In 2019 the Chorus recorded John Rutter’s Gloria with Black Dyke Band – and the CD on which it is features reached the Number One spot in the Classic FM Specialist Classical Albums charts in October 2020, only two weeks after it’s release by Naxos.
The CD Anthems, Hymns and Gloria for Brass Band , was recorded in St Oswald’s Church on Bannerdale Road in Sheffield. Directed by Professor Nicholas Childs and Chorus Music Director Darius Battiwalla, the CD was featured as Album of the Week on the Classic FM radio station, and rapidly moved up the chart over the following week.
The CD features eleven tracks composed by Rutter and arranged for brass band by Belgian conductor Luc Vertommen. It includes many of the English choral composer’s most famous works, including the Pie Jesu from his 1985 Requiem, and This is the Day composed for the wedding of HRH Prince William and Kate Middleton in 2011.
John Rutter’s Gloria was composed in 1974 for choir, brass, percussion and organ, with an alternative version for choir and orchestra. Described as “exalted, devotional and jubilant”, it was Rutter’s first commission from the US. Structured in three movements and based on the Gloria from the Latin mass, it was always intended as a concert piece.
The CD recorded by the Chorus with Black Dyke Band has reached the Number One spot in the Classic FM Specialist Classical Albums charts, outselling recordings by Simon Rattle and the London Symphony Orchestra, the Halle, the Sixteen and the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra.
The Chorus recorded the new Naxos CD release of music by composer John Rutter with the world-famous Black Dyke Band one chilly October evening last year, in St Oswald’s Church on Bannerdale Road in Sheffield. Directed by Prof Nicholas Childs and Chorus Music Director Darius Battiwalla, the CD Anthems, Hymns and Gloria for Brass Band was recently featured as Album of the Week on the Classic FM radio station. The impact on sales from around the world was immediate, and the CD rapidly moved up the chart over the following week.
Chorus and band recording the Gloria in St Oswald’s Church
‘We joined the band to record Rutter’s concert work ‘Gloria’, which was commissioned in 1974 by The Voices of Mel Olsen in Omaha, Nebraska, when Rutter was making his first trip to the United States.’ explained Chorus Chair Paul Henstridge. ‘We love collaborating with this amazing band of consummate musicians, who join us for the annual carol concert in the City Hall each year. We had a wonderful evening at St Oswald’s and are absolutely delighted that it has led to an Album of the Week and the Number One slot!’
The CD features eleven tracks composed by Rutter and arranged for brass band by Belgian conductor Luc Vertommen. It includes many of the English choral composer’s most famous works, including the Pie Jesu from his 1985 Requiem, and This is the Day composed for the wedding of HRH Prince William and Kate Middleton in 2011.
The Chorus has collaborated with the Black Dyke Band on numerous occasions, including two world premieres, Philip Wilby’s oratorio Holy Face with Leeds Philharmonic Chorus in 2017 and Paul Mealor’s beautiful Paradise in 2018. Joint recordings include Wilby’s Holy Face and Awake Arise, a Christmas CD full of festive music from Yorkshire. Chorus Music Director and Leeds City Organist Darius Battiwalla is no stranger to brass band music, regularly composing and arranging works for brass and chorus.
Recording with Black Dyke Band in St Oswald’s Church Bannerdale Road Sheffield
‘Darius most recently arranged two pieces for brass band and chorus during the coronavirus lock-down’ said Chorus Administrator Anne Adams, ‘One is an beautiful soprano aria from Handel’s Messiah, which we were planning to present with Black Dyke in Sheffield cathedral but sadly had to postpone, and the other is a 16th Century German carol which we and Black Dyke are going to record from our homes as part of a virtual Christmas carol concert in December.’
Chorus and band hope to present the brass Messiah in 2021, alongside choirs from France and Germany, and the Chorus is still hoping to be able to present Rachmaninov’s Vespers and Faure’s Requiem at the City Hall in May and June 2021.
‘Tis the season to be jolly, and Sheffield Philharmonic Chorus are determined that this year will be no different. To ensure their customary seasonal cheer endures, they have had to be rather inventive, since their usual joyous concert with over two-hundred musicians on stage and thousand-strong audiences at Sheffield’s City Hall, would certainly not comply with the current social distancing guidelines.
“When I was asked to present the Chorus’s Christmas Carol Concert this December, I admit, I was rather surprised, especially when I heard it would still include over a hundred voices and the full Black Dyke Band”, explained the choir’s new Patron Petroc Trelawny. One of the best known voices on BBC Radio 3 and with over 17 years introducing the BBC Proms, Petroc joined as a Patron earlier in the year, and had been due to present the choir’s annual carol concert at the City Hall, now abandoned due to coronavirus restrictions. ‘The choir’s carol concert in Sheffield has kicked-off my Christmas for a few years now, and I’m absolutely delighted to become their Patron – and to be able to join in the festivities again by recording a contribution from home’.
Like so many musicians, Chorus members and the Black Dyke Band have had to get to grips with technology, and were tasked by the choir’s Music Director, Darius Battiwalla, to record themselves singing and playing, so a virtual choir and band could be created. It’s obviously taken a bit of getting used to, but they do seem to have risen to the challenge remarkably well.
