THREE CHOIRS FESTIVAL
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WELCOME TO HEREFORD 2009

Rachel Podger Carys Lane Catherine Wyn-Rogers Denise Leigh Emma Johnson James Gilchrist James Oxley Jennifer Pike John McCabe Libor Novacek Neal Davies Owain Arwel Hughes Roderick Williams Sally Matthews Stephen Layton

WELCOME TO HEREFORD 2009

To every thing there is a season...

For nearly three hundred years the cathedral cities of Gloucester, Hereford and Worcester have taken it in turn to host an annual ‘music meeting’. The original performers were the three cathedral choirs, who remain at the heart of the festival, but the large-scale choral repertoire at today’s concerts is performed by the festival chorus drawn from the three cities, joined by an array of international artists and ensembles to provide a diversity unimagined in the eighteenth century. We are delighted to welcome once again the Philharmonia Orchestra in residence for the week.

The Three Choirs wouldn’t be complete without music from its most famous musical son, Elgar, and the festival opens with a performance of The Dream of Gerontius.

Advanced Programme

MORNINGAFTERNOONEVENING
Saturday 8 OPENING SERVICE Songs and works for viol consort by
Purcell

Fretwork 		Elgar
The Dream of Gerontius

Festival Chorus

Philharmonia Orchestra
Sunday 9 FESTIVAL EUCHARIST

Haydn
Heiligmesse

Hereford Cathedral Choir 		Vivaldi
Le quattro stagioni
(The Four Seasons)

Rachel Podger 		Mendelssohn
Violin Concerto

Stravinsky
Le sacre du printemps
(The Rite of Spring)

Philharmonia Orchestra
Monday 10 PIANO RECITAL

Libor Novacek		 Bach
Mass in B minor

Rodolfus Choir

Corelli Orchestra 		Haydn
Te Deum

Finzi
Clarinet Concerto

Britten
Spring Symphony

Festival Chorus

Philharmonia Orchestra
Tuesday 11 Arwel Hughes
Prelude for orchestra

Mahler
Symphony No 1

National Youth Orchestra of Wales 		John McCabe
Woefully array’d Festival commission: world premiere

Stile Antico		 Haydn
Die Jahreszeiten
(The Seasons)

Festival Chorus

Philharmonia Orchestra
Wednesday 12 ORGAN RECITAL

David Briggs		 Schubert
Winterreise

James Oxley

Caroline Dowdle		 Handel
Israel in Egypt

Three Cathedral Choirs

Academy of Ancient Music
Thursday 13 ILLUSTRATED TALK

John McCabe		 Works by Haydn and Mendelssohn

Tippett Quartet 		Poulenc
Gloria

John McCabe
Songs of the Garden World premiere of orchestral version

Strauss
Vier letzte Lieder
(Four Last Songs)

Festival Chorus

Philharmonia Orchestra
Friday 14  Handel
Concerto grosso Op. 6 No 1

Finzi
Romance for Strings

John McCabe
Les martinets noirs UK premiere

Vaughan Williams
Concerto grosso

Orchestra of the Swan 		Mendelssohn
Elijah

Festival Chorus

Philharmonia Orchestra
Saturday 15   The Gathering Wave

Other Information

Tourist information
Information about hotel and B&B accommodation can be obtained from the Tourist information Centre: 1 King Street, Hereford HR4 9BW +44 (0)1432 268430 tic-hereford@herefordshire.gov.uk

Accomodation
Other accommodation enquiries should be addressed to the accommodation secretaries. Please contact Graham or Amy Spencer: +44 (0)1432 267744 gramy.spencer@virgin.net

Friends of Hereford Three Choirs Festival
The Friends organise hospitality at the festival, including the Festival Club, and also sponsor one of the evening concerts. They are always pleased to hear from those who are willing to help with organisation and fund-raising. Please contact Fiona Hanks: +44 (0)1432 341929 fihanks@aol.com

Three Choirs Festival Society
Why not become a member of the Three Choirs Festival Society? Benefits include priority booking. For information, please contact: 7c College Green, Gloucester GL1 2LX society@3choirs.org

Early booking
A festival brochure with full programme and booking information will be available in Spring 2009 (it will also be downloadable then from www.3choirs.org). To be added to our mailing list and to obtain a copy of the booking form, please fill in this form or contact the festival administrator: guy.rawlinson@3choirs.org