Category Archives: Tenor

Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610

Saturday 14 October 2017
Pamoja Hall   7.30pm

With Vivace and The English Cornett & Sackbut Ensemble

Director of Music: Robin Walker

Poster for Cantate Choir's October 2017 performance of Monteverdi Vespers with Vivaci! and The English Cornett & Sackbut EnsembleBorn in Cremona, Monteverdi was a composer and court musician particularly known for books of madrigals and operas. His work transitions from Renaissance polyphony to Baroque melody including pioneering techniques such as bass continuo. The Vesperis in Festis Beata Mariae Vergine, more casually known as the Vespers of 1610, was his first sacred work in nearly 30 years reflecting a blend of both styles. In scale it represents one of the most ambitious works of religious music written before Bach.  It is a large, complex and ground-breaking piece noted for its brilliance and power.

Special guest soloists will perform with The Cantate Choir and we will be joined by Vivace and The English Cornett & Sackbut Ensemble for what promises to be a wonderful evening.

Tickets cost £15. (concessions £7.50 U18s)

For more information and a link to book tickets, go to http://www.thespacesevenoaks.co.uk/whats-on/music/

 

Solstice of Light – June 2017

St Mary’s Platt, Sunday 25th June 2017

With William Searle (tenor) and Ian Shaw (organ).

The centrepiece of our summer concert was the Solstice of Light, Peter Maxwell Davies’ Cantata for tenor, choir and organ. Its fourteen movements form a poetic history of Orkney with beautiful melodic moments and some wonderful harmony. This highly evocative piece was performed as the long light of June lasted into the evening making it a very special occasion.

We also be presented a wonderful setting of Shakespeare’s song from Cymbeline, Fear No More, by Jonas Magnussen, being performed for the first time in the UK, as well as two pieces by New Zealand composer Paul Newton-Jackson.

We were joined by special guests, tenor William Searle and organist Ian Shaw. William performed a beautiful selection of English solo songs as well as the tenor role in Solstice of Light.  Ian played an organ solo during the first part of the concert as well as performing the fantastic, virtuoso solo sections in Solstice of Light.

Strawberries and drinks were at 6.30pm  in the Churchyard and the concert followed at 7.00pm.

Tom Randle

Tom performed with the Cantate Choir in the Handel’s Messiah in January 2016.

Tom Randle, TenorPhotograph: Clare Park

Tom Randle began early studies in conducting and composition, but a scholarship to study voice soon meant a change in career direction. He made his début with the English National Opera as Tamino in The Magic Flute and has repeated the role with great success at Deutsche Oper Berlin, Glyndebourne Festival Opera, Hamburg, New Zealand and the Covent Garden Festival. Well known for his vivid and committed stage portrayals and a unique ability to embrace a wide variety of repertoire, Tom has emerged as one of the most exciting and versatile artists of his generation.

This Season, Tom Randle will partake in the world premiere of Marta, a new opera written by Wolfgang Mitterer, under the baton of Clement Power at Opéra de Lille followed by Die Soldaten with the Teatro Colon. Future engagements will include Elecktra with Berlin Staatsoper (co production with Aix) followed by Gran Teatre del Liceu.

Tom Randle made his Royal Opera House début as Essex in Phyllida Lloyd’s highly acclaimed production of Gloriana, which was later released as a feature film for BBC Television. Other appearances for the Royal Opera include Johnny Inkslinger in Paul Bunyan and the Fool in Gawain. Tom Randle is very active in the field of contemporary music with several world premières to his credit, many of which were written especially for him. This includes the role of Dionysus in John Buller’s opera The Bacchae for ENO, the world première of Peter Schat’s opera Symposium for the Netherlands Opera, and the world première of John Taverner’s oratorio The Apocalypse for the BBC Proms. He also created the role of Nunez in Mark-Anthony Turnage’s opera The Country of the Blind, written for the 50th Anniversary of the Aldeburgh Festival, and premiered and recorded Penderecki’s oratorio Credo for the Oregon Bach Festival. His intense portrayal of Judas in the world première of Birtwistle’s Last Supper under Daniel Barenboim at the Staatsoper Berlin (as well as Glyndebourne) won him outstanding critical acclaim.