Discussing the singers, “It’s actually rather fitting now I think about it” remarked Petroc. As presenter for the concert, he was particularly talking about one of the pieces specially commissioned for the choir’s first YouTube broadcast – a new version of the 16th century carol Resonet in Laudibus, arranged for brass band and chorus by Darius. “In past centuries, people would have gathered in kitchens and round fireplaces to make music together, singing festive carols during dark evenings, so 2020 is just a high-tech version of some of the old traditions”.
“We are absolutely thrilled that Petroc is now to be one of our Patrons. As a prominent radio presenter of great experience, I’m sure a good number of us could have done with a few tips about recording techniques” quipped Rachel Copley, President of the Chorus, rather dryly. “But more seriously, this year, more than ever, we need to ensure we bring light and joy into people’s homes. We’ve all been keen to take on the steep learning curve needed to ensure we can still present quality music now, and be ready to perform again live when we all come back together in 2021.”
It was with deep regret that we had to announce the postponement or cancellation of a number of concerts for this season, due to the need to protect our members, musicians and audiences and in light of Government advice regarding the Coronavirus.
2019-20 saw the Chorus planning to present concerts in Manchester and Sheffield, with the Halle, the Black Dyke Band, Wrexham Symphony Orchestra and with choristers from Wrexham, Liverpool, France and Germany. We recorded with the Black Dyke Band for their next CD, presented works from Scandinavia and the Baltic, and planned to sing choral favourite Messiah, Verdi’s wonderful Requiem and Mahler’s magnificent Symphony No. 8, known as the Symphony of the Thousand.
Saturday 9th November at 9.15pm City Hall
After Hours Choral Concert
We were pleased to present another short concert in the popular ‘After Hours’ series in the City Hall’s beautiful ballroom at 9.15pm. At 7pm in the main hall Tabita Berglund conducted the Halle in a programme of Grieg and Sibelius, and the Chorus followed in the ballroom with a programme of choral works from Scandinavia and the Baltic.
Audiences will be familiar with the Norwegian Romantic composer Edvard Grieg (1843 – 1947), but maybe not his countyman Ola Gjeilo, born in Norway in 1978, or Eric Ešenvalds, born in Latvia a year earlier. Gjeilo, who now lives in America, studied in Norway and at the Julliard School and the Royal College of Music in London. Award-winning composer Ešenvalds studied in Latvia and at Trinity College Cambridge, and composed the official anthem of the World Choir Games when Riga was the European Capital of Culture in 2014.
A packed audience included Sheffield’s Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress, who were presented with a gift from Bochum, Sheffield’s twin town in Germany; read about this here. After the presentation the audience heard the Chorus sing the following works ‘up close and personal’:
Saturday 14th December 2019 at 2pm and 5.30pm, City Hall
Christmas Carol Concerts
Once again we joined with the world famous Black Dyke Band for a festive celebration featuring family favourites and sing-along carols. The award-winning and internationally renowned Black Dyke Band, led by Dr Nicholas Childs, is one of the most celebrated brass bands in history and has toured the world winning international and national competitions. Presenting this year’s concerts was Tom Redmond, presenter, horn player and animateur specialising in music education. He’s a regular voice on BBC Radio 3 presenting live concerts, studio programmes and the BBC Proms.
This was a wonderful concert for all the family to join in singing some of the most loved Christmas music old and new, experiencing a live brass band and chorus in the beautiful setting of the Oval Hall. On the programme was Ring the Bells, a new carol by Paul Fincham, the royalties for which are being donated to homelessness charity Crisis. There were also three local carols, Egypt, Tyre Mill and Hail Smiling Morn, as well as perennial favourite O Holy Night, which was selected as a winning carol in the Making Music / Classic FM Drive carol competition.This is the fourth time one of the carols from our Christmas CD has been selected by Classic FM, and we’re thrilled that this time it was our favourite O Holy Night!
Tom Redmond presenter
Black Dyke Band, Dr. Nicholas Childs conductor
Sheffield Philharmonic Chorus, Darius Battiwalla conductor
Saturday 18th April at 7pm Sheffield Cathedral (NOTE REVISED VENUE)
Messiah
It was with deep regret that we had to announce the postponement of this concert, due to the need to protect our members, musicians and audiences and in light of Government advice regarding the Coronavirus. The concert was re-scheduled to Saturday 23 April 2022.
If you purchased your ticket from the cathedral or at rehearsal, please contact to obtain a refund. If you bought your ticket on-line, you don’t need to do anything; WeGotTickets will re-imburse you in due course.
For many people, Easter isn’t complete without hearing Handel’s wonderful oratorio Messiah, regularly performed at Christmas but more pertinently celebrating the Easter message of redemption, hope and joy. Messiah is probably Handel’s best-known and most-loved work for its beautiful solos and duets, rousing choruses and dramatic instrumental writing. A performance in the brass band format is very different and well worth coming along to hear.
