BACH CHOIR CONCERT BREAKS. If music be the food of.....!
It is without doubt that the DCH is the very best hotel that we have stayed in...
PB, Wigan Apr '12
Bach Choir Concert Breaks for 2012/2013
The Hotel is delighted to offer these unique packages in conjunction with the internationally acclaimed Yorkshire Bach Choir- and its conductor Peter Seymour
Your Bach Choir Break includes:
- 2 nights accommodation with full Yorkshire Breakfast
- 2 tickets for the Concert. (Best seats possible)
- Pre-Concert Cocktail followed by 2 Course Supper with ** Wine - in THE COURT Cafe-Bistro & Bar, returning afterwards for Sweets and Coffee . (** 250 ml glass per person)
- 20% off food and wine - should you wish to dine in D.C.H - the AA Rosette awarded Restaurant - on your "other" night's stay.
Tariff
Prices shown by each Concert are PER PERSON and based on two people sharing a Standard Double or Twin Room- fully inclusive of all elements listed above.
Please ask about Supplements for Superior, de Luxe and 4-Poster de Luxe Rooms
(All concerts except December 1st 2012 take place at St Michael le Belfrey- literally across the road from the hotel)
3rd November 2012 at 7.30pm Ends approx. 9.30pm
MASTERPIECES of the ENGLISH GOLDEN AGE
Tallis Spem in alium
motets by Byrd, Tallis, Taverner
Tallis' Spem in alium must be regarded as the pinnacle of music of later English Renaissance, a period in which Tallis and his countryman William Byrd perfected the glorious choral sonority and colour of what can be regarded as a Golden Age of English choral writing. Reputedly written in response to a challenge set by the 4th Duke of Norfolk to 'write a better song' than the Italian composer Alessandro Striggio, the work has also inspired several modern composers to write 40-part choral works (and even an installation artwork in Tate Modern) and it remains a challenge to any choir to perform well. In tonight's programme we are coupling Tallis great 40-part motet with other large-scale Latin compositions, interspersed with more intimate motets, confident that our audiences will welcome the continued exploration of this repertoire.
2- night Break Price £210
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Saturday 1st December 2012 at 7.00pm Ends approx. 10pm Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall, University of York (please allow 30mins "drive/taxi and taking seats" time)
BACH CHRISTMAS ORATORIO BWV 248
with Bethany Seymour, Sally Bruce-Payne, Joseph Cornwell, Peter Harvey
Yorkshire Baroque Soloists
Christmas Oratorio is rarely heard especially, as here, complete. The sequence of six cantatas (each of around 25 minutes) presents Bach at his finest and most festive calling for his largest orchestral forces with many memorable and ornate solo instrumental lines. The choral and solo writing also make substantial demands and we are pleased to welcome an outstanding team of soloists for this performance.
2- night Break Price £240 (We advise booking well in advance for this one. Tickets are subject to availability. The hotel will accept the reservation and deposit - which will be refunded in full if tickets are not available
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Saturday 2nd February 2013 at 7.30pm Ends approx. 9.30pm 20th CENTURY CHORAL MASTERS
Parry, Howells, Harris, Britten, Whitacre
For our 2nd choir-only programme of this season we continue with English choral music œ masterpieces of the 20th century œ alongside works by the American composer Eric Whitacre, currently one of most-performed and popular living composers. This is the first time YBC has programmed any Whitacre and here include Sleep, Water Night and Leonardo Dreams of his Flying Machine. The English repertoire includes Howells Requiem, Harris Faire is the Heaven, Parrys Songs of Farewell and, to celebrate the anniversary of his birth, Brittens Hymn to St Cecilia.
2- night Break Price £210
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Saturday 16th March 2013 at 7.30pm Ends approx. 9.45pm MONTEVERDI 1610 VESPERS
with Yorkshire Baroque Soloists
YBC recorded Monteverdis famous 1610 Vesperae della Beata Vergine in 2004 in the version with continuo only. This performance will be the version with the stunningly colourful orchestral forces œ cornetti, sackbuts, dulzian, recorders, strings, chitarroni, organ œ set alongside the polychoral splendour, plainchant and stunningly ornate solo vocal writing œ features which made this masterpiece an essential part of the choral canon. We perform this sequence at high pitch, that used in Venice at the time, and will incorporate Monteverdis music into a liturgical sequence which offers the maximum impact to Monteverdis music.
