CONDUCTOR JONATHAN WILLCOCKS ORCHESTRA CANZONA JS Bach St Matthew Passion 10th March 2024 LEITH HILL MUSIC FESTIVAL DORKING HALLS One of the greatest and most dramatic works in the choral repertoire.
JS Bach St Matthew Passion The Leith Hill Music Festival was founded with the fundamental aim of bringing choirs from the Dorking area together to share their enjoyment of singing and to combine to perform great works of the choral repertoire. The Festival’s founder-conductor, Ralph Vaughan Williams, was a passionate admirer of the music of J S Bach, and in particular the St. Matthew Passion, which he considered to be one of the very greatest choral works ever written. Despite the daunting practical challenges presented in performing this work – requiring double chorus, an unusually large baroque orchestra and a substantial number of soloists – Vaughan Williams realised his dream of enabling the Festival choirs to perform this masterpiece and such was the positive reaction to this initiative that it quickly became an annual event for the Festival. In more recent times, this March Festival concert has evolved to encompass alternate performances of the St. Matthew Passion with other great baroque works (including Bach’s St. John Passion and Mass in B Minor and Handel – Messiah) and such titans of the repertoire as Verdi – Requiem, I am thrilled that for my fi nal season as Festival Conductor we are able to return to Vaughan Williams’ initial vision and perform St. Matthew Passion for you once more. My fi rst experience of this work was as a small boy, singing within the Ripieno chorus. I then encountered this great music again as a teenager listening to performances with such wonderful soloists as Dame Janet Baker, Sir Peter Pears and John Shirley Quirk and then, as a young adult, as a cellist within the orchestra. I fi rst conducted a performance of the St. Matthew Passion in 1980 and have savoured every opportunity in nearly half a century since to revisit this great work. To conclude my tenure as Festival Conductor of the Leith Hill Music Festival with a season including this masterpiece brings me full circle in the most fulfi lling manner possible. Jonathan Willcocks Festival Conductor LEITH HILL MUSIC FESTIVAL D O R K I N G HALLS 2024
St Matthew Passion Orchestra: Canzona Orchestra Leader: Theresa Caudle Conductor: Jonathan Willcocks Chorus Masters: Ian Assersohn Tali Glynne-Jones Soloists: James Oxley (Tenor) – Evangelist Gareth Brynmor John (Bass) - Christus Daisy Livesey (Soprano) Ruby Bak (Contralto) Tom Butler (Baritone) The Leith Hill Music Festival gratefully acknowledges the fi nancial support from the Josephine Baker Trust in respect of Daisy Livesey, Ruby Bak and Tom Butler.
St Matthew Passion JS Bach (1685-1750) Bach’s St Matthew Passion is one of the great masterpieces of choral music. It is not however an isolated achievement, but rather it grew out of a long tradition of passion settings, and together with Bach’s St John Passion it stands at the culmination of that tradition. Musical settings of the passion have their beginnings in early Christian times, when the story of Christ’s betrayal and suff ering was intoned by a clerk as part of the Holy Week celebrations. Over time this was developed and expanded, with the storytelling distributed among several voices and the words of the crowd sung polyphonically. This led to the ‘oratorio passion’, in which recitatives, arias and chorales were used, together with the expressive resources of instruments, to express more movingly the pain and anguish of the story. Several composers wrote examples of this form of passion, but Heinrich Schütz, one of the fi nest composers of 17th century Germany, was probably the fi rst to write passions showing real musical and dramatic intensity. In the oratorio passion, the words of specifi c individuals were assigned to soloists. The role of the Evangelist was traditionally given to a tenor and Christ was normally a bass. The roles of Peter and Pilate were also given to soloists. The narrative was told in recitatives which were often operatic in their expression of the text. Arias were used for moments of refl ection and chorales represented the people or the congregation. Instruments were used in gradually increasing numbers and they came to play a more prominent role in the music. Opening and closing choruses, normally quite brief, framed the whole work. Bach’s achievement was to expand the form of the passion substantially and to raise the artistic quality of the music to new heights, while maintaining the presentation of the biblical text as the central purpose of the work. He extended the opening and closing choruses and increased the use of the choir; he introduced solo arias and duets that are modelled on Italian operatic arias; and he expanded the role of the chorale, using more of them and to greater emotional eff ect. He developed the roles of the individual participants, and he enhanced the size and the expressive function of the orchestra. His passions mark a substantial advance on his predecessors, showing new levels of originality and monumentality.
