St George's Singers

Benjamin Britten  Rejoice in the Lamb Op 30
Benjamin Britten  A Hymn to the Virgin
Benjamin Britten  Te Deum in C and Jubilate Deo in C
Benjamin Britten  Antiphon
Benjamin Britten  Hymn to St Cecilia Op 27
Benjamin Britten  Six Metamorphoses after Ovid Op 49
Benjamin Britten  Phantasy Quartet for Oboe and Strings Op 2

Eblana String Trio
Neil Taylor  conductor
Jeffery Makinson  organ
David Currington  oboe

Born 100 years ago on St Cecilia’s Day (22 November) 1913, Benjamin Britten was the outstanding British musician of his generation. A brilliant pianist and accompanist, he is renowned principally as a composer, producing works of stunning originality and musicality for the orchestra. But it is his use of the voice that is one of the most distinctive features of his sound world, in which he worked out a fresh relationship with the English choral tradition based on impeccable timing and word-setting.

In celebration of Britten’s centenary, this concert features choral works from his youngest days (Hymn to the Virgin, composed at the age of 16) right through to the mature works of Antiphon (1956), and including two of his most popular works, Rejoice in the Lamb and Hymn to St Cecilia.

The Eblana String Trio began playing together as students at the RNCM, where they won all the major chamber music prizes, and now regularly perform for music societies and festivals throughout the UK. They are joined for this concert by oboist David Currington.