From Taverner to Today: Christ Church Cathedral Choir at 500
Christ Church Cathedral Choir continues its 500th anniversary celebrations in a programme that showcases the rich musical legacy of a unique Foundation – jointly Oxford’s Cathedral and a College of the University - from its beginnings with John Taverner, appointed by Cardinal Wolsey as the first Informator Choristarum, to more recently associated musicians and composers.
A newly commissioned cantata marking the anniversary by Composer in Residence, Nico Muhly, receives its premiere. The Shadow of the Sun is a multi-movement exploration of how poetry, art, and especially glass can act as a membrane between the visible world and the divine. The piece is in seven short sections, with texts ranging from the 16th-century writer William Gager, an anonymous 17th century poem in praise of stained glass, the hymns of Charles Wesley, and the poetry of George Herbert. A recurring theme, both textual and musical, is that windows, poems, and paintings can frame and focus the sacred, but never fully capture it.
Programme
John Taverner Christe Jesu, pastor bone
John Taverner Western Wynde Mass
Interval
William Harris Bring us, O Lord God
Judith Weir A Wreath
William Walton A Litany (Drop, drop, slow tears)
Nico Muhly The Shadow of the Sun (world premiere)
John Taverner Mater Christi sanctissima
Tickets