It is known that Bach wrote three passions, and maybe even four. As well as the two surviving works there was also a St Mark Passion that is now lost, and there may possibly have been a St Luke Passion too, though this is not certain. The St Matthew and St John Passions were both written during Bach’s time at Leipzig, a period when his choral music reached its peak and which also produced the Magnifi cat and the great Mass in B minor. The St Matthew Passion is the later of the two extant settings and it was probably fi rst heard on Good Friday in April of 1727. It was performed again a few times in the following years with some revisions, before Bach fi nalised his score in the 1740s. But after Bach’s death, the huge work lay unpublished and unperformed for nearly eighty years until the young Mendelssohn rediscovered it and arranged a performance in 1829 in Berlin. The St Matthew Passion is one of Bach’s largest and grandest musical conceptions, using a double choir and soloists, plus orchestra. The nature of the choral writing is varied: sometimes the two choirs sing alone, but usually they are heard together, either combined in counterpoint or singing antiphonally, in opposition. The soloists portray the characters in the story, and also the Evangelist, using recitative that is accompanied only by continuo (organ and bass line). However the words of Jesus are distinguished and heightened by an expressive ‘halo’ of string accompaniment. The whole work mixes drama and contemplation, action and refl ection, in a compelling narration of the ancient story, creating a profound and moving work of art - Ian Codd The St Matthew Passion, as originally written, is longer than normal concert length, and some fourteen numbers from a total of seventyeight are being omitted tonight in accordance with LHMF custom. Part One CHORUS CHORALE (by Ripieno Choir) Come, ye daughters, share my mourning: O Lamb of God most holy, See Him! Whom? The bridegroom Christ. Who on the cross didst languish; See Him! How? A spotless Lamb. O Saviour, meek and lowly, See it! What? His patient love. Who suff ered bitter anguish; Look! O Look where? On our off ence. The sins of man Thou bearest, Look on Him. For love of us Our every grief thou sharest, He Himself His cross is bearing. Have mercy on us, O Jesus. When Jesus had fi nished all these sayings, He said unto His disciples, “Ye know that after two days is the Passover, and the Son of Man shall be delivered over to be crucifi ed.” CHORALE O blessed Jesu, how hast Thou off ended, That now on Thee such judgement has descended? Of what misdeed hast Thou to make confession? Of what transgression?
Then assembled the chief priests and the scribes together, and the elders of the people, unto the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas and they consulted that they might take Jesus by subtlety and kill Him. But they said “Not upon the feast, lest haply there be an uproar among the people.” Now, when Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, there came unto Him a woman, having an alabaster box of very precious ointment, and poured it on His head, as He sat at meat. But when His disciples saw it, they had indignation and said, “To what purpose is this waste? For this ointment might have been sold for much and given to the poor.” When Jesus understood it, He said unto them, “Why trouble ye the woman? For she hath wrought a good work upon me. For ye have the poor always with you; but me you have not always. For in that she hath poured this ointment on my body, she did it for my burial. Verily I say unto you, wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there also shall this, that this woman has done, be told of her for a memorial.” ALTO RECITATIVE AND ARIA My Master and my Lord, Grief for sin In vain do Thy disciples chide Thee Rends the guilty heart within. Because this pitying woman, May my weeping and my mourning With ointment sweet, Thy flesh Be a welcome sacrifice. For burial maketh ready. Loving Saviour, hear in mercy! O grant to me, beloved lord, The tears wherewith my heart o’erfloweth An unction on Thy head may pour. Then went one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, to the chief priests and said, “What will you give me and I will deliver him unto you?” And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver. And from that time he sought opportunity to betray Him. SOPRANO ARIA Break in grief, Thou loving heart; For a son whom Thou hast nourished, Yea, a friend whom Thou hast cherished, Gathers cruel foes around Thee, And will like a serpent wound Thee. Now, the first day of the feast of unleavened bread, the disciple came to Jesus, saying unto Him, “Where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the feast of the Passover?” And He said, “Go into the city to such a man, and say unto him, the Master saith, “My time is at hand: I will keep the Passover at thy house with my disciples.” And the disciples did as Jesus had appointed them and they made ready the Passover. Now when the even was come, he was sitting at meat with the twelve. And as they did eat, He said, “Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me.” And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began everyone of them, to say unto Him, “Lord, is it I?” CHORALE ‘Tis I, my sin now binds Thee, With anguish deep surrounds Thee, And nails Thee to the tree; The torture Thou art feeling, Thy patient love revealing, ‘Tis I should bear it… I, alone.
