The Carice Singers, conducted by George Parris, offer a celebratory programme to kick off the 2025 festival. Featuring London premieres by the New Voices Composers Academy, Claire Cope, Daniel Soley, Max Gibson and Elif Karlidag; and a world premiere by Chilean-born composer Aníbal Vidal.
Theatre of Origins, co-commissioned by The Carice Singers and Spitalfields Music, will immerse both performers and listeners in the drama and chaos of the world’s beginning, drawing on creation myths from Pre-Hispanic American traditions, particularly those of Mapuche mythology, alongside those of Ancient Greece, Rome, Indo-European and Eastern cultures. For the concert’s own beginning, The Carice Singers revive a rousing choral work from Arthur Bliss, River Music 1967, originally composed for the inauguration of London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall.
The Carice Singers
George Parris Conductor
Arthur Bliss River Music 1967
Max Gibson cold, clear, and blue…
Claire Cope In its light
Aníbal Vidal Theatre of Origins (World Premiere)
Daniel Soley With wonders to hear
Elif Karlıdağ Sïnglïyï ïr
Theatre of Origins has been commissioned thanks to the generous support of the Hinrichsen Foundation, the Anglo Chilean Society, the Vaughan Williams Foundation, the Spitalfields Music New Music Commission Fund, along with Penny Wright and Andrew Neubauer.
