Tenebrae Promotional Pack

“THERE IS A HUNGER FOR WHAT THIS FINELY POLISHED GROUP HAS TO OFFER.” The New York Times

www.tenebrae-choir.com TenebraeChoir @TenebraeChoir

“A CONCERT BY THE BRITISH CHOIR TENEBRAE IS MORE THAN A PERFORMANCE. IT’S AN EXPERIENCE THAT ENVELOPS THE AUDIENCE… THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST CHOIRS IN THE WORLD.” St. Louis Post-Dispatch

TENEBRAE

Described as “phenomenal” (The Times) and “devastatingly beautiful” (Gramophone Magazine), award-winning choir Tenebrae, under the direction of Nigel Short, is one of the world’s leading vocal ensembles renowned for its passion and precision.

In 2012 Tenebrae was the first-ever ensemble to be multi-nominated in the same category for the BBC Music Magazine Awards, securing the accolade of Best Choral Performance for their recording of Victoria’s Requiem Mass, 1605. The following year the choir’s recording of Fauré’s Requiem with the London Symphony Orchestra was nominated for the Gramophone Awards, having been described as “the very best Fauré Requiem on disc” (Gramophone Magazine) and “the English choral tradition at its zenith” (Richard Morrison, Chief Music Critic, The Times).

The choir is renowned for its highly-acclaimed interpretations of choral music with repertoire ranging from hauntingly passionate works of the Renaissance through to contemporary choral masterpieces. In 2016 the choir received yet another BBC Music Magazine Award for its album of Brahms and Bruckner Motets in benefit of Macmillan Cancer Support.

Tenebrae is regularly engaged with the world’s finest orchestras and has appeared at major festivals and venues including the BBC Proms, City of London Festival, Edinburgh International Festival, Three Choirs Festival , Leipzig Gewandhaus (Germany) and the Montreux Choral Festival (Switzerland).

“CHORAL MUSIC DOESN’T GET MORE MAGNIFICENT THAN THIS.” Classic FM

Tenebrae annually present a diverse London concert series, including curating its own Holy Week Festival at St John’s Smith Square, as well as regular engagements across the UK, Europe and the USA. Alongside concert performances, the choir presents its new inspirational workshop method, The Tenebrae Effect, designed to challenge and advance every participant in a friendly environment by instilling skills essential to a Tenebrae performance.

‘Passion and Precision’ are Tenebrae’s core values. Through its continued dedication to performance of the highest quality, Tenebrae’s vision is to deliver dramatic programming, flawless performances and unforgettable experiences, allowing audiences around the world to be moved by the power and intimacy of the human voice.

NIGEL SHORT

Award-winning conductor Nigel Short has built up an enviable reputation for his recording and live performance work with leading orchestras and ensembles across the world.

A singer of great acclaim, Nigel was a member of the renowned vocal ensemble The King’s Singers from 1994–2000. Upon leaving the group, he formed Tenebrae, a virtuosic choir that embraced his dedication to passion and precision. Under his direction Tenebrae has collaborated with internationally acclaimed orchestras and instrumentalists and now enjoys a reputation as one of the world’s leading vocal ensembles.

To date, Nigel Short has conducted Tenebrae together with the Aurora Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, English Chamber Orchestra, English Concert, London Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the Scottish Ensemble.

Nigel has vast recording experience having conducted for many of the world’s major record labels including Decca Classics, Deutsche Grammophon, EMI Classics, LSO Live, Signum and Warner Classics. As a Gramophone award-winning producer, Nigel works with many of the UK’s leading professional choirs and vocal ensembles including Alamire, Ex Cathedra, Gallicantus and The King’s Singers.

