Three Choirs Festival
The Three Choirs Festival is one of the oldest festivals of classical choral music. It has been held annually since the early 18th century in the south-west cities of Worcester , Hereford and Gloucester .
history
The earliest printed evidence of an annual "Music Meeting" alternating between Gloucester , Worcester and Hereford dates back to 1719 (then in Worcester, 1720 then Hereford, 1721 Gloucester), but suggests that it was established a few years earlier . Apart from interruptions due to the First and Second World War , it has taken place continuously up to the present day.
The concert events, which initially take place on two days in September and are supported by the choirs of the cathedrals of the three cities, have been expanded more and more and since 1838 have been officially called the "Three Choirs Festival". The central element of the now one-week festival, which usually takes place in August (2017 in Worcester), is an evening choir concert in the respective cathedral with often large-scale works from the British classical choral tradition, but also other, sometimes purely orchestral compositions. International ensembles and soloists are also invited. The evening concerts are complemented by daily programs and a. with chamber music, readings, theater performances, lectures, master classes and exhibitions.
Music programs from the beginning are only sparsely passed down. In 1721 two Te Deum compositions by Henry Purcell and William Croft were performed in Gloucester . Music by Purcell initially dominated, but from the 1730s onwards the name Handel with many of his oratorios took the place of Purcell. The Messiah was performed at least in part every year from 1759 to 1963, and was sung again and again afterwards. Elias by Felix Mendelssohn , which was played at every festival between 1847 and 1929 , later became similarly popular . In addition, works by Edward Elgar became an important part of the program from the late 19th century , alongside other British composers such as Ralph Vaughan Williams , Gustav Holst , Herbert Howells , Gerald Finzi , Arthur Bliss , Benjamin Britten , Frederick Delius or William Walton , and more recently Lennox Berkeley , John McCabe , William Mathias , Paul Patterson, and James MacMillan . Johann Sebastian Bach appeared in the program for the first time with the St. Matthew Passion in 1871.
Web links
- Website of the Three Choirs Festival with subpages and a. to history (Engl.)