Concerts & Events

Concerts for 2008

Ikons of Serenity: Sacred choral music in the Russian Orthodox tradition,
by Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov, Grechaninov and Sir John Tavener

 A new baton is conducting Bath Minerva Choir. Gavin Carr is leading the team to a new tune and producing a powerful new sound. Their first concert together will feature cellist Tim Hugh.

“IKONS of Serenity” is the title chosen for this largely a capella concert featuring the music of Rachmaninov, Tchaikovsky and Tavener. Conductor Gavin Carr says: “I really wanted to choose a programme of music that would help me get to know the choir and that would help this fine choir, with over 100 voices, to work in harmony as a team. The harmonic richness and meditative atmosphere of this kind of music is a perfect vehicle for getting to know one another, and introduces a new era for Bath Minerva Choir in the marvellous setting of Bath Abbey.”

The evening will feature atmospheric lighting to echo the meditative calm and rich atmosphere of this unusual and deeply moving programme.

Television screens will be in place so that a good view of the performance is available from seats in both aisles and from behind the choir stalls.

Saturday 26 th April at 7.30m in Bath Abbey.

Tickets are £18, £15, £10 (reserved) £8 (unreserved)

NUS and under 18s £5 From Bath Festivals Box Office 01225 463362 www.bathfestivals.org.uk

Registered charity: 1098142 www.bathminervachoir.co.uk

For further information contact Trixy Alberga on 07776 496 097 or Joanna Wiesner 07973 326 350

Additional information

Gavin Carr is already a well known and popular figure in Bath and surrounding areas. His vast enthusiasm and charisma make him hard to forget. He began his musical studies at King’s College, Cambridge, as a member of the world-famous choir, and made his début at English National Opera as Aeneas Dido and Aeneas and St Ignatius Four Saints in Three Acts returning as Figaro The Barber of Seville opposite Lesley Garrett. He is highly regarded for his expertise in contemporary music and several composers have written works specifically for him, most notably Michael Finnissy with Not Afraid, and Medea. He has appeared at Festivals around the globe, including Ravinia, Melbourne, Halle, and Aldeburgh, and appears regularly in the major concert halls and cathedrals of the UK. With his decision five years ago to focus also on conducting, Gavin began what has proved to be an exciting journey: after a celebrated gala performance of the St Matthew Passion in Bath Abbey in 2007 in which he made his debut with the English Chamber Orchestra, Gavin made his operatic debut conducting Peter Brook’s Carmen at the Wexford Festival – a performance which has been nominated for ‘Best Opera Production of 2007’ in the Irish Times Awards. He develops his choral and orchestral conducting side-by side, and finds in the massed voices of the Bath Minerva Choir a magnificent vehicle through which to express the great transformative energies of some of the greatest music ever written.

The concert also features celebrated cellist, Tim Hugh. Tim has enjoyed an international career as soloist while maintaining his position as Principal Cellist with the LSO. He has worked as soloist with many of the great conductors including Previn, Haitink, Sir Colin Davis, Sir Andrew Davis, Rostropovich, Menuhin, Harding, Xavier-Roth, Chung and Tortelier. His recordings of Brahms Double and Beethoven Triple with the LSO and Haitink together with Nikolitch and Lars Vogt are released by LSO Live.

The programme for the evening includes the celebrated Song for Athene by Tavener that was sung to such memorable effect at the funeral of Princess Diana, as well as the deeply-felt Svyati and Thrinos – both showcasing the cello of Tim Hugh - from the same composer. Several of the most beautiful movements of the Rachmaninov Vespers also feature, along with stunning works by Tchaikovsky and Gretchaninov, in a programme that moves seamlessly from the minimalist beauties of Tavener through the richness and splendour of his Russian forbears and back again.

VIVA VERDI! OPERA GALA
choruses and arias by Giuseppe Verdi and his contemporaries.

Bath Minerva Choir
with Bath Philharmonia

Conductor Gavin Carr
Soprano Gweneth Ann Jeffers
Tenor Robert Gardiner

VIVA VERDI! is the title chosen for this afternoon of operatic excitement.

It's about PASSION! LOVE! DEATH! and MATADORS IN TIGHT PANTS!
The programme includes popular favourites including the anvil chorus, La Donna è mobile and the Matadors’ Chorus.  

Programme

Conductor, Gavin Carr is already a well known and popular figure in Bath and surrounding areas. His vast enthusiasm and charisma make him hard to forget. He began his musical studies at King’s College, Cambridge, as a member of the world-famous choir, and made his début at English National Opera as AeneasDido and Aeneas and St IgnatiusFour Saints in Three Acts returning as FigaroThe Barber of Seville opposite Lesley Garrett. He is highly regarded for his expertise in contemporary music and several composers have written works specifically for him, most notably Michael Finnissy with Not Afraid, and Medea. He has appeared at Festivals around the globe, including Ravinia, Melbourne, Halle, and Aldeburgh, and appears regularly in the major concert halls and cathedrals of the UK.

With his decision five years ago to focus also on conducting, Gavin began what has proved to be an exciting journey: He develops his choral and orchestral conducting side-by side, and finds in the massed voices of the Bath Minerva Choir a magnificent vehicle through which to express the great transformative energies of some of the greatest music ever written.