“FOR PURITY AND PRECISION OF TONE, AND FLAWLESS INTONATION, NIGEL SHORT’S CHAMBER CHOIR TENEBRAE IS PRETTY MUCH UNBEATABLE.” The Times

“TENEBRAE ARE SPECIAL. DIRECTED BY NIGEL SHORT, THESE WERE EXEMPLARY PERFORMANCES… LUCID, AND SO COMMANDING IT SEEMED AS IF SINGING PERFECTLY IN TUNE WAS THE MOST NATURAL THING IN THE WORLD.” The Guardian

PROGRAMMES

PROGRAMMES: TENEBRAE

PATH OF MIRACLES

Recognised as Tenebrae’s signature work, and hailed as “an evocative odyssey” (The Times), Path of Miracles by Joby Talbot was the choir’s first major commission. To accompany its revival, Tenebrae has commissioned a unique new choral work by Owain Park, Footsteps, which allows Tenebrae to perform alongside choirs of varying abilities local to touring venues. The four movements of Talbot’s Path of Miracles are focused on the main staging posts of the Camino Frances – the most enduring route of the great Pilgrimage to Santiago. Candlelight, singing from memory and an imaginative use of the concert space guarantees Tenebrae at its dramatic best.

1. Joby Talbot: Extracts from Movements 1 (Roncesvalles) and 3 (León) (Path of Miracles – Signum 2006) 04:31 2. Joby Talbot: Extracts from Movement 4 (Santiago) (Path of Miracles – Signum 2006) 07:30

“… A MUSICAL MIRACLE… IT’S A TOUR DE FORCE AND ABSOLUTELY STUNNING.” Choir and Organ Magazine

BRAHMS AND BRUCKNER MOTETS

Based on Tenebrae’s BBC Music Magazine award-winning album, the programme, which can be performed with organ and trombones, includes Brahms’ ‘Geistliches Lied’, ‘How Lovely Are Thy Dwellings Fair’ from the German Requiem as well as Bruckner’s ‘Locus Iste’ and ‘Christus factus est’. A mixed a cappella programme pairing this repertoire and the music of Lobo, Victoria and Allegri is also available entitled The Romantic Legacy of Renaissance Polyphony.

3. Anton Bruckner: Christus factus est, WAB 11 (Brahms and Bruckner Motets – Signum 2015) 05:54

“… A BEAUTIFULLY BALANCED AND CONTRASTED PROGRAMME… WHAT SUPERB SINGING.” BBC Music Magazine

PROGRAMMES: TENEBRAE

RUSSIAN TREASURES

Russian choral music has been a powerful feature in Tenebrae’s concert performances since the choir’s inception. Inspired by a collection of manuscripts collected by Nigel Short, this programme includes works from two of the greatest names in Russian music, Rachmaninov and Tchaikovsky, as well as gems by lesserknown composers such as Chesnokov, Golovanov and Kalinnikov. These works, rarely sung outside Russia, evoke a rich sound-world of great depth and beauty.

4. Nikolai Golovanov: Slava Ottsu (Yedinorodnï) (Russian Treasures – Bene Arte 2014) 03:58

“TENEBRAE IS THE CURRENT MASTER OF THE RUSSIAN SOUND.” Classic FM

A HYMN OF HEAVENLY BEAUTY

This programme celebrates some of the finest choral works from the Renaissance through to the present day, ranging from the haunting ‘Allegri Miserere mei, Deus’, to a cappella works by Sir John Tavener. Featuring a number of familiar favourites, these pieces showcase the opulent soundscape of the Russian orthodox, the prayerful intimacy of contemporary English masters and the soaring contrapuntal lines of the late Renaissance. Closing with Harris’ spectacular ‘Faire is the Heaven’, this programme is a true homage to choral greats past and present.

5. Gregorio Allegri: Miserere mei, Deus (Allegri Miserere – Signum 2006) 07:33

“… A MUST FOR ALL CONNOISSEURS OF THE FINEST UNACCOMPANIED CHORAL SINGING…” The Telegraph

PROGRAMMES: TENEBRAE

SONGS OF FAREWELL

Tenebrae brings you two programmes based around Parry’s evocative Songs of Farewell. Firstly, Music of the Spheres, which celebrates a selection of the greatest choral works from the British Isles where Shakespeare, Shelley, Byron, Tennyson and Milton are the inspiration of renowned composers such as Vaughan Williams, Elgar, Holst and Stanford. Secondly, a moving World War One commemoration featuring music by Gurney, Howells and Vaughan Williams together with Schoenberg’s rarely performed ‘Friede auf Erden’.

