
Previous Concerts

FESTIVE
CONCERT
As part of the popular ‘Coffee Break’ Concert series
A festive concert as part of the popular ‘Coffee Break’ Concert series at St Peter’s Church.
Nottingham Bach Choir will appear for the first time under the direction of Edward Turner, the choir’s newly appointed accompanist.
Admission is by donation – all welcome!
Nottingham Bach Choir
Peter Siepmann, Conductor
Sat 14 Dec 2019
11am
By donation
St Peters Church
St Peter’s Gate
Nottingham NG1 2NW

MOZART
Symphony No. 41 in C “Jupiter”
“Great” Mass in C minor”
Two of Mozart’s greatest works open the Nottingham Bach Choir’s 2019-20 season – the first for the choir’s seventh Director of Music, Peter Siepmann.
The ‘Great’ Mass in C minor is one of Mozart’s finest liturgical works but tantalisingly, like the Requiem, was left unfinished. Lavishly scored for double choir and a large orchestra, the work combines Mozart’s devotion to the Baroque masters with his own inimitable melodic charm, including the sublime ‘Et incarnatus est’, first performed by Mozart’s new wife, Constanze shortly after their marriage in 1783. The Mass will be interspersed with movements from Mozart’s last (and longest) symphony. The “Jupiter” (a nickname stemming from its thunderbolt-like opening) is regarded as one of the greatest symphonies in the repertoire, full of mathematical symbolism and contrapuntal mastery.
Nottingham Bach Choir
Nottingham Bach Players
Rhiannon Llewellyn, Soprano
Kirsty Hopkins, Soprano
Harry Jacques, Tenor
Stephen Cooper, Baritone
Peter Siepmann, Conductor
Sat 23 Nov 2019
7.30pm
£15.00
Church of St Mary the Virgin
40 High Pavement
Nottingham NG1 1HN
PAUL HALE – A FAREWELL CONCERT
ST MARY’S CHURCH, LACE MARKET.
Saturday 22nd June 2019 7.30pm
Paul Hale Conductor & Organ
Stephen Cooper Baritone
Peter Siepmann Organ & Piano
NBC String Quintet
Featuring choral works by Haydn, J S Bach, Vaughan Williams and Parry and organ pieces by Wesley and Franck.
As Paul retires after 29 seasons as our Conductor and Director of Music, we asked him to suggest some pieces for a lighter celebratory event to mark his fantastic work with us over 29 seasons! You’ll be treated to works by Haydn, Wesley, J S Bach, Vaughan Williams, Cesar Franck and Hubert Parry, including some organ music played by Paul and works for full choir. Definitely one not to miss!
Tickets: £16 (under 18s and registered full-time students £5).

ROSSINI PETITE MESSE SOLENNELLE
CESAR FRANCK PRELUDE, FUGUE & VARIATION
ST MARY’S CHURCH, LACE MARKET, NOTTINGHAM
Saturday 16th June 2018 7.30pm
Paul Hale Conductor & Piano
Anne Page Harmonium
Michael Overbury Piano
Soloists from the Royal Northern College of Music
This (as he described it) “poor little mass” was written by the 71-year-old Rossini in 1863, and performed in its original form the following year in Paris. Thirty-four years had passed since his last opera, Guillaume Tell. Yet the mass emerged as a work of inspiration and passion, a diverse series of beguiling movements, from slightly sinister counterpoint in the Kyrie to a flamboyant “Domine Deus” for the tenor soloist. Its great melodies have assured its continued popularity with choirs and audiences. Unusually, Rossini makes use of a harmonium which contrasts with the often more angular sound of the piano. The final Agnus Dei begins in a restless, melancholy vein, and moves through a lyrical alto solo, returning to the halting and uncertain rhythms which reflect the coexistence of doubt and faith.

J S Bach St John Passion
St Mary’s Church, Lace Market, Nottingham.
Saturday 24th March 2018 7.30pm
Paul Hale Conductor
Ruairi Bowen Evangelist
Stephen Cooper Christus
Clare Lloyd-Griffiths Soprano
Jessica Gillingwater Mezzo-soprano
David de Winter Tenor
Greg Skidmore Bass
First performed in 1724, Bach’s masterpiece is based on St John’s account of Christ’s trial and crucifixion; although less frequently performed than the St Matthew Passion, a strong narrative combined with complexity, drama and beauty in the arias, choruses and chorales make this a compelling work.
REVIEW
To read William Ruff’s review of our most recent concert , please click on the link to Nottingham Post’s online publication https://www.nottinghampost.com/whats-on/music-nightlife/nottingham-bach-choir-deliver-one-1382994

Handel Saul
St Mary’s Church, Lace Market, nottingham
Saturday 25th November 2017, 7.30pm
Paul Hale Conductor
Katherine Crompton Soprano
Roderick Morris Counter tenor
Thomas Herford Tenor
Colin Campbell Bass
Composed in 1738, Handel’s splendid oratorio was designed to impress, with its rich orchestral colours, its varied and dramatic choruses and its contrasting characters who develop through the piece. The wonderful libretto by Charles Jennens is based on the Old Testament story of King Saul and the rise of David his successor. The oratorio tells of the terrible jealousy of the old king as the young David appears at court and is subsequently victorious in battle. Handel was inspired to write some of his finest music, using a wide range of instruments and depicting
both public happenings and scenes of intimate feeling and conflict.
The oratorio makes reference to some interesting themes of the times, showing the Biblical characters to have an emotional domestic life with which the audience would identify. David himself, having the power of Music, is able not only to soothe pain but also to unite the peoples in harmony. An experience not to be missed!