The concert also features celebrated soprano, Gweneth-Ann Jeffers. Her recital repertoire ranges from Schubert, Schumann and Strauss to Ravel, Samuel Barber, Messiaen and Cage.

Her engagements have included the title roles in Massenet's La Navarraise at the Guildhall, and Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos on a tour of France with the Orchestra de Picardie. Forthcoming engagements include recitals with Graham Johnson in London and the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam.

In 1999 Gweneth-Ann won the Maggie Teyte, Ian Fleming and Sybil Tutton Awards.

Robert Gardiner’s oratorio performances encompass a wide range of works by various composers: Monteverdi, Bach, Handel, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Rossini, Britten, Tippett, Honegger and Spicer. As an oratorio singer, he has worked with numerous different ensembles, including the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Leeds Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir, Northern Chamber Orchestra, Goldberg Ensemble, Northern Sinfonia Orchestra and Choir, and the Hallé Choir.

In 2004 he sang the role of Sellem in the RNCM’s spring production of Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress and Ferrando in performances of Mozart’s Così Fan Tutte at the Ryedale Festival with the Goldberg Ensemble. More recent operatic performances in 2005 include the role of Testo in Monteverdi's Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda at the Lake District Music Festival, Aeneas in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas in the Perpignan Music Festival, and covering the role of Slender in Nicolai's Merry Wives of Windsor at the Buxton Opera Festival. In October 2005 he sang the roles of Aubry, in Donizetti's penultimate opera Maria di Rohan, and Ctesippe, in Faure’s only opera Penelope, at the Wexford Festival Opera. In 2006 he was also a member of the Glyndebourne Festival Chorus.

See or download our A4 Viva Verdi Poster here

Twentieth Century American Choral Masterpieces by Bernstein and Lauridsen

Bath Abbey, November 22nd 2008, at 7.30 p.m.

Orchestra and soloist to be announced

Bath Minerva Choir
Gavin Carr, Conductor

The programme will include Leonard Bernstein’s extraordinary Chichester Psalms, and Morton Lauridsen’s haunting Lux Aeterna.

Recent concerts

Verdi’s Requiem with the Bristol Schools' Philharmonia

Saturday 1st December at Bristol Cathedral
Thursday 6th December at The Forum, Bath

Giuseppe Verdi: Requiem
Giacomo Puccini: La Bohème, closing scene from Act 1.

Lesley-Jane Rogers, Soprano
Jeanette Ager, Alto
Andrew Sritheran, Tenor
Craig Bissex, Bass
Bath Minerva Choir
Bristol Schools' Philharmonia

Jason Thornton Conductor
Mark Finch Conductor

These concerts were supported by a grant from Awards for All, awarding funds from The National Lottery.

Mozart's Requiem at Bath Abbey

Saturday June 9th 2007

Rehearsing the Mozart Requiem, May 2007

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Requiem (Süssmayer completion)
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Serenade for Strings

Lesley-Jane Rogers, Soprano
Louise Mott, Alto
Philip O’Brien, Tenor
Benjamin Bevan, Baritone

Bath Philharmonia
Jason Thornton, Conductor

Duruflé’s Requiem at Wilton and Frome

March 2007

Maurice Duruflé : Requiem
Anton Bruckner: Graduals
César Franck: Organ works

Steven Hollas, Organ
Marlene Powell, Soprano
Paul Feldwick, Baritone
Jason Thornton, Conductor

Maurice Duruflé was the organist at St Etienne du Mont in Paris. He is mainly remembered today for his serene and enigmatic setting of the Requiem Mass, with a strong plainchant influence and a flowing and virtuosic organ accompaniment.

An English Christmas at Edington Priory Church

Saturday December 9th, 2006

Gwion Thomas, Baritone
Steven Hollas, Organ
Bath Minerva Choir
Bath Philharmonia Chamber Ensemble
Jason Thornton, Conductor.

Ralph Vaughan Williams: Five Mystical Songs
Ralph Vaughan Williams: Fantasia on Christmas Carols
George Frideric Handel: Pastoral Symphony from Messiah
George Frideric Handel: Organ Concerto in G Minor

Felix Mendelssohn: Elijah

April 29th 2006 in Bath Abbey

Bath Minerva Choir,
Bath Philharmonia, Conductor: Jason Thornton

Elijah: Sir Willard White
Soprano: Lesley Jane Rogers
Alto: Jeanette Ager
Tenor: Roy Rashbrook
Bass: Stephen Foulkes

We had the privilege of singing this wonderful piece with one of the world’s greatest baritones, in a packed Abbey.

The Bath Chronicle wrote: ‘The augmented choir performed with great spirit, singing with real sparkle and commitment… This was a memorable musical occasion, under Jason Thornton’s inspirational direction’.

Franz Joseph Haydn: The Creation Saturday, October 7th at The Forum, Bath Bath Philharmonia - Conductor Jason Thornton, with with Nicki Kennedy - Soprano, Andrew Yeats - Tenor, Roland Davitt - Bass After Elijah, another of the most dramatic oratorios ever written. One of the great choral masterpieces of Haydn’s old age, The Creation brings to life the whole story of the creation of the world, from the opening depiction of Chaos and ‘Let there be light’, to the pastoral romance of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. ‘Haydn alone has the secret both of making me smile and of touching my innermost soul’. W A Mozart