Eternal Light
Eternal Light
Benjamin Goodson Conductor
Robyn Allegra Parton Soprano
Gareth Brynmor John Baritone
Gerald Finzi God is Gone up
Frank Bridge Suite for Strings
Ralph Vaughan Williams Five Mystical Songs
Howard Goodall Eternal Light: A Requiem
To mark the centenary of the First World War Armistice, Bath Camerata and the Bristol Ensemble perform a poignant programme of music by British composers.
We begin with three highly distinctive 20th-century works: Finzi’s ebullient anthem, God is gone up, Frank Bridge’s elegiac Suite for Stringsand Vaughan Williams’ masterful Five Mystical Songs for baritone and choir, a setting of poetry by George Herbert which culminates in the triumphant hymn of praise, ‘Let all the world in every corner sing’.
Howard Goodall’s Eternal Light: A Requiem, premiered in 2008, interweaves poetry and prayer for the departed, movingly juxtaposing words from the Latin mass with English poems. The composer has described Eternal Light as ‘addressing grief’, remarking that choral music, among other things, has the ability to ‘mark the passing of a precious life and honour it with dignity, compassion and beauty’.
We are delighted to be joined for this very special concert by two highly acclaimed, young British soloists: soprano Robyn Allegra Parton (‘standout’ – Observer) and baritone Gareth Brynmor John, winner of the Kathleen Ferrier award.