WEDNESDAY 25TH OCTOBER Conducting Masterclasses

THURSDAY 26TH OCTOBER

EVENING CONCERT

GLORIA

Guildhall, 19.30

Festival Chorus Codetta Ulster University Chamber Choir (Choral Director, Shaun Ryan) Festival Brass Catherine Ennis, Organist Dónal Doherty, Conductor

PROGRAMME

Gloria, Francis Poulenc Kerry Stamp, Soprano I Gloria II Laudamus te III Domine Deus IV Domine fli unigenite V VI Dominus Deus, Agnus Dei Qui sedes ad dexteram Patris

INTERVAL

Final from Organ Symphony No. 1, Louis Vierne Gloria, John Rutter Gráinne Logue, Soprano 1 Kathryn O’Callaghan, Soprano 2 Helen O’Hare, Alto I II III Gloria in excelsis Deo Domine Deus Quoniam tu solus sanctus It’s hard to imagine a more enjoyable programme of music for choirs to perform than the two contrasting settings of the Gloria presented for this evening’s concert. In the frst half, Poulenc’s Gloria will be performed by the combined choirs of Codetta and the Ulster University Chamber Choir, accompanied on the organ with her own transcription from the orchestral score by Catherine Ennis. This piece was commissioned by the Koussevitsky Foundation of America in 1959. The words from the Mass are set to music of an unmistakable freshness and vivacity. Some critics at the time suggested that it bordered on the sacrilegious; Poulenc replied, ‘While writing it I had in mind those Crozzoli frescoes with angels sticking out their tongues, and also some solemn-looking Benedictine monks that I saw playing football one day’. The work is divided into six short movements. After a brief introduction, the chorus enters with a prominent dotted fgure to the word ‘Gloria’, which forms the basis of this movement. The animated second movement, ‘Laudamus te’, reveals Poulenc in playful mood, with the chorus for the most part divided into pairs of voices - sopranos and tenors; altos and basses - exchanging a series of short, pithy phrases. In the expressive third section, ‘Domine Deus’, the soprano soloist is heard for the frst time with a typically yearning melody, whilst the chorus is allocated a supporting role. We are then abruptly whisked back to the playground for the brief and chirpy ‘Domine fli unigenite’. The soprano soloist returns for the exquisite ‘Domine Deus, Agnus Dei’, with soloist and chorus sometimes combining and sometimes exchanging lyrical phrases. In the sixth movement a short, majestic opening soon gives way to an animated section at the words ‘Qui sedes ad dexteram Patris’. Peace and serenity suffuse the radiant closing pages of the work but, characteristically, Poulenc cannot resist a last, loud interjection at the frst ‘Amen’, where he briefy recalls the dotted ‘Gloria’ fgure of the very opening, before calm is restored for the fnal ‘Amen’.

Poulenc’s sense of humour and love of life shine through all his music, however solemn the text might be. One of his friends said of him, ‘There is in him something of the monk and the street urchin’. The Gloria brilliantly expresses these characteristics, with its captivating mixture of solemnity and mischievous exuberance. This work was commissioned by Mel Olson, with the composer himself conducting the premiere in Omaha, Nebraska in May 1974. Rutter structured the text in three movements and scored it for choir, brass, percussion and organ, with an alternative

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In the second half of this evening’s concert, the full Festival Chorus will join with Festival Brass and organ for a performance of the triumphantly exuberant setting of the Gloria by John Rutter.

This work was commissioned by Mel Olson, with the composer himself conducting the premiere in Omaha, Nebraska in May 1974. Rutter structured the text in three movements and scored it for choir, brass, percussion and organ, with an alternative version for choir and orchestra. It was published in 1976 by Oxford University Press and we are grateful to them for the provision of rehearsal scores for this evening’s performance. The three movements follow the fast-slow-fast scheme typical of concertos or classical symphonies. This is one of Rutter’s most ambitious concert works and he describes the three movements as ‘exalted, devotional and jubilant by turns’. His setting is based largely on one of the Gregorian chants with which the text is associated. The particular instrumentation allows for plenty of excitement and punch in the outer movements, contrasted with a hauntingly ethereal middle section. In contrast to the hushed ending of Poulenc’s Gloria, Rutter’s fnishes in a blaze of affrmative joy. The Rutter Gloria will be preceded by a solo organ piece, the magnifcent Final from Organ Symphony No.1 by Louis Vierne.

Vierne was organist in Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris and was renowned as a prolifc composer and virtuoso performer. He composed six organ symphonies, the frst of which was premiered in 1899. It has six movements, with the Final being the most popular. From frst note to last, this movement has a sense of relentlessly driving forward, with one of its most notable features being the melody announced in the pedals and rapid accompaniment in the manual parts. It is breathtaking for both the organist and the audience and serves as the perfect precursor to the opening of Rutter’s Gloria.

CATHERINE ENNIS

This is Catherine’s second visit to the City of Derry International Choir Festival, and follows her recent directorship of the inaugural Derry Guildhall Organ Festival. Catherine Ennis runs the music at the church of another Guildhall, the City of London church of St. Lawrence Jewry next Guildhall. This is the church of the Lord Mayor and Corporation, which also serves many City Livery Companies, including some that are associated with the Honourable Irish Society. Catherine began playing the organ while at Christ’s Hospital school, was Organ Scholar at St. Hugh’s College, Oxford and later Assistant Organist of Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford. Recitals and recordings have taken her to many international venues, and as a teacher she has worked for three major London Music conservatoires. She has given masterclasses throughout the UK and abroad, and is a frequent examiner and adjudicator for colleges and festivals. Catherine is Vice-President of the Royal College of Organists, Director of the John Hill recitals, Trustee of the Nicholas Danby Trust and Past President of the Incorporated Association of Organists. Future engagements include recitals in Germany, in the Oxford Early Music Festival and in the prestigious series at London’s Royal Festival Hall.

DÓNAL DOHERTY

Dónal’s passion for choral music was nurtured as a member of the Schola Cantorum in St Finian’s College Mullingar and later at University College Dublin. He was appointed Head of Music Services for the Western Region of the Education Authority of Northern Ireland in 1996 and assumed responsibility for both the Western and Southern Regions in 2011. Dónal was Director of the Music Promise initiative, a key element of the inaugural UK City of Culture programme in Derry in 2013. In the same year, he founded the frst edition of the City of Derry International Choral Festival.