And He answered and said, “He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me. The Son of Man goeth as it is written of Him: but woe unto that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It had been good for that man if he had never been born.” Then answered Judas, which did betray Him, and said, “Master, is it I?” He said unto him, “Thou hast said.” And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said “Take, eat; this is my body.” And He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink ye all of it; this is my blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.” SOPRANO RECITATIVE AND ARIA Although our eyes with tears o’erflow; Jesus, Saviour, I am Thine, Since Jesus now from us must go, Come and dwell my heart within. His gracious promise doth the soul uplift. All things else I count but loss, His flesh and blood, O precious gift! Glory only in Thy Cross. He leaves us for our souls’ refreshment. Dearer than the world beside As He while in the world did love His own Is the Saviour who hath died. So now with love unchanging, He loves them still unto the end. And when they had sung an hymn, they went out unto the Mount of Olives. Then saith Jesus unto them, “All ye shall be offended because of me this night, for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad. But after I am risen again, I will go before you to Galilee.” CHORALE Receive me, my Redeemer, My Shepherd, make me Thine; Of ev’ry good the fountain, Thou art the spring of mine. How oft Thy words have fed me On earth with angels’ food, How oft Thy grace hath led me To highest Heav’nly good. Peter answered and said unto Him, “Though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended.” Jesus said unto him, “Verily I say unto thee, that this same night, before the cock crow, shalt thou deny me thrice.” Peter said unto Him, “Yea, though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee.” Likewise also said all the disciples. CHORALE Here would I stand beside thee, Lord, bid me not depart! From Thee I will not sever, Though breaks thy loving heart. When bitter pain shall hold Thee In agony opprest, Then, then will I enfold Thee Within my loving breast. Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto His disciples, “Sit ye here, while I go yonder and pray.” And He took with him Peter, and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. Then saith Jesus to them, “My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death; tarry ye here, and watch with me.”
And He went a little farther, and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: yet not as I will, but as thou wilt.” BASS RECITATIVE AND ARIA The Saviour, low before His Father bending, Gladly would I take upon me To gain for man by His oblation Cross and cup, and all His burden, A full salvation. Could I follow Christ my Lord. The love of God toward man commendeth. Lo, our Lord, He now will drink the cup In love our burden sharing, Unto its last and bitterest dregs, Bears for us Which with the sin of men is filled The cross with all its shame, And overflows. He will not shrink, He has lightened all our sorrow. But suffer all that God hath willed. And He cometh to His disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, “What, could ye not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, “O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, Thy will be done.” CHORALE O Father, let Thy will be done, For all things well Thou doest, In time of need refusest none, But helpest e’en the lowest, In deep distress Thou still dost bless, In wrath rememberest mercy; Who trusts in Thee shall ever be In perfect peace and safety. And He came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were very heavy. And he left them, and went away again and prayed the third time, saying again the same words. Then cometh He to His disciples, and saith unto them, “Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man shall be betrayed into the hands of sinners. Arise, let us be going: behold he is at hand that doth betray me.” And while He yet spake, lo, Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude with swords and with staves, from the chief priests and elders of the people. Now he that betrayed Him, had given unto them a sign, saying, “Whomsoever I shall kiss, that is He: hold Him fast.” And forthwith he came to Jesus and said, “Hail, Master,” and kissed Him. Jesus said unto him, “Friend, wherefore art thou come?” Then drew they near, and laid hands on Jesus, and took Him. TENOR RECITATIVE AND ARIA with interwoven chorale and chorus CHORALE O grief! That bows the Saviour’s troubled heart! My Saviour, why must all this ill befall Thee? His spirit faints, His sorrow veils His face! My sin, alas! from highest heaven did call Thee. He to the judgement-hall is brought, God took the debt from me, There is no help, no comfort near. Who should have paid it, The powers of darkness now assail Him, On Thee He laid it. His chosen friends will soon forsake Him. Ah! If my love thy stay could be, If I could weigh Thy grief and share it, Could make it less, or help to bear it, How gladly would I watch with Thee. CHORUS I would beside my Lord be watching. And so our sin will fall asleep. By His cross I am saved from sin and loss; The griefs that He for us endureth, His sorrows win my soul its ransom. How bitter, yet how sweet are they.
CHORUS O man, thy grievous sin bemoan, The dead He raised to life again, For which Christ left His Father’s throne, The sick He freed from grief and pain, From highest heaven descending. Until the time appointed, Of virgin pure and undefiled, That He for us should give His blood, He here was born, our Saviour mild, Should bear our sins o’erwhelming load, For sin to make atonement. The shameful cross enduring. INTERVAL Part Two ALTO ARIA AND CHORUS Ah! Now is my Saviour gone! Whither is thy beloved gone, Whither went He? I would follow. O thou fairest among women? Ah! My Lamb, the slayers hold Thee. Whither has the friend gone aside? Where now is my Saviour gone? For we would go with thee to seek Him. Ah! How shall I find an answer To assure my anxious soul? Ah! Where is my Saviour gone? SOPRANO, CONTRALTO AND CHORUS Behold, my Saviour now is taken, Moon and stars Have for grief the night forsaken Since my Saviour now is taken. They lead Him hence; with cords they bind Him! Loose Him! Leave Him! Bind Him not! Have lightnings and thunder their fury forgotten? Then open, O fathomless pit, all thy terrors! Destroy them, o’erwhelm them, devour them, Consume them with tumult of rage, The treach’rous betrayer, the merciless throng. In that same hour said Jesus to the multitudes, “Are you come out as against a thief with swords and with staves for to take me? I sat daily among you, teaching in the temple, and ye laid no hold on me. But all this was done, that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples forsook Him and fled. And they that had laid hold on Jesus, led Him away to the house of Caiaphas, the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were gathered together. And the high priest answered and said unto Him, “I adjure thee by the name of the living God, that thou tell us, whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God.” Jesus saith unto him, “Thou hast said: Nevertheless, I say unto you, hereafter shall ye see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.” Then the high priest rent his garments and said, “He hath spoken blasphemy: what further need have we of witnesses? Behold, now you have heard His blasphemy yourselves, what think ye?” They answered and said, “He is worthy of death.”
