Southampton Philharmonic Choir
Encyclopedia
The Southampton Philharmonic Choir is a large choral society based in Southampton
, England
.
The choir's musical director is David Gibson. It sings with the students of Southampton University Phil and performs with a professional orchestra, the New London Sinfonia. The choir is also known as Southampton Philharmonic Society and is a registered charity.
The choir was founded in 1860, making it Southampton's longest-established music society. It performs works from the baroque and classical repertoire and also contemporary works. The choir has several "first performances in Southampton" to its name and sometimes commissions new works. In 1985, the choir received an Enterprise Award from the National Federation of Music Societies, now Making Music, in recognition of its varied programme and regular inclusion of contemporary works.
For the Millennium, Southampton Philharmonic Choir, jointly with Leeds Festival Chorus
, commissioned a new oratorio The Fall of Jerusalem by Dominic Muldowney
, with libretto by James Fenton
. Both choirs performed the work, separately, in March 2000, the premiere being in Leeds.
The choir performs major concerts three times a year. Its main venue is Southampton Guildhall
. It also regularly performs in Winchester Cathedral
and the Turner Sims Concert Hall, Southampton.
The choir celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2010 with a concert on 24 April in Southampton Guildhall, performing Dominic Muldowney’s The Fall of Jerusalem (see above) and Mozart’s
Requiem
.
On 27 November 2010 in Southampton Guildhall, the choir performed the complete score of Peer Gynt, composed by Grieg
as the incidental music to Ibsen’s
play Peer Gynt
. The choir commissioned a complete English translation of the score, given its first performance at this concert, narrated by actor Samuel West
. The concert also included Delius’
Songs of Farewell and Mendelssohn’s
Hebrides Overture
.
On 12 March 2011 in Winchester Cathedral
, the choir performed Mozart’s
Symphony No 29
, Solemn Vespers and Mass in C Minor.
On 25 June 2011 in Southampton Guildhall, the choir presented a concert of choral and orchestral music by Elgar
, Vaughan Williams
and Parry
, with the City of Southampton Orchestra.
The choir's next concert is on 3 December 2011 in Southampton Guildhall, performing Handel's
Messiah
.
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
The choir's musical director is David Gibson. It sings with the students of Southampton University Phil and performs with a professional orchestra, the New London Sinfonia. The choir is also known as Southampton Philharmonic Society and is a registered charity.
The choir was founded in 1860, making it Southampton's longest-established music society. It performs works from the baroque and classical repertoire and also contemporary works. The choir has several "first performances in Southampton" to its name and sometimes commissions new works. In 1985, the choir received an Enterprise Award from the National Federation of Music Societies, now Making Music, in recognition of its varied programme and regular inclusion of contemporary works.
For the Millennium, Southampton Philharmonic Choir, jointly with Leeds Festival Chorus
Leeds Festival Chorus
The Leeds Festival Chorus is based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It has 170 singing members in soprano, alto, tenor and bass sections. Presenting classical choral music of a professional standard in Yorkshire and elsewhere in Britain, including at the BBC Proms and Manchester Arena, the Chorus...
, commissioned a new oratorio The Fall of Jerusalem by Dominic Muldowney
Dominic Muldowney
Dominic Muldowney is a British composer.-Biography:He studied at the universities of Southampton and York , and took private lessons with Harrison Birtwistle. From 1974 to 1976 he was composer-in-residence to the Southern Arts Association...
, with libretto by James Fenton
James Fenton
James Martin Fenton is an English poet, journalist and literary critic. He is a former Oxford Professor of Poetry.-Life and career:...
. Both choirs performed the work, separately, in March 2000, the premiere being in Leeds.
The choir performs major concerts three times a year. Its main venue is Southampton Guildhall
Southampton Guildhall
Southampton Guildhall is the former town hall of Southampton, Hampshire. It is now in use as a multi-purpose venue for cultural events. It is part of the Civic Centre complex, which also includes includes a police station, council offices, the well-endowed city art gallery, and the city...
. It also regularly performs in Winchester Cathedral
Winchester Cathedral
Winchester Cathedral at Winchester in Hampshire is one of the largest cathedrals in England, with the longest nave and overall length of any Gothic cathedral in Europe...
and the Turner Sims Concert Hall, Southampton.
