Photographs of the final gala concert in the 2013 inaugural Palestine Choral Festival which took place last night at the Ramallah Cultural Palace in the West Bank. A large number of international choirs took part as well as many from Palestine.
The photographs below were taken at the Lutheran Redeemer Church in Jerusalem this evening. The concert opened with The Australian Voices and followed with a performance of Britten’s St Nicholas with the Choir of London and Orchestra, the Choristers of St George’s, Austrailian Voices and the Olive Branch Choir. The tenor soloist was Allan Clayton and the conductor was Paul Kildea, the leading Britten scholar.
Since June 2013 I have been writing posts for New Liturgical Movement which is now run by the Church Music Association of America. NLM is one of the largest Catholic Blogs in the world and is edited by Jeffrey Tucker. My recent posts on NLM appear in the sidebar of this site and in this RSS feed:
http://www.newliturgicalmovement.org/feeds/posts/default/-/Charles%20Cole/?alt=rss
The Palestine Choral Festival runs from 22-31 August and brings together a number of local and international choirs which will be performing a series of concerts and events, full details of which are available on the Palestine Choral Festival website. A particular highlight will be the performance of Benjamin Britten’s St Nicholas in Beit Jala. 2013 marks the centenary of Britten’s birth and St Nicholas has a particular association with Beit Jala where he lived for some years. I’m delighted to be involved in the events below, training the boys in St Nicholas and playing the organ, playing for an Evensong at St George’s Cathedral, working with the Custody Choir in Nazareth, working with the Magnificat Choir and Yasmine Choir and directing them in a concert in Jerusalem. I will also be playing the Fauré Requiem and conducting the Mozart Te Deum. Many congratulations to John Harte, Michael Stevens and Alice Howick for organising these wonderful events!
SATURDAY 24 AUGUST 2013
LUTHERAN CHURCH OF THE REDEEMER, JERUSALEM, 8PM
Choir of London, Olive Branches Choir, Boys of St George’s Cathedral Choir (Jerusalem)
St Nicholas, Benjamin Britten
SUNDAY 25 AUGUST 2013
ST GEORGE’S CATHEDRAL, JERUSALEM, 6PM
Choir of London, Olive Branches Choir, St George’s Cathedral Choir
Evensong
MONDAY 26 AUGUST & TUESDAY 27 AUGUST 2013
BASILICA OF THE ANNUNCIATION, NAZARETH
Choral Workshops with the Custody Choir
WEDNESDAY 28 AUGUST 2013
MAGNIFICAT INSTITUTE, JERUSALEM, 6PM
Magnificat Choir, Yasmine Choir
THURSDAY 29 AUGUST 2013
ST CATHERINE’S CHURCH, BETHLEHEM, 7PM
Choeur Régional du Nord – Pas-de-Calais, Olive Branches Choir, Palestine Choral Festival Orchestra
Requiem, Fauré
Te Deum, Mozart
FRIDAY 30 AUGUST 2013
LATIN CHURCH, BEIT JALA, 7PM
Choir of London, Olive Branches Choir, Boys of St George’s Cathedral Choir (Jerusalem)
St Nicholas, Benjamin Britten
SATURDAY 31 AUGUST 2013
CULTURAL PALACE, RAMALLAH, 7PM
Choir of London, Choeur Régional du Nord – Pas-de-Calais, Ishirini, The Australian Voices, Northern Spirit, Magnificat Choir of the Custody of the Holy Land, Bethlehem Choir of the Custody of the Holy Land, Bethlehem University Choir, Al-Baath, Barenboim-Said Children’s Choir, Yasmine, Olive Branches Choir, Zaridash, Palestine Choral Festival Orchestra
Final Celebration Concert
Sacred Music is the quarterly journal of the Church Music Association of America. In the most recent issue, I have an article entitled The Solesmes Chant Tradition: The Original Neumatic Signs and Practical Performance Today. The article is based on a talk I gave at the CMAA Colloquium in Salt Lake City in 2012 and is intended as an entry into the world of Solesmes and Semiology, in other words how the monks went about the deciphering of the early chant manuscripts and converting them into a singable performing edition. I am grateful to the CMAA for allowing me to post the article here. If you would like to subscribe, please click here. It represents good value at $48 a year, however you can donate more to this extremely good cause should you wish. You can also browse the online archive of previous editions.
Click here to download a copy of the article: The Solesmes Chant Tradition: The Original Neumatic Signs and Practical Performance Today by Charles Cole
Tuesday 18 June 2013 at 8pm
Organ Recital at the Cathedral of the Madeleine, Salt Lake City, Utah
Given by Charles Cole
The programme consists of organ music based on Gregorian Chant themes ranging from an exquisite early sixteenth century Felix namque by an anonymous English composer to a contemporary setting of the Solemn Salve Regina for alternatim organ & choir by Olivier Latry, Organiste Titulaire at Notre Dame, Paris. Other works by J.S. Bach, Demessieux and Langlais. The recital, part of the Church Music Association of America’s Sacred Music Colloquium, will last one hour.
Photographs of High Mass at the London Oratory, St Philip’s Day 2013. Preacher, Monsignor John Armitage.
Some photographs taken yesterday and this morning at Mass at Notre Dame, Paris, showing the new organ console and the view from the Tribune.
Saturday 13 April 2013 at 8pm
Organ Recital at Notre Dame, Paris
Given by Charles Cole
Programme:
Ballo della battaglia, Bernardo Storace (1637-1707)
Fugue in E flat (St Anne) BWV 552, J.S. Bach (1685-1750)
Le monde dans l’attente du Sauveur (Symphonie-Passion), Marcel Dupré (1886-1971)
Chant de paix & Chant héroïque (Neuf Pièces), Jean Langlais (1907-1991)
Méditation (Suite médiévale), Jean Langlais (1907-1991)
Te Deum, Jeanne Demessieux (1921-1968)
Admission free, further information from Musique Sacrée à Notre Dame de Paris
Tomorrow (Wednesday 10 April) BBC Radio 3 will broadcast Choral Vespers live from the London Oratory at 3.30pm. The broadcast will be repeated on Radio 3 on Sunday 14 April at 4pm and will also be available online here for seven days. The music is here:
Vespers of St Leo I, Pope, Confessor & Doctor of the Church
Organ: Prélude du huitième ton, Nivers
Invitatory, Croce
Psalms 109-112, 116, Gregorian Chant
Hymn: Iste confessor, Gregorian Chant/Frescobaldi
Magnificat secundi toni (Quanti in mille anni), Lassus
O salutaris Hostia, Gregorian Chant/Victoria
Tantum ergo, Duruflé
Regina caeli à 7, Lassus
Organ: Offertoire sur O filii et filiae, Lebègue
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