Mr Randle devotes equal time to an active concert career, singing with many of the world’s leading orchestras including the Boston and Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, The London Symphony, Philharmonic and Philharmonia Orchestras, the Israel Philharmonic, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, The English Concert with conductors such as Daniel Barenboim, Michael Tilson Thomas, Sir Colin Davis, Myung-Whung Chung, Yan-Pascal Tortelier, Ghennadi Rozhdestvensky, Richard Hickox, Harry Christophers, Trevor Pinnock, and Ivan Fischer. Amongst his recordings are the title role in Handel’s Samson with Harry Christophers on Collins Classics, Vaughan Williams’ A Cotswold Romance with the London Symphony Orchestra and Hickox for Chandos (both premiere recordings) and orchestral works by Luigi Nono on the EMI label. Tom also appeared as Molqui in the ground-breaking film version of John Adams’ Death of Klinghoffer for Channel 4, released on DVD, and as Monostatos in Kenneth Branagh’s The Magic Flute.

As a composer, his works have been performed in the UK, Europe and the US, including the Buxton and Presteigne Festivals, Lille Opera and the Broad Stage concert hall in Los Angeles. His latest opera ‘A telephone Call’ premieres this spring with Second Movement, and will later form part of the Tètè Opera Festival.

Gala Concert – Handel’s ‘Messiah’

23rd January 2016
Pamoja Hall – Sevenoaks School

Poster for the Handel's Messiah concert in January 2016

Programme

Handel’s Messiah

The Cantate Choir with orchestra ‘Vivace!’ and internationally renowned soloists gave a gala charity performance of this most wonderful of Oratorios to raise money for The Hospice in the Weald.

Choir, orchestra and soloists performing the Hallelujah chorus in Handel's Messiah

The Cantate Choir raised over £10,000 for Hospice in the Weald through it’s Gala Charity Concert on 23rd January 2016. This organisation provides the most outstanding palliative care to the terminally ill, and is heavily reliant on the generosity of the public, local businesses and organisations. Our guest of honour, Lord Sackville, introduced the concert.

The choir performed Handel’s masterpiece under the baton of Robin Walker accompanied by orchestra ‘Vivace!’ who played on period instruments. Cantate also welcomed internationally renowned soloists: soprano Gillian Keith, counter tenor Francesco Ghelardini, tenor Tom Randle and bass Trevor Eliot Bowes.

Soloists

Conductor – Robin Walker
Leader – Hazel Brooks

Soprano – Gillian Keith
Counter-tenor – Francesco Ghelardini
Tenor – Tom Randle
Bass – Trevor Eliot Bowes

Programme notes

Programme notes by Sarah Kelmsley

Review

Review by Graeme Fife

Iain Milne

Iain Milne, sang Tenor for the Cantate Choir during it’s performance of Handel’s Judas Maccabaeus in March 2013.

Iain Milne, Tenor

Iain was born in Inverurie in Aberdeenshire and it is somewhat of a miracle that he is a singer at all. He was born with a congenital disorder resulting in under-developed larynx muscles – a rather useful set of muscles when it comes to singing. No one would have predicted that 26 years later he would have debuted on the opera stage, as Tito in Mozart’s Clemenza Di Tito for Hampstead Garden Opera and would now be studying on the prestigious Royal Academy Opera Course. Iain also recently graduated with distinction in his MA from the Academy and was awarded the Sir Thomas Armstrong Prize, and the Gabrowsky Connell Prize for outstanding performance.

Iain’s main experience lies in choral music, having been a Cathedral Lay Clerk at Aberdeen, Norwich, Wells and Christ Church Oxford. During his 12 years as part of the choral tradition he enjoyed going on tour to Norway, Malta, Germany, USA and South Africa. He also featured as a soloist with Wells Cathedral Choir on recordings of Kenneth Leighton’s World’s Desire and David Bednall’s Flame Celestial.

Becoming increasingly more in demand as an oratorio soloist, Iain has sung for many choirs and choral societies across the UK and Europe. Recent highlights include Elgar’s Dream of Gerontius in the Fairfield Halls, Croydon, Handel’s The Messiah in Hamburg and Haydn’s Creation in Aberdeen Music Hall.

Iain is very proud of his Scottish roots and of his hugely supportive family, venturing home to do concerts as much as he can. He is also very proud to be studying with fellow Aberdeenshire tenor Dr Neil Mackie and fellow Scot Audrey Hyland.

Iain is currently supported by the Michael James Music Trust, Josephine Baker Trust, The Robertson Trust, The Sir James Caird Trust, The Royal Society of Musicians and The Alan and Jette Parker Scholarship.

Tim Lawrence

Tim, sang Tenor for the Cantate Choir during it’s performance of J S Bach’s B minor mass in March 2012.