Then they did spit in His face and struck Him with their fists; and others smote Him with the palms of their hands, and said, “Now tell us, Thou Christ, who is he that smote Thee?” CHORALE O Lord, who dares to smite Thee, And falsely to indict Thee, Deride and mock Thee so? Thou canst not need confession, Who knowest not transgression As we and all our children know. Now Peter was sitting without in the court; and there came to him a maiden, and said, “Thou also wast with Jesus of Galilee.” But he denied before them all, and said, “I know not what thou sayest.” And when he was gone out into the porch, another maid saw him, and said unto them that were there, “This man also was with Jesus of Nazareth.” And again he denied with an oath, “I do not know this man.” And after a little while came to him they that stood by, and said unto Peter, “Surely thou also art one of them; for thy speech betrayeth thee.” Then began he to curse and to swear, “I know not the man.” And immediately the cock crew. And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, “Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.” And he went out, and wept bitterly. ALTO ARIA Have mercy, Lord, on me, Regard my bitter weeping. Look on me Heart and eyes both weep to Thee, Weep to Thee bitterly. CHORALE Commit thy way to Jesus, Thy burdens and thy cares; He from them all releases, He all thy sorrow shares. He gives the winds their courses, And bounds the ocean’s shore, He suffers not temptation To rise beyond thy pow’r. Now at that feast, the governor was wont to release unto the people a prisoner, whom they would. And they had at that time a notable prisoner called Barabbas. Therefore, when they were gathered together, Pilate said unto them, “Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas or Jesus, which is called Christ?” For he knew well that for envy they had delivered Him up. And while he was sitting on the judgement seat, his wife sent unto him, saying, “Have thou nothing to do with that just man; for I have suffered many things this day in a dream, because of him.” But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask for Barabbas, and destroy Jesus. The governor answered, and said unto them, “Whether of the twain will I release unto you?” They said, “Barabbas.” Pilate said unto them, “What then shall I do unto Jesus, which is called Christ?” They all said, “Let Him be crucified.”
CHORALE O wondrous love, that suffers this correction! The Shepherd dying for His flock’s protection; The Master pays the debts His servants owe Him And they betray Him! And the governor said, “Why, what evil hath He done?” SOPRANO RECITATIVE AND ARIA To all men, Jesus good hath done: The blind man hath He given sight, The lame man made to walk. He told us of His Father’s word. He cast the devils forth, The mourners hath He comforted. In Him a friend the sinner found. Save good, my Jesus nought hath done. For love my Saviour now is dying, Of sin and guilt He knoweth nought. So, eternal desolation And the sinner’s righteous doom Shall not rest upon my spirit. But they cried out the more, and said, “Let Him be crucified!” When Pilate therefore saw that he prevailed nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, and said, “I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it.” Then answered all the people, and said, “His blood be on us and on our children.” Then released he Barabbas unto them, but when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered Him to be crucified. ALTO RECITATIVE O Gracious God! Behold the Saviour standeth bound. They scourge Him now, and smite and wound Him! Tormentors, stay your hands! Are not your hearts with pity moved To see such anguish meekly borne? Ah no! your hearts are hard, And must be like the rock itself, Nay, more unyielding still, Have pity! Stay your hands. Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall, and gathered to Him the whole band of soldiers. And they stripped Him, and put on Him a scarlet robe. And they plaited a crown of thorns, and put it upon His head, and a reed in His right hand: and they bowed the knee before Him, and mocked Him, and said: “Hail, King of the Jews!” And they spat upon Him, and took the reed, and smote Him on the head. CHORALE O Sacred Head, surrounded By crown of piercing thorn! O bleeding Head, so wounded, Reviled and put to scorn!
