Press Release
Vivaldi & Bernstein
Concert - St Martin's Church, Brasted on 5 June 2004
The Cantate Choir will be returning to St Martin's Church in Brasted on 5 June 2004 for their celebration of Vivaldi and Bernstein.
The concert will begin with a lively and energetic performance of Vivaldi's Gloria (RV 589) whose crisp and delicate rhythms interweave fugal writing with indulgent passages of both block harmony and striking solo singing. Despite the intricacies of the music, the clear tonal relationships are ever in the forefront of the mind. Moving closer to the present date, the Chichester Psalms by Bernstein is a musical setting of six Hebrew psalms, which cannot fail to astonish and amaze its listener. They comprise three engaging movements, each with strong vibrant melodies rising from unusual yet creative and powerful harmonies and key changes. The psalms will be sung in Hebrew. The solo in the second movement will be sung by James Laing, the counter-tenor who had the enviable role of singing the National Anthem for England during the recent Rugby World Cup. James will also be singing the solo cantata by J S Bach O Blessed rest, Thou giv'st true happiness (BWV 170), a five movement cantata with a familiar lilting lullaby.
James began singing Counter-Tenor at the age of seventeen whilst at Uppingham School. Since then he has broadened his repertoire as a choral scholar at Truro and Chelmsford Cathedrals, and at Trinity College, Cambridge. He has recently completed his studies at the Royal College of Music, studying under Robin Blaze. Through college he has been involved in three operas, Handel's Brockes Passion and Benjamin Britten's, A Midsummer Night's Dream understudying the role of Oberon. Most recently playing the role of Nerone in Handel's Agrippina. A performance which prompted The Times to write, "Laing is a Counter-tenor with the clearest tone, a big range, magnetic presence and more emotion than most". His recent concert performances include Britten's Canticle, Abraham and Isaac, with Roger Vignoles, a recital for the Herts Gardens Trust with Jenny Linden, St John's Passion in Ely Cathedral and Birmingham Symphony Hall and an Israel in Egypt in Wells Cathedral. He has taken part in numerous masterclasses with singers such as Michael Chance, James Bowman, and Ashley Stafford. He is currently touring with English Touring Opera sharing the role of Oberon in A Midsummer Night's Dream.
To complete the programme, the choir will be singing three beautiful unaccompanied motets by Byrd, Purcell and Weelkes
The Choir will be accompanied throughout by the talented organist, Iestyn Evans. Iestyn was born in West Wales and was appointed organ scholar of St David's Cathedral whilst still a sixth former. From there he went to The Queen's College, Oxford, where he read music. After graduation, Iestyn held organ scholarships at Westminster Cathedral and Westminster Abbey and was a postgraduate student at the Royal Academy of Music. Since 2000 Iestyn has been the organist of St Etheldreda's Church, Ely Place, London, England's oldest Catholic Church where he plays for a professional choir for Mass on Sundays and feast days in music ranging from Renaissance polyphony to the large-scale masses of the Classical period and more recent choral works.
In addition to his playing commitments, which have taken him to perform in France, Germany, Italy and Spain, Iestyn is a teacher at the Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School in Kensington, where he teaches piano, organ and academic music, as well as accompanying and co-ordinating extra-curricular music in a thriving music department.
'Vivaldi & Bernstein', 5 June 2004, St Martin's Church, Brasted, 7.30pm, £9 (to include interval refreshments). Available from the Cantate Box Office (01892 545799), www.cantate-choir.info