The Northampton Bach Choir is one of the foremost choruses in
the region, and the largest choir in the county, numbering some 130
singers.
It owes its formation to Denys Pouncey, a former organist of
St
Matthew’s Church, giving its first concert there on Palm Sunday
1935. During its time it has nurtured a series of young,
enthusiastic, not to say visionary, musical directors, many of whom
have gone on to forge careers of national and international
significance.
St Matthew’s Church, with its great history of sponsoring music and
the arts, continues to be the choir’s home, but for many years it
has given one concert a year at the Derngate concert hall, often
with one of the major visiting orchestras. The choir has performed
with the Hague Philharmonic under Ivan Fischer, the
Royal
Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra under Edward Warren, the Czech
Philharmonic under Ivan Fischer, and the Bournemouth Symphony
Orchestra under the direction of Andrew Litton. In recent years it
has formed a regular partnership with the
Royal Philharmonic
Orchestra singing with Tolga Kashif and Owain Arwel
Hughes, amongst others.
In addition to regular tours to its twin towns of Poitiers in
France, and Marburg in Germany, in the last few years it has sung at
the Papal Basilica di San Pietro in Rome, the Cathédrale Notre-Dame
in Paris, and in 2017 it sang in the Basilica di San Marco in
Venice. Closer to home it regularly sings Choral Evensong in notable
Cathedrals, recently in Coventry, Gloucester, and St Paul’s, and in
the next eighteen months at Worcester Cathedral, St George’s Chapel,
Windsor, and Westminster Abbey.
The choir has performed a wide range of music from the choral
repertoire, ranging from the sacred music of J S Bach to Stravinsky
and George Gershwin. It sang Howells Hymnus Paradisi in the
presence of the composer, Berlioz Te Deum in London’s Royal
Albert Hall, Tolga Kashif The Queen Symphony under the baton
of the composer, and over the last few years has performed Bach
Mass in B minor, Beethoven ‘Choral’ Symphony, Britten
A Ceremony of Carols and Saint Nicolas, Mozart ‘Great’
Mass in C minor and Requiem, Rachmaninov Vespers, Rossini
Petite Messe Solennelle, Vaughan Williams A Sea Symphony,
and Verdi Requiem.
To mark the choir's 75th anniversary in 2010 the choir released a
recording - Congaudeat! - featuring
twenty-one carols, all with a Northamptonshire connection, including
eight carols written especially for the choir. Carols by Former
Musical Directors Stephen Cleobury (King's College, Cambridge),
Simon Johnson (St Paul's Cathedral, London) and Andrew Reid
(Peterborough Cathedral) were commissioned, alongside works by the
current Musical Director, Lee
Dunleavy. This was followed by a further recording of choral
classics – I was
glad! - which was released in 2012 and another recording of
Christmas carols – Be Merry! – was
launched in November 2014.
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