25th Inernational Sacred Music Festival | Opening Concert. ENGLISH SACRED MUSIC
Venue:
State Choir Latvija
Conductor Jeremy Backhouse (United Kingdom)
Aivars Kalējs, organ
Program:
Music by Edward Elgar, Herbert Howells, James MacMillan, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Francis Pott, Jonathan Dove, William Walton and Hubert Parry
The 25th Sacred Music Festival will open on August 13th at the Riga Dome Cathedral with a programme of English sacred music performed by the State Choir LATVIJA and organist Aivars Kalējs, and conducted by one of England’s most accomplished choral conductors, Jeremy Backhouse. With his chamber choir, the Vasari Singers, Backhouse regularly performs at the top English concert halls and festivals, as well as winning awards from publications such as Gramophone and MusicWeb. The conductor has worked closely with prestigious recording studio EMI Records, and leading British choirs such as the BBC Singers, Philharmonia Chorus and others.
The concert programme has been conceived as a path from darkness into light and harmony, highlighting the classics of British music as well as contemporary composers. The programme will feature pieces from the dreamy Edward Elgar, the master of sacred music and choral sound Herbert Howells, and national symphonists Ralph Vaughan Williams and William Walton, whose choral works embody lithe expressiveness and charm. Contemporary choral luminary James MacMillan’s opus Miserere, an expansive and moving prayer for mercy, will also be included, as well as the music of other composers.