The choir celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2010 with a concert on 24 April in Southampton Guildhall, performing Dominic Muldowney’s The Fall of Jerusalem (see above) and Mozart’s
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
Requiem
Requiem (Mozart)
The Requiem Mass in D minor by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was composed in Vienna in 1791 and left unfinished at the composer's death. A completion by Franz Xaver Süssmayr was delivered to Count Franz von Walsegg, who had anonymously commissioned the piece for a requiem Mass to commemorate the...
.
On 27 November 2010 in Southampton Guildhall, the choir performed the complete score of Peer Gynt, composed by Grieg
Edvard Grieg
Edvard Hagerup Grieg was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is best known for his Piano Concerto in A minor, for his incidental music to Henrik Ibsen's play Peer Gynt , and for his collection of piano miniatures Lyric Pieces.-Biography:Edvard Hagerup Grieg was born in...
as the incidental music to Ibsen’s
Henrik Ibsen
Henrik Ibsen was a major 19th-century Norwegian playwright, theatre director, and poet. He is often referred to as "the father of prose drama" and is one of the founders of Modernism in the theatre...
play Peer Gynt
Peer Gynt
Peer Gynt is a five-act play in verse by the Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen, loosely based on the fairy tale Per Gynt. It is the most widely performed Norwegian play. According to Klaus Van Den Berg, the "cinematic script blends poetry with social satire and realistic scenes with surreal ones"...
. The choir commissioned a complete English translation of the score, given its first performance at this concert, narrated by actor Samuel West
Samuel West
Samuel Alexander Joseph West is an English actor and theatre director. He is perhaps best known for his role in Howards End and his work on stage. He also starred in the award-winning play ENRON...
. The concert also included Delius’
Frederick Delius
Frederick Theodore Albert Delius, CH was an English composer. Born in the north of England to a prosperous mercantile family of German extraction, he resisted attempts to recruit him to commerce...
Songs of Farewell and Mendelssohn’s
Felix Mendelssohn
Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Barthóldy , use the form 'Mendelssohn' and not 'Mendelssohn Bartholdy'. The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians gives ' Felix Mendelssohn' as the entry, with 'Mendelssohn' used in the body text...
Hebrides Overture
Hebrides Overture
The Hebrides Overture , Op. 26, also known as Fingal's Cave , is a concert overture composed by Felix Mendelssohn. Written in 1830, the piece was inspired by a cavern known as Fingal's Cave on Staffa, an island in the Hebrides archipelago located off the west coast of Scotland...
.
On 12 March 2011 in Winchester Cathedral
Winchester Cathedral
Winchester Cathedral at Winchester in Hampshire is one of the largest cathedrals in England, with the longest nave and overall length of any Gothic cathedral in Europe...
, the choir performed Mozart’s
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
Symphony No 29
Symphony No. 29 (Mozart)
The Symphony No. 29 in A major, K. 201/186a, was completed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart on 6 April 1774. It is, along with Symphony No. 25, one of his better known early symphonies. Stanley Sadie characterizes it as "a landmark .....
, Solemn Vespers and Mass in C Minor.
On 25 June 2011 in Southampton Guildhall, the choir presented a concert of choral and orchestral music by Elgar
Edward Elgar
Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet OM, GCVO was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestral works including the Enigma Variations, the Pomp and Circumstance Marches, concertos...
, Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams OM was an English composer of symphonies, chamber music, opera, choral music, and film scores. He was also a collector of English folk music and song: this activity both influenced his editorial approach to the English Hymnal, beginning in 1904, in which he included many...
and Parry
Hubert Parry
Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry, 1st Baronet was an English composer, teacher and historian of music.Parry's first major works appeared in 1880. As a composer he is best known for the choral song "Jerusalem", the coronation anthem "I was glad" and the hymn tune "Repton", which sets the words...
, with the City of Southampton Orchestra.
The choir's next concert is on 3 December 2011 in Southampton Guildhall, performing Handel's
George Frideric Handel
George Frideric Handel was a German-British Baroque composer, famous for his operas, oratorios, anthems and organ concertos. Handel was born in 1685, in a family indifferent to music...
Messiah
Messiah (Handel)
Messiah is an English-language oratorio composed in 1741 by George Frideric Handel, with a scriptural text compiled by Charles Jennens from the King James Bible and the Book of Common Prayer. It was first performed in Dublin on 13 April 1742, and received its London premiere nearly a year later...
.