2- night Break Price £230
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Saturday 25 May 2013 at 7.30pm Ends approx. 9.30pm
THE FRENCH SCHOOL: FAUR°, MARTIN, DURUFL°
FAUR° REQUIEM op.48 (1893)
FAUR° Cantique de Jean Racine op.11 (1865)
MARTIN MASS (1922)
DURUFL° MOTETS: Four Motets on Gregorian Themes op.10 (1960)
with York Sinfonietta
This programme presents Faur©s ever-popular Requiem in its original version with chamber orchestra together with the less familiar but equally attractive Mass by Frank Martin, a real choral spectacular for unaccompanied double choir. Durufl©s motets enjoy regular appearances in the choral repertoire and their intimate style completes this survey of French choral repertoire.
2- night Break Price £230
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Saturday 22nd June 2013 at 7.30pm Ends approx.10pm PURCELL FAIRY QUEEN
with Yorkshire Baroque Soloists
Purcells 1690 semi-opera, Fairy Queen, is among his greatest compositions which remained popular well into the 18th century although seldom heard complete. Certainly it contains some of his best-known and spectacular music with many solos, dialogues, choruses and a colourful orchestra of oboes, recorders, trumpets and strings. Apart from the humorous Scene of the Drunken Poet and that between Coridon and Mopsa, the longest and most important sequence of the semi-opera is the great final masque, performed to celebrate King Oberons birthday.
In this entertaining performance the musical items are linked by a brilliant (and entertaining) narration specially prepared by Andrew Pinnock, secretary of the Purcell Society and a regular collaborator with YBC and YBS in this repertoire.
2- night Break Price £230
The given finish times for concerts are approximate and are intended only as a guide.
(All concerts except December 1st 2012, take place at St Michael le Belfrey Church- literally across the road from the hotel).
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Helpful hints, points of interest
Regular patrons often take a cushion!
Please note, there are no "disabled" toilet facilities at St Michael le Belfrey
All details are correct when going to press, but Yorkshire Bach Choir and Dean Court reserve the right to make alterations to the contents of the Break and the publicised programme, if necessary.
Yorkshire Bach Choir is delighted to be able to support University students with their singing studies with funds generously provided by the D'Oyly Carte Charitable Trust and the R M Burton Charitable Trust.
Yorkshire Bach Choir acknowledges with thanks the financial support of Mrs Celia M. Burgan.
YBC's website gives further information about the choir and the season's programme:
http://www.yorkshirebachchoir.org.uk
A Brief CV of the Yorkshire Bach Choir
* Formed in 1979 by its conductor Peter Seymour, Yorkshire Bach Choir enjoys an international reputation for its performances of Renaissance, Baroque and Classical music, both unaccompanied and with Yorkshire Baroque Soloists, and alongside the finest solo singers
* YBCs recording of Bachs B minor Mass was released by Signum Records in June 2011. Regular partners Yorkshire Baroque Soloists recording of Bachs St John Passion was released by the same company in August 2010. Other commercial recordings have included Mozart's Requiem (in the completion by Duncan Druce, commissioned by the choir), a Festal Mass at the Imperial Court of Vienna 1648, and the six Bach Motets. Recent recordings still available include Victoria Psalms and Motets and Monteverdi Vesperae della Beata Vergine and, from June 2006, Motets of the Bach Family.
* Yorkshire Bach Choir regularly performs newly-edited and rediscovered masterpieces of earlier centuries
* Yorkshire Bach Choir performances have been broadcast on BBC Radio 3, Classic FM West German Radio (WDR) and Middle German Radio (MDR), and the choir has appeared on Channel 4, Yorkshire Television, Tyne Tees Television and Classic FM, as well as on French radio and television
* Yorkshire Bach Choir participates in many festivals œ York Early Music Festival, Ryedale, Swaledale, Northern Aldborough, Chichester, Hexham, Quimper in Brittany and the Festival Mitte Europa in Germany and the Czech Republic. In June 2007 YBC appeared in Leipzig Bach Festival
