New music
Commissions
Justorum animae
The Victory at Sudvirke
The hand that made us is divine
All men are mortal
3 Carols
Tristis est anima mea
Pilgrimage
Ben Rowarth
title tbc - premiere November 2014
Projects - composers
Architexture
Pierrot Lunnaire
Kerry Andrew Dusk Songs (FP: 6/9/06), York Mass (FP: 14/8/08)
Dusk Songs is an evocative setting of the service of Compline, drawing on different texts, musical influences and vocal techniques. Reviews of our recording of Dusk Song include 'Dusk Songs is a captivating, enthralling journey which delves deeply into the rich and broad heritage of sacred choral music' (www.crossrhythms.co.uk), 'An inspirational programme. The Ebor Singers are magnificent throughout' (Choir and Organ), 'A delightful release from The Ebor Singers. ...an intoxicatingly relaxed ambience' (Church Music Quarterly), 'Stunning' (Classic FM).
The York Mass also reflects Kerry's diverse compositional styles, and was composed for the choir's week of residence in York Minster in summer 2014.
Kerry studied composition at the University of York with Roger Marsh, and now is active in London as a singer, composer, music educator and broadcaster.
Nicholas Ashby Justorum animae (FP: 5/10), The Victory at Sudvirke (FP: 8/3/11)
Justorum animae featured in a programme of Songs of Remembrance, while The Victory at Sudvirke was composed for the York Viking Festival - two very different works. Nick studied as an undergraduate at the University of York, and is now based in Lodnon and in demand as a consort singer - sometimes with us!
Hilary Campbell The hand that made us is divine (FP: 28/2/09), All men are mortal (FP: 19/2/10)
Hilary was commissioned to write these pieces as the choir's first composer-in-residence. The hand that made us is divine is a setting of a poem by Joseph Addison (1672-1719), the English writer and poet, which uses vivid imagery to discuss creation and the capaciousness of the earth. All men are mortal, composed for the York Viking Festival, draws on three tales of Viking folklore. Hilary is a London-based composer and choral director. Previously she read music at the University of York, then moved to London to take up a place at Trinity College of Music, where she undertook an Advanced Postgraduate Diploma in performance.
Ian Colson 3 Carols, Tristis est anima mea
Ian's music has had a regular place in our Christmas concerts, and we have premiered three carols: A cause for wonder (FP: 12/2007), I heard a maid (FP: 30/11/2013); Angelus ad pastores (FP: 15/12/2012). Rhythmically vibrant and melodically inventive, these works have been popular with singers and audience. Tristis est anima mea (FP: 28/5/11) explores choral and harmonic sonorities to reflect Christ's state of mind, alone, in the Garden of Gethsemane. Ian studied at Durham University and is now a York-based composer, teacher and songman at York Minster.
Philip Moore Pilgrimage (FP: 16/8/2008)
Pilgrimage draws on various texts, including the hymn (and melody) I heard the voice of Jesus say, a prayer of Walter Raleigh, and poem by Christina Rossetti, and reflects both Philip's distinctive rhythmic and melodic style and, with the use of the hymn, an acknowledgement of the influence of Vaughan Williams. Philip was organist at York Minster from 1983 to 2008. Upon his retirement, we invited him to become our choir president, and this commission reflects our thanks to Philip for his support.
While composers throughout the ages have created music for specific locations, this work explores links between the composition and performance venue in a manner more detailed than was traditionally feasible. Through the help of acoustic analysis, Architexture I features precise and intricate connections between musical material and the architecture of the venue abd was ariginally intended for a demonstration in York’s Guildhall during the Digital Effects (DAFx) conference 2012. Dr Ambrose Field is a composer who explores the relationship between digital aesthetics and human performance. His work has received performances at venues including the Vienna Konzerthaus, Parco della Musica, Rome, and the Perth International Festival, Australia. His project Being Dufay was recorded by ECM and received 5-star ratings from BBC Music and Classic FM magazines.
Roger Marsh's setting of all 50 poems by Albert Giraud (Schoenberg set only 21) began as a commission in 2001 for the Hilliard Ensemble summer school. In 2002 the entire work was performed by a large cast of singers, actors and instrumentalists at the University. The work was revised for further performance in Denmark and the subsequent NMC recording in 2006 by The Ebor Singers with The Hilliard Ensemble, Juice and Red Byrd. Roger is currently Professor of Music at the University of York. He founded the
contemporary music ensemble Black Hair, which became known for its unusual presentations of new music and music theatre.
Roger has written music for all genres: orchestra, small and large chamber groups, and many works for voices, often with a theatrical edge. He is also known for his abridgements and productions of all the novels of James Joyce for Naxos Audiobooks, including Joyce’s Ulysses – unabridged on 22 CDs. His music is published by Chester Novello and Peters Edition, London.
The Ebor Singers Young Composers Comptetition
In 2008 The Ebor Singers held a Young Composers Competition offering an opportunity for composers between the ages of 16 and 25 in the north-east to write new choral works. The winner, Hilary Campbell, became the choir's composer-in-residence.
Overall Winner: Hilary Campbell
Winner, Sacred: Sam Jackson (York): Save us, O God
Winner, Secular: Hilary Campbell (York): The isle is full of noises
NCEM Young Composers Award
The Ebor Singers are the choir-in-residence of the NCEM Young Composers Award. This competition, jointly supported by the NCEM, BBC Radio 3 and The Tallis Scholars, has attracted a high quality of entries. We look forward to the next competition in 2016!
School Workshops
As a signatory to the government-led Music Manifesto, The Ebor Singers are committed to encouraging and promoting music in schools, in particular generating creative and performance opportunities through singing and composition.