And after they had mock’d Him, they took off from Him the robe and put his own raiment on Him, and led Him away to crucify Him. And when they were come unto a place called Golgotha, that is to say, a place of a skull, they gave Him vinegar to drink, mingled with gall: and when He had tasted thereof, He would not drink. And when they had crucified Him, they parted His garments, and cast lots upon them, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Prophet, “they parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots.” And sitting down, they watched Him there: and set up over His head His accusation, written, “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.” Then there were two thieves crucified with Him: one on the right hand, and one on the left. And they that passed by, reviled Him, wagging their heads, and saying, “Thou that destroyed the temple of God and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross.” Likewise, also, the chief priests mocking Him, with the scribes and elders, said, “He saved others, Himself He cannot save. If He be King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him. He trusted in God, let Him deliver Him now, if He will have Him: for He hath said, “I am the Son of God,” The thieves also which were crucified with Him, cast the same in His teeth. ALTO RECITATIVE Ah, Golgotha! Unhappy Golgotha! The Lord of glory here ‘mid shame and scorn must perish; The blessed Saviour of the world Upon th’accursed tree now hangs; The Lord who heaven and earth created, Of light and life is now bereft, The sinless here as sinner dieth. Ah, how this grief doth pierce my soul! Ah, Golgotha! Unhappy Golgotha! Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour, Jesus cried out with a loud voice, and said, “Eli. Eli, lama sabacthani?” That is to say, “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken me?” Some of them that stood there heard that and said, “He calleth for Elias.” And straightway one of them ran, and took a sponge, and filled it full of vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave Him to drink. And others said, “Let be, let us see whether Elias will come to save Him.” Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. CHORALE Be near me, Lord, when dying, O part not Thou from me! And to my succour flying, Come, Lord, and set me free! And when my heart must languish In death’s last awful throe, Release me from my anguish, By Thine own pain and woe.
And behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain, from the top unto the bottom: and the earth did quake, and the rocks were rent: and the graves were opened and there arose many bodies of the saints which had slept, and coming forth from the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city, and appeared unto many. Now, when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, “Truly, this was the Son of God.” BASS RECITATIVE At evening, hour of calm and peace Was Adam’s fall made manifest; At evening, too, the Lord’s redeeming love: At evening homeward turned the dove And bore the olive-leaf as token. O beauteous time! O evening hour! Our lasting peace is now with God made sure, For Jesus hath His cross endured, His body sinks to rest. Go, loving servant, ask thou it: Go, be it thine, the lifeless Saviour’s body. O wondrous gift! O precious, Holy burden! And Joseph took the body, and wrapped it in a clean, linen cloth, and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock; and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and went his way. SOLOISTS AND CHORUS And now the Lord to rest is laid, His task is o’er; for all our sins He hath atoned. O blest and holy body, See, with repentant tears we would bedew it, Which our offence to such a death has brought. While life shall last, O let Thy suffering claim our love, Since Thou for man salvation has wrought, Lord Jesus, fare Thee well. CHORUS In tears of grief, dear Lord, we leave Thee, Hearts cry to Thee, O Saviour dear, Lie Thou softly, softly here. Rest Thy worn and bruised body, At Thy grave, O Jesus blest, May the sinner, worn with weeping, Comfort find in Thy dear keeping, And the weary soul find rest, Sleep in peace, Sleep Thou in the Father’s breast.
Artists
JONATHAN WILLCOCKS / FESTIVAL CONDUCTOR Jonathan Willcocks was born in Worcester, and after early musical training as a chorister at King’s College Cambridge and an Open Music Scholar at Clifton College he took an Honours degree in Music from Cambridge University where he held a choral scholarship at Trinity College. In addition to his role as Festival Conductor for the Leith Hill Music Festival he is currently Musical Director of The Chichester Singers, Guildford Choral Society and the professional chamber orchestra Southern Pro Musica. Freelance conducting and workshop engagements have taken him to many parts of the world including the USA, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Singapore, China and most of the European countries as well as the United Kingdom. These engagements have seen him conducting concerts in many of the world’s finest concert halls, including Carnegie Hall in New York, the Gewandhaus in Leipzig and Perth Concert Hall, Australia as well as closer to home in the Royal Albert Hall and Royal Festival Hall in London and Symphony Hall in Birmingham. Jonathan’s compositions encompass large-scale orchestral scores and chamber music in addition to many choral works, and his music is published principally by Oxford University Press, Lorenz (USA) and Prime Music/MorningStar. Jonathan’s music is widely performed and recorded with four CDs issued by Priory Records devoted to his choral music, three CDs of music for children’s choir and a recording of his works for narrator and orchestra. His music has been played at the BBC Proms and his choral repertoire has also been recorded by many other wellknown choirs such as the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and the London Bach Choir. Much of his music has been written to commission for choirs, orchestras and ensembles in the UK, USA and around the world and his choral music has been recognised by nomination for the Academy of Composers and Songwriters’ prestigious British Composer Awards. Performers and audiences alike are attracted to Jonathan’s vibrantly rhythmic and tuneful compositional style. Full details of his music, including samples of recordings, can be found at www.jonathanwillcocks.com. Jonathan’s extensive choral and orchestral conducting experience results in many invitations to take choral workshops and adjudicate competitions. Although his career now focuses principally on his conducting and composition work, he has in the past held major posts in general and specialist music education – most recently at the Royal Academy of Music in London.