Tim Lawrence, Tenor

As a former Lichfield Cathedral chorister, Tim Lawrence was introduced to classical singing at a very early age which has helped him to develop into a fine singing musician. After being awarded a music scholarship at King Edward’s School, Edgbaston, he achieved his LLCM Diploma in singing performance under the guidance of Coral Gould and was subsequently awarded an Open Scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music in London where he currently studies with Dr. Neil Mackie CBE, and coaches with Iain Ledingham.

Tim is rapidly establishing himself as one of the most promising young tenors of his generation, with an increasingly busy concert schedule in the oratorio and recital circuit. Recent solo performances have included Bach’s Magnificat, B Minor Mass, St. Matthew and St. John Passions and Christmas Oratorio, Mozart’s Requiem, Haydn’s Creation, Handel’s Messiah, Jephtha, Samson and Saul, and Stanford’s Requiem. Highlights have included Haydn’s Nelson Mass with David Hill and The Bach Choir as well as Kenneth Leighton’s Columba Mea, under Paul Spicer, both performances at St. John’s Smith Square in London.

In 2011, Tim was accepted onto the Genesis Sixteen scheme, a training programme run by The Sixteen and Harry Christophers which aims to nurture the next generation of talented young voices.

Tim is generously supported by the Josephine Baker Trust, the John Taylor Memorial Trust Fund and the Adah Rogalsky Scholarship fund.

Kevin Kyle

Kevin sang with the choir during its Handel’s Messiah concert in March 2009 and its Rossini Petite Messe Solennelle concert in March 2011.

Kevin Kyle, Tenor

Kevin Kyle began his career in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera. He subsequently won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music, where he studied on the opera course with Joy Mammen. He graduated with distinction having won a number of awards including the Kendall Prize and the EMI Award.

In 2004, he was a finalist in the London Handel Singing Competition and, in the same year, he made his BBC Proms Debut under the baton of Sir John Eliot Gardiner. In 2005, he performed the role of Jason in the world premier of Howard Goodall’s Jason and the Argonauts at the Royal Albert Hall. In 2006, he worked for Lille and Chatelet Opera and in 2007 he toured the USA playing the role of Frederic in the Carl Rosa production of The Pirates of Penzance. Last year, he was featured in War Oratorio, a newly commissioned feature length film for Channel Four. Kevin has also recorded for BBC Radio Three, Classic FM, Sony and BBC television. Other career highlights include; an invitation to perform at Clarence House and performances for Lord Lloyd Webber and The Queen. In 2009, his debut CD of Schumann’s Dichterliebe was released on the JCL label and a following album Songs was released early last year.

Mark Bradbury

Mark sang the role of the Evangelist in Cantate Choir’s performance of Bach’s St John Passion in March 2008

Mark Bradbury, tenor
Mark Bradbury

Mark Bradbury was born in Cheshire and studied at the Royal Academy of Music. He was a member of the Glyndebourne Chorus from 1999-2005 and made his solo Glyndebourne debut at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in 2001 singing Bartholomew The Last Supper (Birtwistle). Other operatic roles include Parpignol La Boheme (RAH Raymond Gubbay), Arbace Idomeneo, Acis Acis and Galatea, Monostatos Die Zauberflote. As a founder member of European Voices, under Sir Simon Rattle, he has sung in Berlin and Salzburg in Les Boreades (Rameaux), Peter Grimes (Britten), and Wonderful Town (Bernstein). Concert work has included Bach’s Christmas Oratorio (RAM for Classic FM), Mozart’s Mass in C (QEH), Bach’s St John Passion (St John’s Chapel, Cambridge).

Charne Rochford

Charne sang with the choir during its Mozart Requiem & Schubert Mass in C concert in March 2006.

Charne Rochford, Tenor

Charne was born in London. He trained at the Royal Academy of Music as an undergraduate. He later rejoined the Academy on the Opera Course.

On the concert platform his repertoire includes Mozart’s Requiem, Handel’s Messiah, Puccini Messe di Gloria, Verdi Requiem and Britten St. Nicholas.

In 2002 he made his Royal Opera House debut in Graham Vick’s Die Meistersinger as an Apprentice. He covered Pinkerton and later portrayed Tamino for Clonter Opera. In 2004 he sang Puccini’s Rodolpho for the Dartington Festival, supported by the Foyle Foundation. Last summer he made his Glyndebourne Festival Opera debut as the 1st Armed Man/2nd Priest with the O.A.E.

Future engagements include covering Alfred in Die Fledermaus for Glyndebourne Festival Opera and 2nd Priest in a film of the Magic Flute directed by Kenneth Branagh.