A New Addition to the English Choral Tradition

We're busy organising our next major project - performances of L'enfance du Christ with Sir Mark Elder. These concerts will mark the debut of our new vocal enxemble, Britten Sinfonia Voices and takes place in London, Cambridge and Brighton. Below Eamonn Dougan, Chorus Director of the new ensemble talks about the new chorus;

In England we are fortunate to have a choral tradition which has continued uninterrupted for hundreds of years. The cathedral and collegiate traditions continue to contribute many into the profession who are equipped with skills which will stand them in good stead throughout their careers, while institutions such as the National Youth Choirs of Great Britain continue their tireless and inspirational work in developing young singers of all ages. Choirs and choral works hold a special place in our affections and interests as a nation, something which is not limited only to those who regularly attend classical concerts. With television series such as the BBC’s Sacred Music and the recent recording by I Fagiolini (Britten Sinfonia collaborators at the 2010 BBC Proms) of a long lost Italian renaissance masterpiece claiming a place in the pop charts no less, choirs remain very much on our musical and cultural radar..

This season will see the inaugural performances by Britten Sinfonia Voices, the new regular chorus of Britten Sinfonia. The chorus will be made up of a mixture of emerging talent alongside more experienced singers – a combination in keeping with Britten Sinfonia’s ethos, so that the next generation of performers are cultivated by learning from those around them.

The initial two projects are seasonal favourites. First up in December is Berlioz’s sacred trilogy L’enfance du Christ with Sir Mark Elder. A dramatic depiction of Herod’s dream of a child who will overthrow him and Mary and Joseph being warned by angels to flee to Egypt forms the first part. Part 2 is their flight into Egypt (including the perennial favourite The Shepherd’s Farewell) and the trilogy culminates with their safe arrival and an appropriately heavenly final chorus. This will be followed in the same month by performances of Messiah, including a debut for the chorus at the Concertgebouw under the direction of David Hill.

These two works provide a wonderful platform from which to launch Britten Sinfonia’s own in-house chorus. While travelling on the tube recently I was confronted by a poster of Sir Mark Elder telling me that there are many ways to perform a piece of music, but one should never play it safe. This maxim will be at the forefront of my mind when we start rehearsals and will be one which we will aiming to keep to in the projects that lie ahead.

Eamonn Dougan
Chorus Director, Britten Sinfonia Voices

A View from a Musician

As the start of the 2011-12 season draws closer Principal 2nd violinist Miranda Dale talks about what its like to be a member of Britten Sinfonia.

Why Britten Sinfonia? For me it’s been the orchestra which has mirrored my career: as I left full-time musical education Britten Sinfonia was formed and our long-term musical affair began nearly 20 years ago. Since then we have achieved so much - our programming now stands firmly at the cutting edge of the international music scene and we are now touring extensively throughout the UK and internationally. This season we make our debut in both Dublin and New York both of which I am much looking forward too. The thrilling development of Britten Sinfonia has kept me inspired as a means of expressing myself both musically and personally.

Not a project goes by when we are not being stretched to capacity in some respect. Whether learning new techniques such as historically informed performances of Messiah, collaborations with some of the finest jazz or world musicians, or giving world premieres of new works by both established and up-and-coming young composers, each project involves a new and exciting challenge. I should at this point probably give further examples of musical genres which we are required to embrace but the beauty of Britten Sinfonia, I feel, is that there is no need to differentiate or categorise, music is just music!

All this clever programming and marrying together of like-minded international artists would not work, however, if the orchestra were not run in such a transparent and communicative way. In some respects we are all (musicians and management alike) artistic directors of Britten Sinfonia which is what makes us unique. I can think of numerous occasions over the years when I’ve had ideas about artists, players or the orchestra and have freely approached David Butcher, our Chief Executive, to be met with an enthusiastic response. Any problems are also handled with similar gusto and with a willingness to listen and act. In my opinion everybody pulls together, board members, management team and orchestral players to bring a dynamic, fresh approach to the modern chamber orchestra and the wonderful world of music.

Miranda Dale

Miranda will be leading the 2nd violins in the first concerts of the 2011-12 season which feature Norwegian violinist Henning Kraggerud in music by Mozart, Schubert, Berio and a new work by Piers Tattersall.

Messiah moves on to Ely

Our next performance of Messiah with Polyphony takes place on Thursday evening under the Octagon in Ely Cathedral. I await some objective opinions, but the tour got off to a tremendous start in Norwich last night at the Theatre Royal: sold out! The new acoustic system there - which we first tried at our Night Music project in October - worked well with the chamber choir steeply raked behind the orchestra (for a fuller description of how this works, follow the links in On An Overgrown Path).
Next week's performances are at St John's Smith Square in London on 21, 22 and 23 December. Book here: not many tickets remaining, I gather.