Orff
Carmina Burana
Saturday 2 April 2022 at 7.30pm
 
 
  Date:  Saturday 2 April 2022
  Time: 7.30pm
  Venue:  Spinney Theatre, Northampton School for Girls, Spinney Hill, Northampton, NN3 6DG
 
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Fortune spins her wheel. Who will win, who will lose? Our third major work of the season is Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana, composed in 1935/6 and setting words from 24 secular (in some cases very secular) poems from medieval literature. Whilst it was originally scored for choir, soloist, and a vast orchestra, we will perform it in Orff’s own version where the accompaniment is provided by two virtuoso pianists at two pianos and no fewer than six percussionists. We are also delighted to be joined by three stellar solo singers, a children’s chorus, and - in a special innovation - a dramatic narration (very helpful, as the work is sung in a mix of medieval German and Latin, with words whizzing by at 100mph).

Before fortune spins that wheel we will enjoy Madrigalis, the premier girls choir in the region, sing Bob Chilcott's A Little Jazz Mass, directed by Beth Hodgson, and accompanied by our Musical Director. Unlike Carmina this work has a very sacred text, but the funky, bluesy, rocking music is perfectly attuned to Orff's world.

Of course, the pandemic is likely to part of our lives for some time to come; this season we leave our normal concert venue, St Matthew’s Church, as we explore larger venues which are much easier to ventilate and give us flexible seating options. We will be performing Carmina Burana in the Spinney Theatre which should (keeping everything crossed!) enable us to make the necessary adjustments so that the concert can go ahead even if some restrictions return. It also has the added advantage of excellent parking and comfortable raked seating.
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Programme:

Northampton Bach Choir
Madrigalis
(director: Beth Hodgson)
Keith Crompton Percussion Ensemble

Soprano
- Philippa Hyde
Tenor
- Peter Martin
Bass - Njabulo Madlala

Pianists - Jonathan French and Maki Sekiya
Narrator
- Graham Padden
Conductor
- Lee Dunleavy