6. Hubert Parry: My soul, there is a country (Songs of Farewell – Signum 2011) 03:52

“TECHNICALLY THE SINGING IS IMPECCABLE WITHOUT BEING AT ALL EFFORTFUL OR STUDIED… OF THIS PROGRAMME’S TYPE, I CAN’T ENVISAGE HEARING ANYTHING BETTER.” BBC Music Magazine

A VERY ENGLISH CHRISTMAS

Celebrate the yuletide season with a wonderful selection of arrangements which are a musical breath of fresh air at Christmas. This programme heralds the talents of brilliant English composers, including arrangements by Jonathan Rathbone and Simon Preston alongside traditional carols and heart-warming festive favourites.

7. Franz Gruber arr. Jonathan Rathbone: Silent Night (What Sweeter Music – Signum 2009) 04:07 8. Christopher Robinson: Rejoice and Be Merry (A Very English Christmas – Bene Arte 2015) 01:55

“SUPERBLY SUNG AND PLENTY OF FUN.” Gramophone Magazine

PROGRAMMES: ORCHESTRAL BERNSTEIN: CHICHESTER PSALMS

With music by Aaron Copland, Stephen Paulus, Randall Thompson and Eric Whitacre, Tenebrae presents a programme celebrating some of the finest exponents of American choral music. Testament to the choir’s outstanding virtuosity, Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms closes the programme, the full orchestral version of which Tenebrae is releasing on disc with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Nigel Short, to mark Bernstein’s centenary in 2018.

FAURÉ: REQUIEM

In this programme Fauré’s Requiem is paired with Bach’s Partita in D minor and a selection of chorales. Fauré’s Requiem is a work of serenity, joy and liberation.

In finding a sense of inner stillness in this composition Fauré crafted a work of astonishing beauty which can be seen no better than in the ‘Pie Jesu’. Bach’s craftsmanship is demonstrated in his second violin partita which is interspersed with chorales. The work culminates in a reconstruction of the Ciaconna which highlights the hidden chorale themes within this fascinating piece.

9. Gabriel Fauré: Libera Me London Symphony Orchestra Chamber Ensemble (Fauré Requiem – LSO Live 2012) 04:53

“I HAVE NO HESITATION IN LABELLING THIS THE VERY BEST FAURÉ REQUIEM ON DISC...A PERFORMANCE OF EXTREME RICHNESS AND OPULENCE...EXQUISITE SINGING OF TENEBRAE...

IN SHORT, THIS IS A DEVASTATINGLY BEAUTIFUL PERFORMANCE.” Gramophone Magazine

PROGRAMMES: ORCHESTRAL

HANDEL: MESSIAH

The choir has performed Handel’s renowned oratorio to great acclaim with leading orchestras across the world including an annual performance with the English Chamber Orchestra at London’s Cadogan Hall, a live recording with the London Symphony Orchestra and a series of performances in the USA.

10. George Frideric Handel: For unto us a child is born London Symphony Orchestra (Handel Messiah – LSO Live 2007) 04:06

“THE CHORAL SINGING FROM TENEBRAE IS JAW-DROPPINGLY BEAUTIFUL.” The Guardian

MOZART: REQUIEM

This programme features two of Mozart’s most renowned choral works, Ave Verum Corpus and the immense Requiem. Performed alongside Haydn’s Insanae et vanae curae this programme celebrates some of the greatest works written for orchestra and choir in the classical period. Tenebrae recorded this repertoire with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe for Warner Classics and was celebrated as Classic FM’s ‘disc of the week’.

11. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Requiem in D Minor K626 - II. Kyrie Chamber Orchestra of Europe (Mozart Requiem – Warner Classics, Warner Music Group Company, 2004) 02:07

“A FIRST-CLASS, WELL-DRILLED ENSEMBLE...

