Choral music by Dove, MacMillan, Lindley and Langlais

Join us at Leeds Cathedral for a lunchtime recital of varied and mostly contemporary choral and organ music, inspired by Visions of Darkness and Light.

The programme features the first performance of a new work by our former Conductor Dr Simon Lindley, and the first Leeds performance of James MacMillan’s Miserere mei.

With three of the works composed in the last 15 years, this programme shows the tradition of sacred choral music to be not just alive, but in rude health, with composers continuing to draw inspiration from ancient texts.

Alexander Woodrow directs, with Darius Battiwalla at the organ.

Programme

Dr Lindley’s work A Taylor Trilogy features the composer’s selection from the relatively unknown writings of the 17^th century divine Jeremy Taylor (1613-1667), thought by some to be one of the greatest writers of prose in our language. It opens with a vision of glorious sunlight greeting the resurrection of Christ. The work was commissioned by St Peter’s Singers and receives its first performance here to mark the 50th anniversary of Dr Lindley’s arrival in Leeds.

Jonathan Dove also returns to the 17th century, setting a text by another fine poet, Phineas Fletcher (1582-1650). Like many of his contemporaries, Fletcher too draws on the imagery of Light, which is reflected in Dove’s luminous writing for the organ.

James MacMillan takes Psalm 51 (Miserere mei, Dei – Have mercy on me O God) – a seminal, and much darker text with a rich history of choral settings. Typically, he adds another profound chapter to this story, which we’re proud to bring to Leeds for the first time in the work’s history.

The recital ends with movements from Jean Langlais’ ebullient Messe Solennelle, notable for the dynamic and discordant splashes of organ sound that punctuate the singing.

St Peter’s Singers

Darius Battiwalla organ

Alexander Woodrow conductor

This concert is promoted and provided free of charge by Leeds Leisure Services as part of the International Concert Season. St Peter’s Singers are grateful for the invitation to take part.