On Saturday 17 November 2007 Lee Dunleavy stepped up to the podium
for the first time as our Musical Director. Ten years on we are
delighted that he is still at the helm, and in this concert we
perform - almost ten years to the day - the same programme as that
night.
In 1723 Bach was appointed the Director of Music and Organist of St
Thomas’s Church in Leipzig, and that Christmas he Bach wanted to
introduce himself to the city with a work that showed off all his
brilliant potential. Realising that a lot of church music was often
long and hard work for the audience, Bach decided to grab their
attention with something short, sharp and stunning. Taking the Latin
text of the story of the Virgin Mary as told in the Gospel of St.
Luke, Bach wrote his Magnifcat, to be performed for Christmas
Vespers. Bach treats each of the twelve concise movements like a
distinct picture in a gallery. It is a show-off piece in which all
the singers are also challenged to dazzle the listener with their
technical mastery. His Orchestral Suite which completes the first
half was written seven years later and includes the famous Air (on
the G string).
The Nelson Mass is perhaps Joseph Haydn’s greatest single
composition. It is a work that was written at a time of intense fear
for the future of Austria, whose citizens were not in the best of
spirits. Through 1797 and 1798 Napoleon Bonaparte had defeated the
Austrian army in four major battles, even crossing the Alps and
threatening Vienna itself. The prevailing political and financial
instability even impacted the musical forces that Haydn had at his
disposal in the Esterhazy court where he spent some 30 years of his
career. Haydn’s patrons had dismissed their wind players and the
composer was left with a mere string ensemble. Haydn was also
feeling the effects of only recently completing and premièring
The Creation. Exhausted, he was confined by his doctor to his
room. But a new work was required in a short period of time to mark
the saint’s name day of the Esterhazy princess. No wonder then that
Haydn called his latest work the Missa in Angustiis or Mass
for Troubled Times. What he didn’t know however as he penned the
work was that the British had dealt Napoleon a stunning defeat in
the Battle of the Nile. As the news reverberated around the world,
Nelson was heralded as the “saviour of Europe”. Perhaps because of
this coincidence, the Mass gradually acquired the name which it
still carries today. The title however became firmly fixed when in
1800, Nelson himself visited the Esterhazy court, accompanied by his
mistress, Lady Hamilton, where they met the composer, and the Mass
was – in all likelihood – performed in Nelson’s honour.Programme:
Northampton Bach Choir
Bach Camerata
Soprano - Katherine Crompton
Soprano - Rachel Bedford
Mezzo Soprano - Kitty Whately
Tenor - Nathan Vale
Bass - Toby Girling
Conductor - Lee Dunleavy
Bach - Magnificat
Bach - Orchestral Suite No. 3
Haydn - ‘Nelson’ Mass
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Katherine
Crompton
Soprano |
| Katherine Crompton
completed her training at the National Opera Studio, London,
in July 2015. She was the recipient of the McCullough Prize
for Opera and the Harriet Cohen Memorial Award. A graduate
of the Royal College of Music International Opera School she
studied as the Independent Opera Scholar and was supported
by a Sybil Tutton Award and the Irene Hanson Scholarship.
During her studies Katherine won first prize in the RCM
Concerto Competition with Strauss’s Vier Letzte Lieder.
Katherine is a former chorister of All Saints’ Church,
Northampton. |
 |
Rachel
Bedford
Soprano |
| Rachel Bedford grew up in
Rugby and began singing whilst at school, with Angela
Youngman-Stewart. She went on to study music at Nene College
Northampton, continuing her training with Diana Wells. She
is an experienced soloist, including performances locally
with the Northampton Male Voice Choir, the Northampton
Philharmonic Choir, and for the St Cecilia Singers. She has
performed as a soloist in Mahler Second Symphony,
Vaughan Williams A Sea Symphony, and her most recent
performance with the Northampton Bach Choir, Bach St
Matthew Passion. |
 |
Kitty Whately
Mezzo Soprano |
| Kitty Whately sings on
concert, opera and recital stages in the UK and
internationally. Currently a BBC Radio 3 New Generation
Artist, she is also an HSBC Laureate for the Aix-en-Provence
Festival and was the winner of the Kathleen Ferrier Award in
2011. She trained at Chetham’s School of Music, the
Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and the Royal College
of Music International Opera School where she was awarded
the Aldama Scholarship and numerous prizes. She won the 59th
Royal Over-seas League Award for Singers in 2011. She is a Godparent of Toby Girling's daughter. |
 |
Nathan Vale
Tenor |
Winner of both First Prize
and Audience Prize at the London Handel Singing Competition,
Nathan was born in Stourbridge and received his early
musical training as a chorister in Hereford Cathedral Choir
under Dr Roy Massey. He went on to study with Ryland Davies
at the Royal College of Music and Benjamin Britten
International Opera School. He was awarded an Independent
Opera Scholarship to the National Opera Studio, where he was
supported by English National Opera, the Nicholas John
Trust, and the Elmley Foundation.
With the Aarhus Symphony Orchestra, he has sung the
Christmas Oratorio conducted by Harry Christophers and
Arias St John Passion conducted by Paul Goodwin and
with the RAI Symphony Orchestra, Die Erste Walpurgisnacht
conducted by Sir Neville Marriner and Theory/Arithmetic
L’enfant et les sortileges conducted by Jeffrey Tate. Other
highlights include Evangelist St Matthew Passion with
the London Handel Society conducted by Laurence Cummings,
Britten Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings at the Hong
Kong Festival, and with the Orchestra Sinfonica Milano,
Handel Messiah conducted by Sir Neville Marriner and
Arias Bach St Matthew Passion conducted by Ruben Jais.
His operatic engagements have included Lurcanio Ariodante
for the Bolshoi, Belfiore La finta giardiniera for
Luxembourg Opera, First Armed Man/First Priest Magic
Flute for ENO, Oronte Alcina and Lurcanio
Ariodante for English Touring Opera, First Prisoner
Fidelio for the Glyndebourne Festival, Grimoaldo
Rodelinda for Iford Opera, and Mr Buchanan in the
revival of The Opera Group’s award winning production of
Street Scene.
Having previously studied fine art, Nathan is also a very
keen painter. He is a particular fan of Lucian Freud, Paul
Cézanne and Jenny Saville. When not singing, he can often be
found at wandering around London’s National Portrait
Gallery. |
 |
Toby Girling
Bass |
| Toby Girling's most current
and future engagements include opera roles for De Vlaamse
Opera, Scottish Opera, Chelsea Opera Group, and Oper
Leipzig. Recent engagements include opera roles for English
National Opera, Opéra de Lyon, Neville Holt, and English
Touring Opera, as well as concert performances of works
including Mozart's 'Great' Mass in C minor and
Schubert's Winterreise. He is a graduate of the
Guildhall School of Music and Drama and continues to study
with Robert Dean. |
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