THE EFFECT WAS MAGICAL.” London Evening Standard

“TENEBRAE REVEALS ITSELF AS ONE OF THOSE EXCEPTIONAL CHOIRS WHOSE INDIVIDUAL SINGERS HAVE BEEN MOULDED INTO A SINGLE SUPERBLY SENSITIVE AND RESPONSIVE MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.” The Telegraph

PROGRAMMES: TENEBRAE CONSORT Tenebrae Consort focuses on repertoire originally conceived for consort performance. An exceptional group of musicians, Tenebrae Consort highlights the vocal quality of the individuals who make up the trademark ‘Tenebrae’ sound whilst creating an intimate concert experience. Known for their combination of instinctive ensemble skills and masterful solo abilities, the singers perform alongside chamber groups of leading instrumentalists and have collaborated with the Chilingirian Quartet and the viol consort Phantasm.

SPANISH GLORIES OF THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY

Tenebrae Consort present its BBC Music Magazine award-winning interpretation of Tomás Luis de Victoria’s requiem mass for six voices. The programme also features a selection from Victoria’s Tenebrae Responsories and Lamentations for Holy Saturday as well as the captivating ‘Versa est in luctum’ by his contemporary, Alonso Lobo.

12. Tomás Luis de Victoria: Requiem Mass, 1605 - Lesson - Taedet animam meam (Requiem Mass, 1605 – Signum 2011) 03:04 13. Tomás Luis de Victoria: Responsories for Holy Saturday Nocturn II . O vos omnes (Victoria Tenebrae Responsories – Signum 2013) 03:04

“VICTORIA CALLED ON ALL HIS IMAGINATIVE RESOURCES IN THIS REQUIEM, AND TENEBRAE INTERPRETS THEM MAGNIFICENTLY.” The Daily Telegraph

PROGRAMMES: TENEBRAE CONSORT

MEDIEVAL CHANT AND TALLIS LAMENTATIONS

A programme representing the daily duties of a singer in a Medieval English Cathedral from late afternoon until dusk. The hypnotic rhythm of antiphonal psalms, the familiarity of ancient hymns and the tranquillity of unaccompanied plainsong processions allow us to appreciate the beauty of this timeless music.

Tallis’ intensely moving Lamentations of Jeremiah is programmed alongside medieval chant to highlight a stark contrast in style as one hears Tallis’ contrapuntal textures against the simplistic beauty of Gregorian chant.

14. Plainchant: Hymn for Passiontide - Pange lingua gloriosi (Medieval Chant and Tallis Lamentations – Bene Arte 2014) 03:12

“THE SINGING OF THE GENTLE PSALMS IS HYPNOTICALLY PURE.” The Observer

SUN, MOON, SEA AND STARS

Sun Moon, Sea and Stars is an international collection of original works and arrangements by Bob Chilcott and some of his most talented colleagues from the choral world, such as Sir Richard Rodney Bennett and Alexander L’Estrange.

This wide-ranging celebration of choral settings encompasses archetypal English folk song, and new versions of French, Finnish and Japanese traditional melodies alongside classics from the Great American Songbook and The Beatles, all packaged in the richest of styles, scorings and moods.

15. Bob Chilcott: Thou, My Love, Art Fair (Sun, Moon, Sea and Stars – Bene Arte 2015) 03:45 16. George Gershwin arr. Bob Chilcott: Fascinating Rhythm (Sun, Moon, Sea and Stars – Bene Arte 2015) 01:23

“WE ARE TAKEN FROM THE SEDUCTIVE HEIGHTS OF ‘EN LA MACARENITA’ AND ‘FASCINATING RHYTHM’ TO THE DREAMY ROMANCE OF WALTON’S ‘TOUCH HER SOFT LIPS’… KICK YOUR SHOES OFF, SIT BACK AND ENJOY.”

The Guardian

TRACK LISTING 1.

Joby Talbot: Extracts from Movements 1 (Roncesvalles) and 3 (León) (Path of Miracles – Signum 2006) 04:31

2.

Joby Talbot: Extracts from Movement 4 (Santiago) (Path of Miracles – Signum 2006) 07:30

3.

