Körkonsert - The Choir of Magdalen College, Oxford
Dirigent - Mark Williams
Fredagen den 11 juli kl 18.00
”Låt lovsång ljuda från jordens alla hörn.” - Femhundra år av sakral musik från hela världen.
Stephen Paulus
• Pilgrims’ Hymn
Trad. Amerikansk sång
• There is a balm in Gilead
Manuel Cardoso
• Sitivit anima mea
Felix Mendelssohn
• Laudate pueri
Gregoriansk
• Salve regina
John Sheppard
• Libera nos
Arvo Pärt
• Magnificat
Josef Rheinberger
• Agnus Dei ur Cantus Missae
Sergei Rachmaninoff
• To Thee, O Lord
Alonso Lobo
• Versa est in luctum
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
• Ave verum corpus
Henry Purcell
• I was glad
Olivier Messiaen
• O sacrum convivium
Antonio Lotti
• Crucifixus pro nobis
The Choir of Magdalen College, Oxford was founded in 1480, as one of the largest choral foundations in late-medieval England, and this historic legacy has been preserved and maintained over five centuries. The Choir, which now enjoys an international reputation as one of the finest ensembles in the UK, exists primarily to sing the daily religious services in Magdalen College Chapel. They also sing at a number of special occasions throughout the year, including the famous May Day celebrations, an ancient tradition dating back to the 16th century. The choristers are educated at Magdalen College School, and the Academical Clerks are ordinarily undergraduate members of the College, studying a range of subjects. Famous directors of the Choir who have held the ancient title, Informator Choristarum, still in use today, include John Sheppard, Daniel Purcell, Sir John Stainer, Sir Walter Parratt, Sir William McKie and Dr Bernard Rose.
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Magdalen College Choir has toured Portugal, Poland, the USA, Belgium, France and the Netherlands in the last few years; concert appearances have included the BBC Proms and Cadogan Hall. The Choir has worked with a number of leading orchestras including Britten Sinfonia, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and the Academy of St Martin in the Fields. Recordings have included the music of John Ward and Thomas Tomkins with the celebrated viol group, Phantasm, and the work of the renowned composer of sacred music, former organ scholar of the College, Matthew Martin. They have won a Gramophone award, and, under former Informator, Bill Ives, collaborated with the film composer George Fenton, most notably in Richard Attenborough’s movie, Shadowlands, with the Beatles member Sir Paul McCartney, and on the award-winning soundtrack for the BBC TV series, Blue Planet. Having previously appeared on Harmonia Mundi and Opus Arte, in 2024 the Choir released its first album on CORO, the recording label of The Sixteen, one of the world’s leading choirs, founded and directed by former Academical Clerk and Honorary Fellow of Magdalen College, Harry Christophers CBE.
Mark Williams has been Informator Choristarum, Organist and Tutorial Fellow of Magdalen College since January 2017. He was responsible for introducing to the Choir the first female Academical Clerks in the College’s history and, for five years, he oversaw a project to replace the Chapel’s organ with a new four-manual instrument by Hermann Eule Orgelbau of Bautzen, Germany, which was unveiled to wide acclaim in January 2023.
Mark studied at Trinity College, Cambridge, and was for six years Assistant Organist of St Paul’s Cathedral and Director of Music at St Paul’s Cathedral School. Between 2009 and 2016, he held the post of Director of Music, College Lecturer and Fellow at Jesus College, Cambridge. He has appeared as organist, harpsichordist and conductor internationally and on disc with many of the UK’s leading ensembles, including Britten Sinfonia, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the English Chamber Orchestra, the City of London Choir, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Cambridge Singers, the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, The King’s Consort, The Sixteen, Arcangelo, and the Gabrieli Consort and Players. He appears on over 40 discs and a number of soundtracks, and has appeared as a broadcaster on the BBC and as a recitalist, conductor, visiting speaker and lecturer in the UK, USA, India, China, South Africa, Zambia and several European countries. He is the Artistic Director of the William Byrd Festival which takes place annually in Portland, Oregon, USA, and a trustee of a number of charities focused on musical education both in the UK and abroad. He has worked with pop groups, crossover artists and appeared on major Hollywood film scores, and has acted as musical consultant for various television programmes, including the ITV crime drama, Endeavour.
Drew Sellis is the Assistant Organist and Tutor to the Choristers at Magdalen College, Oxford, where he plays a central role in the musical life of the College. In addition to playing the organ for services, broadcasts, and tours with the choir, he is involved in the musical training and pastoral care of the choristers. Before this, Drew held the Organ Scholarship at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, where he played for the installation of the Dean of Windsor in the presence of HM King Charles III and other senior members of the Royal Family. Drew has also held organ scholarships at Jesus College, Cambridge, and at St. Mary-at-Finchley, the parish church local to
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where he grew up in north London. A prize-winning Fellow of the Royal College of Organists, Drew has recently given recitals at Westminster Cathedral, Liverpool Cathedral, and as part of the Three Choirs Festival. His musical interests are broad, extending to jazz piano and classical saxophone, as well as musical direction for theatre productions, including work at Cambridge’s ADC Theatre and the Edinburgh Fringe, and editing early music. He is also committed to music education, contributing to outreach programs that enhance children’s musical experiences.
Edward Byrne has been Organ Scholar of Magdalen College, Oxford, where he is studying for a degree in Music, since September 2022. His musical training began as a chorister at Westminster Abbey, and, after studying a Loughborough Grammar School, he spent a year as Organ Scholar of Worcester Cathedral. He has performed in a number of major churches and cathedrals in the UK and Europe, and is an Associate of the Royal College of Organists.
Henry Morris has been Organ Scholar of Magdalen College, Oxford, where he is studying for a degree in Music, since September 2023. A pupil of Radley College, he spent a year as Organ Scholar of St Edmundsbury Cathedral before arriving in Oxford. He has performed in a number of major churches and cathedrals in the UK and Europe, and is an Associate of the Royal College of Organists.
at the University of Oxford, where he has been focusing on the works of Frederick Delius. On the side of his research, he conducts and directs the Delius Singers, an Oxford-based ensemble specializing in nineteenth and twentieth-century choral music.
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