As London emerges from the extended interval caused by coronavirus, Spitalfields Music and our friends at London Symphony Chorus and City of London Sinfonia pause to reflect on the impact of the last year and join in presenting two aural memorials.
Festival Curator Errollyn Wallen’s After Winter – commissioned by Streetwise Opera as a companion piece to Schubert’s Winter Journey, based on an idea by Christopher Glynn – was to have been premiered last summer, but the project had to be cancelled as the pandemic took hold. It celebrates the kindness of strangers, a theme that has taken on particular poignancy in recent times, with lyrics created in collaboration with Streetwise Opera performers (Middlesbrough). We are thrilled to welcome baritone Roderick Williams and pianist Christopher Glynn to the Festival to perform extracts of Schubert’s original music in English translations by Jeremy Sams, with Errollyn’s new work.
Never to Forget was commissioned by the LSC from their Patron, Howard Goodall, to commemorate the incredible contribution made by health and care workers over the last year, and in particular those who gave their lives to help us. A private performance of this work will be held earlier in the evening for their relatives.
London Symphony Chorus and City of London Sinfonia
Simon Halsey CBE chorus director
After Winter (2020) was funded by Arts Council England, Streetwise Opera’s Commissioning Circle* and song cycle sponsors**, Foyle Foundation and RVW Trust. Partners included Ryedale Festival, Middlesbrough Town Hall, Teesside University, Methodist Asylum Project (MAP) Middlesbrough and DePaul.
*Commissioning circle members: David Cairns, Jane Furniss, Tom and Emily Kinane, Christine Kirk, Anthony & Katherine Pinching, Jessica Sebag-Montefiore, Anne Siddell, Peter Tompkins, Robert & Margaret Sanderson.
**Song cycle sponsors: Tim Geddes, Phyllida Shaw, Duncan Ward.
We’ve been working with our wonderful friend from Thoroughly Good, Jon Jacob, on a series of podcasts for you to listen to pre (or post!) our events. We hope you enjoy listening!
Episode 1: What’s in the Spitalfields Festival 2021
Jon Jacob speaks to composers Errollyn Wallen, Edmund Finnis, Howard Goodall, and David Fennessey about their new works, including a tribute to those carers who lost their lives in the first wave of the COVID pandemic.
Episode 2: Errollyn Wallen’s ‘After Winter’ and Howard Goodall’s ‘Never to Forget’
As London emerges from the extended interval caused by coronavirus, Spitalfields Music and our friends at London Symphony Chorus and City of London Sinfonia pause to reflect on the impact of the last year and join in presenting two aural memorials: ‘Never to Forget’ by Howard Goodall, and ‘After Winter’ by Errollyn Wallen.
To read programme notes for this event, click here