Blackburn Cathedrals; and has taken part in the Three Choirs Festival and the Spitalfields Festival. In December 2014 Canzona performed Messiah with the Choir of Her Majesty’s Chapel Royal at Buckingham Palace and in 2016 appeared with the same choir in the Queen’s Chapel, St James’s Palace in a concert to celebrate the Queen’s 90th birthday. As well as performing in London and around Britain, Canzona has given concerts in festivals as far afield as Finland, Croatia and Malta. Plans for 2024 include several performances of their new chamber programme Les Nations including at Trinity Hall College, Cambridge. Canzona has made two highly-acclaimed recordings: Motets by André Campra on EtCetera, and Violino o Cornetto - 17th century Italian sonatas for violin and cornett on the Nimbus Alliance label. CANZONA Canzona was formed in 1992 and comprises some of this country’s leading players of period instruments. Many of Canzona’s concerts are as a chamber group and the versatility of its director Theresa Caudle, who plays both the violin and cornett, creates the stimulus for a flexible line-up of early wind, brass and string instruments. Ho wever, Canzona is frequently expanded to orchestral proportions and has performed with many outstanding choirs including Polyphony and the Holst Singers, and has had a particularly long-standing association with several choirs including the Leith Hill Musical Festival, the Bristol Bach Choir and the Burford Singers. Canzona has appeared at the Royal Festival Hall, St John’s Smith Square, St Martin-in-the-Fields, King’s College and Trinity College Cambridge; Salisbury, Wells, St Albans and ORCHESTRA 1 VIOLIN 1 Theresa Caudle Kirra Thomas Alice Poppleton VIOLIN 2 George Clifford Polly Smith VIOLA Stefanie Heichelheim CELLO Mark Caudle BASS Peter McCarthy FLUTE Rachel Beckett Christine Garratt OBOE/D’AMORE/DA CACCIA James Eastaway Sarah Humphrys ORCHESTRA 2 VIOLIN 1 Persephone Gibbs Ellen O’Dell Henrietta Wayne VIOLIN 2 Jane Norman Rebecca Miles VIOLA Joanne Miller CELLO Anna Holmes BASS Andrew Kerr FLUTE/RECORDER Annabel Knight Heidi Fardell OBOE/D’AMORE Andres Villalobos- Lépiz Angelika Stangl ORCHESTRA 1&2 BASSOON Zoë Shevlin ORGAN Oliver-John Ruthven
Ian is a choral director, composer and workshop leader. He has been Musical Director of Leatherhead Choral Society, a LHMF choir, since 2001, although his association with the Festival goes back even further than that. He also leads Epsom Male Voice Choir and is founder-conductor of a chamber choir called Vaughan Williams Singers, specialising in the contemporary a cappella repertoire. He has also had the pleasure of leading or working with a number of other choirs, including several other members of the Leith Hill family. Ian’s choral music, which is popular with choirs and audiences in the UK and abroad, is published by Oxford University Press and by his own imprint Apple Tree Music. IAN ASSERSOHN / CHORUS MASTER Helena Twentyman started playing the piano and violin from an early age and later went on to study the piano with Richard Greenwood as a Junior Exhibitioner at the Royal College of Music. She read music at the University of Bristol, taking both academic and practical courses and continued her piano training with Kenneth Mobbs. She is today an experienced accompanist having for many years worked with various choirs, dramatic groups, solo singers and instrumentalists. She has been the accompanist of Blackheath and Bramley Choral Society since 1995 and the Surrey Hills Singers since 2017. She has taken part in the Leith Hill Musical Festival for many years as a singer and is delighted to be accompanying the rehearsals for the St Matthew Passion. Helena has sung in church choirs and choral societies for most of her life and is actively involved in the local music scene. She directs the Ladybirds Choir and the choir of St Paul’s Church in Dorking for which she enjoys composing song and hymn arrangements. She sings with Dorking Choral Society and the Martineau Singers although occasionally finds herself in an alternative role as accompanist or conductor. HELENA TWENTYMAN / REHEARSAL ACCOMPANIST Probably reflecting the availability of additional upper voices within the musical establishment at St. Thomas’s, Leipzig, in addition to the two main choirs J S Bach included in the St Matthew Passion an additional vocal line in the opening chorus for ‘Soprano Ripieno’, who sing a chorale melody in counterpoint to the large-scale choral writing. These singers would have undoubtedly also sung in the harmonized chorales that occur throughout the work, as they do in tonight’s performance. The Festival is very grateful to Tali Glynn-Jones who has musically prepared the pupils from Reigate Grammar School who form ‘The choristers of the RGS Godfrey Searle Choir’ RIPIENO CHORUS / THE CHORISTERS OF THE RGS GODFREY SEARLE CHOIR