Mendelssohn Saint Paul
St Mary’s Church, Lace Market, Nottingham
Saturday 1st April 2017 7.30pm
Conductor Paul Hale
Soloists Alison Rose, Andrew Tortise and Marcus Farnsworth
Virtuoso Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy had already composed several highly regarded large scale works when he was commissioned to compose his first oratorio at the comparatively young age of 22 years. His setting of an account of the life of St Paul, as taken from the Acts of the Apostles, is suitably dramatic.
As a renowned Bach revivalist, Mendelssohn’s writing was influenced by Bach’s Passions and also the works Handel and Haydn. When first premièred in 1836, in Dusseldorf, the work was well received by audience and critics alike. Such was its popularity, within eighteen months the work had been performed on 50 occasions. Mendelssohn extensively revised the work, conducting it four months later in England and in the USA within a year. Although this masterpiece of orchestral writing became less popular in the early part of the 20th century, the classical elegance and melodic beauty of the work still captivates audiences today.

JS Bach Christmas Oratorio BWV 248 Parts I, II, V & VI
St Mary’s Church, Lace Market, nottingham
Saturday 26th November 2016 7.30 pm
Conductor Roger Bryan
Soloists Ruth Provost, Martha McLorinan, Peter Davoren & Andrew Ashwin
In late 1734, and in his eleventh year as Thomaskantor in Leipzig, Bach composed a major new cycle of six cantatas. The cantatas were to be performed at the Thomaskirche and the Nikolaikirche on six feast days from Christmas Day to Epiphany.
The Christmas Oratorio is closer to Bach’s Passions in form, using a tenor Evangelist as narrator, with arias, choruses and chorales illustrating and reflecting on the Gospel texts. Much of the Christmas Oratorio is founded on music composed for earlier cantatas, both sacred and secular. The celebratory cantatas composed for the royal family of Dresden in 1733 are reworked to great effect. In the opening chorus, the bright orchestration of these earlier works is heard accompanied by voices heralding the birth of Christ with the words “Jauchzet! frohlocket (“Shout for joy! Exult!”) with timpani and trumpets echoing the statement. From its exultant opening to the exquisite Pastoral Sinfonia, the spectacular and colourful orchestration ensures Christmas Oratorio remains an audience favourite.
Review by William Ruff, Nottingham Post, November 2016.
Yes, I know: the cards, calendars and chocolate Santas have been in the local garden centre since early August. But now the real festive season can begin. The Nottingham Bach Choir have sung their patron composer’s Christmas Oratorio.
The outstanding feature of their performance on Saturday was its story-telling. The Christmas narrative of baby, manger, shepherds, wise men etc was delivered with propulsive energy by tenor Peter Davoren, whose words seemed to take flight as they brought the familiar bible story to life. His fellow, similarly eloquent soloists were Ruth Provost (soprano), Martha McLorinan (mezzo) and Andrew Ashwin (bass), all of whom transmitted the text as if Bach’s German were not only their native language but also that of the audience. And very stylish they were too, enunciating clearly and carefully moulding phrases. Breath control in the mezzo aria Schlafe, mein Liebster must have been a challenge – but its effect was both tender and poignant.
The Bach Choir was on sprightly form too. It’s not easy to keep choral textures clear in the reverberant acoustic of St Mary‘s – but under conductor Roger Bryan they sang as if Bach’s notes had been swirling in their bloodstream for years. Their chorales had touching simplicity whilst the big choruses were light on their feet and brightly, bouncily confident and assertive. They looked and sounded particularly impassioned at the start of Part VI as they painted a vivid picture of sharp-clawed enemies snorting with rage.
In this they were aided by some top-notch ensemble and solo playing from the orchestra. The continuo section offered subtle and tireless support whilst arias were coloured by incisive contributions from, amongst others, solo violin and oboes. And amongst the loud cheers at the end, perhaps the loudest were reserved for the dazzling trumpeters.

Spring concert 2016
Southwell Minster
Saturday March 19th 2016 7.30pm
J S Bach Mass in B Minor
J S Bach’s Mass in B Minor is undoubtedly his final and crowning masterpiece. During his latter years, Bach embarked on a systematic summarization of all his work, adding innovative concepts to some of his finest compositions. Bach assembled an untitled compilation of four movements 1. Missa (Kyrie & Gloria) (1733); 2.Symbolum Nicenum (Credo) (1742-45 and earlier work); 3. Sanctus (1724) 4. Osanna, Benedictus, Agnus Dei & Dona nobis pacem (1740’s) into a grand setting of the Latin mass. Unsuitable for use in a liturgical context due to its scale and complexity, (the later named) Mass in B Minor received its first performance in entirety more than one hundred years after Bach’s death.
From the intense Kyrie to the triumphal closing Dona nobis pacem,
Bach’s final chapter is a glorious summation of his life, faith and work; one which transcends all boundaries

