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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
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