James studied as a cellist at the Royal College of Music and later gained a scholarship to Oxford. First prizewinner at the renowned International Vocalisten Concours at ’s-Hertogenbosch in 1994, he has since appeared at many of the major venues in Europe, especially in France where he has worked with Philippe Herreweghe, Hervé Niquet and Christophe Rousset. A noted Evangelist in the Bach Passions, James has taken the role many times, including a 2015 performance of the St Matthew Passion at the Three Choirs Festival, broadcast on Radio 3. Part of John Eliot Gardiner’s landmark Bach Cantata Pilgrimage, he also recorded for the Soli Deo Gloria label. Further afi eld, he has performed in Australasia, the Far East and returned recently from the USA where he performed in Baltimore and Annapolis. On the opera stage, he has worked for ENO, Glyndebourne, Garsington, Opéra de Rennes, the Opéra Comique, Paris and Oper Dortmund’s production of Gluck’s Orfeo. As a stage actor, he played numerous parts in London Factory’s acclaimed productions of Shakespeare and an improvised version of The Odyssey for which he wrote the music. This season, in addition to composing and arranging for traditional/crossover band Ensemble Galilei in the USA, James will be working with the Royal Shakespeare Company, writing music and acting as Voice Coach for their upcoming Othello. A resident of South Herefordshire, James recently completed a 20-year project to convert a cattle barn into a house which he shares with his wife, American oboist Kathryn Montoya. JAMES OXLEY / TENOR / EVANGELIST The Leith Hill Festival Choir is a group of singers who come together to sing in the March concert of the Festival Series. Many of the singers are members of one of the 11 choral societies that sing in the main April concerts. However, there are many independent singers, some of whom sing regularly in other choirs. There are a number of rehearsals in Dorking, on Saturdays and Sundays, which are run and conducted by Ian Assersohn. The choir is unauditioned and its members vary in experience from no formal training to those with many years singing or studying a musical instrument. The one thing they have in common is an enjoyment of singing choral music. LEITH HILL FESTIVAL CHOIR
Gareth Brynmor John is the 2013 winner of the Kathleen Ferrier Award. He studied at St John’s College, Cambridge, Royal Academy of Music, and the National Opera Studio. He made his Welsh National Opera début in Spring 2017 singing Schaunard, and went on to sing the title role in Eugene Onegin, Masetto (Don Giovanni), Robert (Les Vepres Sicilliennes), Papageno, and Sharpless, all for WNO. He recently performed Ismeron (The Indian Queen) for Opéra de Lille, Opera de Caen, Opera de Luxembourg and Antwerp Opera under Emmanuelle Haïm. He returns to WNO this spring as The English Clerk in Britten’s Death in Venice. Concert highlights include Brahms Requiem with the Ulster Orchestra and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra broadcast on BBC Radio 3; Stanford Mass Via Victrix with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and released on Lyrita label; The Kingdom and Claudio / Béatrice et Bénédict with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra broadcast on BBC Radio 3; Dido and Aeneas with Hong Kong Philharmonic; The World Premiere of Vision of a Garden (Richard Blackford) with The Bach Choir and David Hill at the Festival Hall; St Matthew Passion at the Festival Hall with the Bach Choir; the premiere of John Rutter’s Tidings of Joy at the Royal Albert Hall; and Vaughan William’s Fantasia on BBC 2 Carols from King’s, and with the MDR Rundfunkchor Leipzig. He has given recitals at Wigmore Hall, at many of the UK music festivals, and in Europe and the USA. His recent recording of Stanford’s Children’s songs for the Somm label has received wide critical acclaim as well as his solo recording for the Champs Hill label. GARETH BRYNMOR JOHN / BASS Daisy Livesey is in her third year as an undergraduate soprano at the Royal Academy of Music and is taught by Alex Ashworth and Iain Ledingham. Daisy began singing at Oxford Girls’ Choir at the age of eight and there nurtured a love of early music, performing operas of Purcell and Handel. Highlights of her studies at the Academy include working with John Butt, Eamonn Dougan, Iain Ledingham and Philippe Herreweghe as a choir member and soloist in the Bach series concerts, in addition to masterclasses with John Mark Ainsley and Nick Pritchard (externally). During the Academy’s Bicentenary, Daisy was a soprano soloist in Purcell’s The Fairy Queen directed by Laurence Cummings. Daisy often works with Oxford Bach Soloists under Tom Hammond-Davies and was a soloist in their recent performance of St John