy.
The mouth of the just is exercised in wisdom, and his tongue will be talking of judgement: the law of his God is in his heart, and his footsteps will not be distracted. Alleluia.
(Sacrarum cantionum liber primus, 5vv, Naples, 1603)
O vos omnes, qui transitis per viam, Attendite et videte si est dolor sicut dolor meus.
Responsory for Holy Week, after Lamentations 1:12
O all ye that pass by the way, behold and see If there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow.
– SALVUM FAC POPULUM TUUM, WAB 40
Salvum fac populum tuum et benedic hereditati tuae, Domine Et rege eos, et extolle illos usque in aeternum
Per singulos dies benedicimus, et laudamus nomen tuum in saeculum et in saeculorum saeculi.
Dignare, Domine, die isto, sine peccato nos custodire.
Miserere nostri, Domine, miserere nostri
Fiat misericordia tua, Domine, super nos Quem ad modum speravimus in te.
Verses from Te Deum
O Lord, save thy people and bless thine heritage. Govern them and lift them up for ever. Day by day we magnify thee; And we worship thy Name ever world without end.
Vouchsafe, O Lord, to keep us this day without sin.
O Lord, have mercy upon us, have mercy upon us.
O Lord, let thy mercy lighten upon us as our trust is in thee.
(Sacrarum cantionum liber primus, 5vv, Naples, 1603)
Peccantem me quotidie et non paenitentem, Timor mortis conturbat me.
From the 7th Respond in the Office for the Dead, Matins, Third Nocturne.
Vexilla regis prodeunt: Fulget Crucis mysterium, Quo carne carnis conditur Suspensus est patibulo. O Crux, ave, spes unica, Hoc passionis tempore Auge piis iustitiam, Reisque dona veniam. Te summa, Deus, Trinitas, Collaudet omnis spiritus: Quos per Crucis mysterium Salvas, rege per saecula. Amen.
Venantius Fortunatus (c530-c610)
GESUALDO – LABORAVI IN GEMITU MEO
I who sin every day and am not penitent the fear of death troubles me
The banners of the king advance: the mystery of the Cross shines forth; he, the creator of all flesh, flesh himself, was hanged. Hail, O Cross, our only hope; in this Passiontide increase justice to the pious, grant forgiveness to sinners. God, most high Trinity, may every soul praise you: forever reign over those you save through the mystery of the Cross. Amen.
(Sacrarum cantionum liber primus, 5vv, Naples, 1603)
Laboravi in gemitu meo; lavabo per singulas noctes lectum meum: lacrimis meis stratum meum rigabo.
Psalm 6:7 (Vulgate)
Locus iste a Deo factus est: inaestimabile sacramentum irreprehensibilis est.
Latin gradual for the anniversary of the dedication of a church
I am weary of my groaning; every night wash I my bed: and water my couch with my tears.
This place was made by God, a priceless sacrament; it is without reproach.
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 wordpainting” (Leipziger Volkszeitung).
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.”
Soprano
Rachel Allen
Penelope Appleyard (Greenwich)
Emily Armour
Rebekah Jones (Ely & Oxford)
Angela Hicks
Eloise Irving
Lucy Knight
Charlotte La Thrope
Emily Owen
Rebecca Ramsey
Billie Robson
Cressida Sharp
Amy Wood
Alto
Francesca Biliotti
Luthien Brackett
Rosie Clifford
Christie Cook
Sarah Denbee
Annie Gill
Iris Korfker
Lorna Price
Tenor
Mark Bonney
David de Winter
Jacob Ewens
Jonathan Hanley
Thomas Herford
Samuel Jenkins
Thomas Kelly
Matthew Long
Graham Neal
Gareth Treseder
Bass
Jack Comerford
Peter Edge
Tristan Hambleton
Alistair Ollerenshaw
David Stuart
George Vines
Jonty Ward
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 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 across Europe’s foremost festivals.
Under his leadership, Solomon’s Knot “set new standards” with productions of JS Bach’s St John and St Matthew Passions, 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 JS & JC 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 (Händel-Festspiele Halle, Regensburg Tage Alter Musik) as well as Dixit Dominus (Bachfest Schaffhausen, Brighton Festival, De Singel Antwerp). In autumn 2024 he will take Solomon’s Knot and the Bach Motets to the Festival Bach Montréal, and Monteverdi’s 1610 Vespers to Helsinki.
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, Dvořák, Prokofiev, Nielsen, and Varèse, and has worked with choirs from the UK to the Middle East.
The Monteverdi Choir, led by Jonathan Sells...proves its extraordinary class.
— Leipziger Volkszeitung
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.
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.
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.
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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
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 90 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).
Planning for our next year of the Apprenticeship Programme is underway, and we expect to welcome our new group of Apprentices in early 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 are set to open this Autumn, with auditions taking place in the New Year, and more details about the application process and the content of the upcoming Apprenticeship Programme will be available on our website in due course.
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
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
Sir Stephen Gomersall
Gordon Gullan
Stephen & Victoria Swift
Julia & Martin Albrecht
Geoffrey Barnett
Donald & Corrine Brydon
Rosemary Chadder
Peter & Stephanie Chapman
Sarah & Mike Cuthbert
Sir Henry Keswick
Yi-Peng Li
Lady Nixon
Mollie Norwich
Nicholas & Christylle Phillips
Professor Richard Portes CBE FBA
Anthony C. Shoults
Professor John Smyth
Captain Brian Woodford CBE RN
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
Morgan Stanley
TRUSTS & FOUNDATIONS
Dunard Fund
King Charles III Charitable Fund
Garfield Weston Foundation
Mrs F B Laurence’s Charitable Trust
The Thistle Trust
Roger Chadder
Peter J. Chapman
Ian Hay Davison CBE
Judith McCartin Scheide
Nicholas Snowman OBE
The Estate of Donald Gorman
The Estate of Howard Hodgkin
The Estate of Kevin Lavery
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.
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
Freya Firth-Robson Development Coordinator
Philip Turbett Orchestra Fixer
Matthew Muller
Stage Manager
Sir David Walker (Chairman)
Christian Rochat (Deputy Chairman)
David Best
Lady Deben
Virginia Fraser
Sir Stephen Gomersall
Andrey Kidel
Francis Norton
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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Andrew Staples – tenor
Members of the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique
Monteverdi Choir
English Baroque Soloists
Christophe Rousset – conductor