Anton Bruckner: Christus factus est, WAB 11 (Brahms and Bruckner Motets – Signum 2015) 05:54

4.

Nikolai Golovanov: Slava Ottsu (Yedinorodnï) (Russian Treasures – Bene Arte 2014) 03:58

5.

Gregorio Allegri: Miserere mei, Deus (Allegri Miserere – Signum 2006) 07:33

6.

Hubert Parry: My soul, there is a country (Songs of Farewell – Signum 2011) 03:52

7.

Franz Gruber arr. Jonathan Rathbone: Silent Night (What Sweeter Music – Signum 2009) 04:07

8.

Christopher Robinson: Rejoice and Be Merry (A Very English Christmas – Bene Arte 2015) 01:55

9.

Gabriel Fauré: Libera Me London Symphony Orchestra Chamber Ensemble (Fauré Requiem – LSO Live 2012) 04:53

10. George Frideric Handel: For unto us a child is born London Symphony Orchestra (Handel Messiah – LSO Live 2007) 04:06 11. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Requiem in D Minor K626 - II. Kyrie Chamber Orchestra of Europe (Mozart Requiem – Warner Classics 2004)* 02:07 12. Tomás Luis de Victoria: Requiem Mass, 1605 - Lesson - Taedet animam meam (Requiem Mass, 1605 – Signum 2011) 03:04 13. Tomás Luis de Victoria: Responsories for Holy Saturday Nocturn II. O vos omnes (Victoria Tenebrae Responsories – Signum 2013) 03:04 14. Plainchant: Hymn for Passiontide - Pange lingua gloriosi (Medieval Chant and Tallis Lamentations – Bene Arte 2014) 03:12 15. Bob Chilcott: Thou, My Love, Art Fair (Sun, Moon, Sea and Stars – Bene Arte 2015) 03:45 16. George Gershwin arr. Bob Chilcott: Fascinating Rhythm (Sun, Moon, Sea and Stars – Bene Arte 2015) 01:23

Total Running Time: 01:04:53

*Mozart Requiem Kyrie recording courtesy of Warner Classics (www.warnerclassics.com). All other tracks courtesy of Bene Arte Records, Signum Classics (www.signumrecords.com) and LSO Live (lsolive.lso.co.uk).

Photography by Ben McKee, Chris O’Donovan and Nick White

TENEBRAE MANAGEMENT Henry Southern General Manager M: +44 (0)7584 193849 E: henry@tenebrae-choir.com Skype: henry.southern

12–15 Hanger Green London W5 3EL, UK T: +44 (0)20 3384 0368 E: info@tenebrae-choir.com W: www.tenebrae-choir.com

AGENTS France and Belgium Vincent Lafourcade Les Concerts Parisiens 21 rue Bergère 75009 Paris France

T: +33 01 48 24 16 97 F: +33 01 48 24 16 29 M: +33 06 68 81 20 08 E: vincent@concertsparisiens.fr W: www.concertsparisiens.fr

Germany, Austria and Switzerland Thomas Märki Müller & Pavlik artistic management Byfangweg 22 CH 4051 Basel Switzerland

T: +41 61 273 70 10 M: +41 79 581 46 43 E: thomas@artisticmanagement.eu W: www.artisticmanagement.eu

Spain Jorge Jiménez Bocanegra imusica Téllez 54, 1º Planto, oficina 4B 28007 Madrid España

T: +34 91 506 1531 F: +34 91 506 1532 M: +34 636 49 02 61 E: jorgej@e-imusica.com W: www.e-imusica.com

North America Christie Starrett 6 Sunset Drive Hopewell, NJ 08525 USA

M: +1 (917) 557 0001 E: christie.choirs@gmail.com

www.tenebrae-choir.com Tenebrae is a working name of The Tenebrae Choir, Registered in England and Wales, Company No. 7549890 (Limited by Guarantee), Registered Charity No. 1142138. Tenebrae Choir Trading Limited, Registered in England and Wales, Company No. 7549484.