Passion, having been part of their motet series in 2022-23. Alongside her scholarship with Oxford Bach Soloists, Daisy held a scholarship with Thames Philharmonic Choir directed by Harry Bradford, 2022-23, and now sings as a scholar at Holy Trinity, Sloane Square directed by Max Barley. Other recent engagements outside the Academy include a St John Passion with Arcangelo directed by Topi Lehtipuu in a collaboration with the Finnish Baroque Orchestra, and Bach’s B Minor Mass with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment directed by Václav Luks. An experienced recitalist, Daisy was awarded the Collingwood Prize at the Kathleen Ferrier Society Bursary for Young Singers in November 2022. Daisy looks forward to featuring as a soloist in Hampstead Garden Opera’s The Fairy Queen in April. DAISY LIVESEY / SOPRANO Photo: Pablo Strong
Tom read music at St John’s College, Cambridge, and is now studying for a Master’s degree at the Royal Academy of Music, learning with Mark Wildman and Christopher Glynn. He performed the role of Adonis in Blow’s Venus and Adonis at Ryedale Festival in 2023, and has performed three scenes in the Royal Academy of Music vocal faculty opera scenes from Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro and Britten’s Albert Herring. As an undergraduate he sang roles in various operas: the Twin Brothers (Die Zwillingsbrüder), Don Magnifico (Cenerentola), Kaspar (Der Freischütz) and Eisenstein (Der Fledermaus) with Cambridge University Opera Society; and Achilla (Giulio Cesare) and Figaro (Le nozze di Figaro) with Trinity College Music Society. At Cambridge he sang in St John’s College Chapel Choir, which involved international tours and solo performances broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and BBC Radio 4. With the choir he performed as a soloist on the disc Magnificat 3, for which he was reviewed by Opera Today as a ‘wonderfully sonorous bass’. Tom has also performed as a soloist with St John’s Voices on their recording of Chesnokov’s All-Night Vigil. He was awarded first place in the Clare College song competition in 2021 with his accompanist George Herbert and was awarded the Donald Wort prize for his final recital at Cambridge. In 2022 Tom performed the premiere of a song cycle by Tim Watts at the festival Our Place in Space. He regularly performs as a soloist in oratorio works, recently with the choir of King’s College Cambridge in the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. Tom is a Lay Vicar at Westminster Abbey where he recently sang for the Coronation of His Majesty the King. TOM BUTLER / BASS Nottinghamshire-born mezzo-soprano Ruby Bak is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in vocal performance at the Royal Academy of Music, studying under the tutelage of Marcus van den Akker and Dr. Christopher White. Ruby is gratefully supported by ABRSM as one of their scholars for her studies at the Royal Academy and by the Josephine Baker Trust. A recent music graduate of King’s College London, Ruby actively contributed to the vibrant Chapel Choir, performing in prominent British performance venues and festivals, including St John’s Smith Square, St Paul’s Cathedral, Chiltern Arts Music Festival, and the English Music Festival. As a step-out soloist, Ruby has performed the second soprano solo in Bach’s St Matthew Passion with the Hanover Band and the alto solos in Rachmaninov’s All Night Vigil, Bach’s St John Passion, and the chamber premiere of Holst’s The Cloud Messenger, accompanied by the English Chamber Orchestra. Beyond choral works, Ruby is deeply involved in opera, embodying roles such as Miss Jessel in The Turn of the Screw (Britten), L’Enfant in L’Enfant et les Sortilèges (Ravel) and toured the role of Hansel in Hansel and Gretel (Humperdinck) in Venice and neighbouring cities alongside the King’s College London Symphony Orchestra. Since enrolling at the Royal Academy, she has participated in their Bach in Leipzig concert series, sang in the Vocal Faculty’s Spring Opera Scenes and appeared in the chorus of the Royal Academy Opera’s production of Handel’s Ariodante. RUBY BAK / MEZZO SOPRANO
Friday 12th April at 7.30pm Mendelssohn - Hebrides Overture Vaughan Williams - Serenade to Music Mozart - Requiem Choirs: Capel, Dorking, Epsom, Leatherhead and Oxshott Tickets from £17 - £24 Dorking Halls Box Offi ce www.dorkinghalls.co.uk 01306 881717 Founded in 1905 www.lhmf.org.uk Registered Charity 275176 LEITH HILL MUSIC FESTIVAL DORKING HALLS 2024 Saturday 13th April at 7.30pm Lauridsen - Lux aeterna Puccini - Messa di Gloria Choirs: Beare Green & Newdigate, Bookham, Buckland & Betchworth, Holmbury St. Mary, Horsley and Mickleham FESTIVAL CONDUCTOR: JONATHAN WILLCOCKS ORCHESTRA: SOUTHERN PRO MUSICA
Founded in 1905 www.lhmf.org.uk Registered Charity 275176