Gloucester Choral Society - music by Elgar, Finzi & Ian Venables

Elgar - Te Deum and Benedictus

Gerald Finzi - Lo, the full, final sacrifice

Ian Venables – Requiem

Gloucester Choral Society, led by Assistant Musical Director Jonathan Hope, present an evening of music by Elgar, Finzi and Ian Venables, composers with strong associations to Gloucestershire, Worcestershire and the Three Choirs Festival.

​Elgar’s Te Deum and Benedictus were composed for liturgical services and commissioned for the Three Choirs Festival of 1897 in Hereford. It is classic Elgar choral music, which is thrilling and uplifting with huge dynamic range, soaring vocal lines and interesting inner parts for the organ.

Gerald Finzi moved to Painswick in Gloucestershire when he was about 21 years of age, He worked closely with, and was influenced by, other composers from the region such as Ralph Vaughan Williams and Gustav Holst. Lo, the full, final sacrifice is a festival anthem for SATB choir and organ and was orchestrated for performance at the Three Choirs Festival of 1947.

​Ian Venables (b. 1955) is a contemporary British composer who has lived in Worcester since 1986, drawing inspiration from the landscapes of the region, and is noted for his contributions to English Art Song. He is a Vice-President of the Gloucestershire Music Society and Chairman of The Ivor Gurney Society. His Requiem for choir and organ, premiered and was recorded at Gloucester Cathedral by the Cathedral Choir under the direction of Adrian Partington. On that occasion, Jonathan Hope was the organist. For this concert Jonathan takes up the baton as Musical Director.