Cambridge University Chamber Choir

2007 - 2008 Season

• Bach: Mass in B minor
  Cambridge University Chamber Choir and Players
  

Daniel Hyde conductor
Saturday 20 January 2007
King’s College Chapel

Leader: David Irving
Soprano: Elizabeth Weissberg
Alto: Iestyn Davies
Tenor: Allan Clayton
Bass: George Humphreys

2005-2006 Season

• Mozart: Requiem Mass
  Friday 17 November 2006, St John’s College Chapel

Cambridge University Chamber Choir and Players
David Lowe conductor

• Frank Martin Mass
  Sunday 30th April 2006, Jesus College Chapel

Passacaglia for Organ
(Organ: Francesca Massey)
Motets by Josquin
Directed by Daniel Hyde

2004-2005 Season

• Handel - The Messiah
  Saturday 22nd January 2005, King's College Chapel

The choir performed one of Handel's greatest works, the Messiah, on Saturday the 22nd of January in Kings chapel, joined by an orchestra of Cambridge University's finest players. The concert was very popular with more than half of the tickets being sold in advance, the concert started a little late at around 8:15pm, as a queue that continued to grow past Clare college on the North side of the chapel had to be turned away.

The choir was joined by four fantastic soloists:

Soprano - Elizabeth Cragg
Alto - Iestyn Davies
Tenor - Allan Clayton
Bass - Dan Jordan

The gentlemen soloists, all former gentlemen of St.Johns choir, showed off their beautiful singing talent throughout the concert. Supplemented by the beautiful voice of Elizabeth Cragg, the soloists complemented the choir wonderfully.

• Bryars - Egil's Saga

The setting moves in simple melodic curves, supported by orchestral textures that gradually become more intricate, while the chorus (the excellent Cambridge University Chamber Choir) adds occasional reinforcement. The effect is direct, often diatonic and evocative in a generalised sort of way.

2003-2004 Season

• Media Vita in Morte Sumus,
  Saturday 15th May 2004, Jesus College Chapel

This concert consisted entirely of music by French composers from the 15th to 20th centuries, including secular songs by Josquin Desprez (c1440 - 1521) through to Claude Debussy (1862-1918) and Maurice Ravel(1875-1937). A particular highlight was ...

 

• Schutz and Gabrielli,
  Friday 6th February 2004, Trinity College Chapel

The choir were joined by His Majesty's Sagbutts and Cornetts along with some Viol players from the Academy of Ancient Music for an evening of music by Heinrich Schutz (1585 - 1672) and Giovanni Gabrielli (c1554 - 1612). The choir performed Schutz's Musicalische Exequien and a number of his motets including Ich bin ein rechter Weinstock and Tröstet, Tröstet mein Volk. These were interspersed with a number of Gabrielli's Canzone, performed by the instumentalists. It was a very well-recieved and enjoyable evening's music, the only slight blip being a Viol player getting lost in one of the Canzone, necessitating a restart...

• Berlioz - L'Enfance du Christ,
  Wednesday 26th November 2003, King's College Chapel

As the finale to the Cambridge Music Festival - French Connections, the choir performed one of Hector Berlioz's best-loved works, L'Enfance du Christ, in his bicentennial year. They were joined by soloists Angharad Gruffydd Jones (soprano), Edward Price (baritone), Simon Bailey (bass baritone) and Nicholas Mulroy (tenor), together with the Cambridge University Chamber Orchestra, all conducted by Tim Brown.

• Media Vita in Morte Sumus,
  Friday 28th February 2003, 8pm Jesus College Chapel

This concert chose for its theme 'The Agony of Man'. What at first might seem a somewhat sombre and macabre theme for a concert soon explodes into a wealth of the most intense, thought provoking and rich music in the choral repertoire. Works such as Parry's Songs of Farewel explore the situation of Man's downfall and temporal beauty in exquisitely emotional terms. Twinned with a work such as Arnold Bax's This Worldes Joie, the concertgoer is immediately challenged by these questions of life and despair whilst uplifted by the music's ultimately hopeful message. It is soon apparent that these doom-laden issues are not merely a twentieth century fixation. John Sheppard's Media Vita written in the mid fifteen hundreds explores this very question with unparalleled poise and beauty. "In the midst of life we are in death…."

The central work in the programme, based on this theme was the unconventional song-cycle Sacred and Profane written by Benjamin Britten in the winter of 1974-5 and was first performed and recorded only months before he died. In fact, Sacred and Profane proved to be the last choral work for professionals that Britten was to complete The cycle is a collection of eight medieval lyrics for voices in five parts, which demonstrate the harmonic sophistication of Britten's late style and consequently require extraordinary vocal dexterity and suppleness in performance.

• Britten, A Ceremony of Carols
  27th November 2002, Jesus College Chapel

The ladies of the Chamber Choir celebrated a winter evening with Britten's Ceremony of Carols. The programme included solos by Alan Clayton.

2001-2002 Season

• Britten Festival
  Saturday 24th November 2001, Great St Mary's Church

Combined Concert with CUCO as part of the Britten Festival. Music includes: Britten's Cantata Misericordium and Robin Holloway's He-She Together. This concert was a huge sucess with high praise for the Choir in Varsity:

"The second half opened with CUCC singing unaccompanied in a He-She-Together by Robin Holloway. If CUCO just needed that extra edge in their performance, then CUCC showed them how it should be done. It was, for me, the highlight of the concert and one of the best choral performances I've heard in Cambridge for a long time. The sheer size of sound they produced was amazing, to say nothing of the range of colours."

• Bach Mass in B Minor
  Wednesday 29th November 2000, Kings College Chapel

As the finale of the Millenium Cambridge Arts Festival, the Chamber Choir performed Bach's Mass in B Minor in Kings College Chapel. Soloists included Elin Thomas (soprano), Angharad Gruffydd Jones (soprano), Andrew Radley (alto), James Gilchrist (tenor) and Stephen Varcoe (bass). The choir was joined by the Steinitz Bach Players, and conducted by Timothy Brown. The concert was supported by Granta Park, Arthur Anderson and Arts and Business. This concert marked the 250th anniversary of one of the greatest Christian composers in one of the most spectacular of Christian buildings. Tickets for this concert SOLD OUT several weeks in advance.

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• Brahms Chamber Music
  Friday 2nd March at 8:15pm in Jesus College Chapel

• Handel's Acis and Galatea
  Friday 11th May in Trinity College Chapel

• Schütz Christmas Story
  Thursday 25 November 1999, Trinity College Chapel

Gabrieli and Praetorius Motets for double choir.
with QuintEssential Sackbuts and Cornetts.
Conductors: Tim Brown and Richard Latham

 

• G.F. Handel's Saul
  Saturday 11 March 2000, Kings College Chapel

with a Baroque orchestra
Conductor: Tim Brown

 

• A Celebration of English Twentieth Century Choral Music
  Saturday 13 May 2000, Jesus College Chapel

including a new work by Robin Holloway
Conductors: Tim Brown and Richard Latham

Listen to the choir here.