Sir John Rutter
at 80: Choral Masterpieces
Saturday 7 June 2024
7.15pm
St John the Evangelist, Bath
Tickets: £21.80
Including Bristol Beacon booking fee
Join The Erebus Ensemble for a programme that celebrates Sir John Rutter’s 80th birthday with a selection of his most cherished works, alongside pieces by composers who have influenced his artistic journey.
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The concert features the rarely-heard Hymn to the Creator of Light, a radiant and evocative anthem for double choir, the much-loved and tuneful For the Beauty of the Earth, a hymn of praise to nature's wonders, and excerpts from Rutter’s moving and craftsmanlike setting of the Requiem. The programme also includes Byrd’s Laudibus in sanctis, with its joyful, madrigalian elegance, and Tavener’s Song for Athene, a profound work of poignant beauty, established as a gem of the choral repertoire following its performance at Princess Diana’s funeral.
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Under the direction of Tom Williams, with David Bednall at the organ, this performance in the stunning acoustic of St John the Evangelist, Bath, promises to be a fitting tribute to the pioneering contribution of John Rutter to choral music on this special occasion of his 80th birthday.
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“Clear diction, beautiful blend…”
The Times
The Erebus Ensemble
David Bednall – Organ
Tom Williams – Director
Programme includes
William Byrd Laudibus in sanctis
Herbert Howells Long, long ago
John Tavener Song for Athene
John Rutter Hymn to the creator of light; For the beauty of the earth; The Lord bless you and keep you; Excerpts from ‘Requiem’
About The Erebus Ensemble
The Erebus Ensemble was formed in 2012 and has in the intervening period gained a fine reputation for the clarity and power of its performances. The group was a prize winner in the inaugural London International Acapella Choir Competition at St John's Smith Square and was Ensemble-in-Residence at the Bristol Proms in the iconic Bristol Old Vic Theatre.
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Notable performances at the Bristol Proms include the first performances of six forty-part commissions by composers including Nick Lloyd-Webber, Murray Gold, David Bednall and Josephine Stephenson. The group, known for its versatility, has collaborated in a number of stage productions with The English Concert and Harry Bicket. Performances of Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas and Handel’s Messiah have taken the group to the Bridgewater Hall, Buxton Opera House, Bristol Old Vic Theatre, Sam Wanamaker Playhouse and the Lausanne Festival in Switzerland. In 2018, Erebus and the English Concert recorded Bach’s B Minor Mass in Bath Abbey for BBC Radio 3.
The Erebus Ensemble has appeared on Radio 3’s In Tune, and is frequently heard on Classic FM and Scala Radio. It was featured on Radio 4’s Today programme as part of a feature on classical music and its accessibility. The Erebus Ensemble opened the first ever Clifton International Festival of Music in 2013 and is thrilled to make its fifth appearance at the festival this year.
