Join London Concert Choir for an evening of sacred music from two of the great English choral composers, in the perfect setting.
The understated beauty and emotion of Herbert Howells’ interwar Requiem offers the perfect foil for the reverent Victorian grandeur of John Stainer’s Passiontide oratorio, The Crucifixion.
Howells’ unaccompanied Requiem brings his unmistakable compositional voice and very personal interpretation to the Church’s liturgy for the dead. Composed in 1932, but unpublished until 1980, it provided the genesis of the more complex and widely acclaimed Hymnus Paradisi. With characteristic precision and clarity, Howells evokes loss, grief, reflection and redemption, blending elements of the Latin mass and The Book of Common Prayer.
Our audience is invited to join the choir in singing the hymns of The Crucifixion, ably led by conductor Mark Forkgen. This is a chance to experience the piece as originally conceived by Stainer, who intended it as a participatory act of worship and mediation, inspired by Bach’s Passions and with the directness of an English libretto. Alongside recitatives, choruses and solos, the piece includes renowned hymn tunes that joined the canon of sung worship in the Anglican communion and beyond.
Our concert venue is especially well-matched with this musical programme. Holy Trinity Sloane Square was described by John Betjeman as “the cathedral of the Arts and Crafts movement”. Its richly decorated interior is a visual expression of the aesthetic, social and spiritual ideas of the Anglo-Catholic revival, with which the church was closely connected in the late 19th century.
Our performance in the beautiful and evocative space at Holy Trinity promises to bring Stainer and Howells’ immediacy, devotional sincerity and blend of traditional and modern elements to life for a contemporary audience.
The choir is joined by soloists William Searle (tenor) and Toby Stafford-Allen (bass-baritone) and organist Martyn Noble.
London Concert Choir, one of London’s most versatile choirs, is recognised for its fresh and responsive interpretation of a wide choral repertoire, from sacred works to jazz, opera and musical theatre. Under the leadership of conductor Mark Forkgen, the choir regularly performs in venues across London, working with leading orchestras and solo performers.