Sheffield Philharmonic Chorus present this spectacular Easter Messiah in Sheffield Cathedral, accompanied by the world-famous Black Dyke Band. The Chorus last performed Messiah with a baroque orchestra in April 2017, and is pleased to be presenting the brass band version this Easter. Making it even more special, the Chorus will be joined by choristers from Sheffield’s twin town Bochum in Germany, and from Perigeux in France, following successful singing trips to both European cities over the last two years.
So do come along and hear this magnificent work as you’ve never heard it before!
Sheffield Philharmonic Chorus and choristers from Germany and France
Black Dyke Band
Darius Battiwalla (conductor)
Saturday 2nd May at 7pm City Hall
Verdi Requiem
It was with deep regret that we had to announce the cancellation of this concert, due to the need to protect our members, musicians and audiences and in light of Government advice regarding the Coronavirus. Ticket refunds were available from the City Hall.
Gianluca Marcianó, the Hallé and the Sheffield Philharmonic Chorus are joined by a fine cast of soloists for Verdi’s remarkable Requiem. A response to the death of the great author Alessandro Manzoni – a figure Verdi revered – it is the most theatrical, agnostic and indeed popular work of its kind ever written. From the hushed beginning of its opening ‘Requiem’, to the tumultuous, apocalyptic vision of the ‘Dies Irae’ and the turbulent uncertainty of the ‘Libera Me’, Verdi brings his supreme skills as a dramatist to bear on the traditional liturgy to quite stunning effect. A Requiem not for the dead but for the living.
Gianluca Marcianó conductor Claire Rutter soprano Madeleine Shaw mezzo–soprano Sam Furness tenor David Shipley bass
Saturday 20th June at 7pm, Bridgewater Hall Manchester
It was with deep regret that we also had to announce the postponement of this concert, due to the need to protect our members, musicians and audiences and in light of Government advice regarding the Coronavirus. The concert will be rescheduled.
Mahler Symphony No. 8 ‘Symphony of the Thousand’
The season will end with a performance of Mahler’s magnificent Symphony No. 8, known as the Symphony of a Thousand, with the Liverpool Welsh Choir and the Cantorion Sirenian Singers, accompanied by the Wrexham Symphony Orchestra in the Bridgewater Hall, Manchester.
This very special concert will form the culmination of the orchestra’s groundbreaking Mahler Charitable Concert series, which has seen them perform all Mahler’s symphonies to increase awareness of the impact of Alzheimer’s and dementia. The Mahler 8 marks a return to the Bridgewater Hall, following the orchestra’s critically acclaimed debut there with the Resurrection Symphony in 2015. Sponsored by medical research company Cobalz Limited, who specialise in the field of Alzheimer’s, the Mahler Charitable Concert series has raised over £15,000 for Alzheimer’s and dementia charities.
A Sheffield choir music director has been busy over lockdown, writing a new brass arrangement for Handel’s Messiah which world-famed musicians performed in their homes.
The arrangement by Darius Battiwalla of the soprano aria How Beautiful Are the Feet is actually one of three from the Messiah that he put together for Sheffield Philharmonic Chorus.
“Darius wrote the new arrangements for us in return for continued payment during the lockdown,” said chorus chair Paul Henstridge.
“We’re absolutely thrilled. It means that when we eventually perform the brass version with the wonderful Black Dyke Band, we can sing two more choruses than would otherwise have been possible”.
The chorus were set to perform a brass version of Messiah in April but the concert had to be postponed.
Soprano Catrin Pryce-Jones was to have appeared alongside the chorus, so she was delighted when Darius asked her to make a virtual recording of How Beautiful Are the Feet, along with members of the world-famous Black Dyke Band, all performing from their own homes during lockdown.
“The new arrangement is very light and delicate, which is just right for this aria,” said chorus dministrator Anne Adams. “Catrin sings it beautifully and the band accompany her with great sensitivity.”
In addition to the new Messiah arrangements, the chorus also commissioned Darius to write some Christmas music for them to sing at their popular annual carol concert at the City Hall in December.
He has created a new brass arrangement of Resonet in Laudibus, a 16th-century German carol. If that concert can’t go ahead, they plan to perform it virtually as part of an online carol concert, along with the Black Dyke Band, again recorded from their own homes.
The brass Messiah concert has been rescheduled for Saturday, April 23, 2022 in Sheffield City Hall. The 180 members of the chorus were going to be joined by more than 50 singers from Perigeux in France and from Sheffield’s twin city of Bochum in Germany.Happily, both choirs are planning to cross the Channel for the rescheduled concert.
A Sheffield choir music director has been busy over lockdown, writing a new brass arrangement for Handel’s Messiah which world-famed musicians performed in their homes.
By Julia Armstrong Sheffield Telegraph Tuesday, 21st July 2020
The arrangement by Darius Battiwalla of the soprano aria How Beautiful Are the Feet is actually one of three from the Messiah that he put together for Sheffield Philharmonic Chorus.
“Darius wrote the new arrangements for us in return for continued payment during the lockdown,” said chorus chair Paul Henstridge. “We’re absolutely thrilled. It means that when we eventually perform the brass version with the wonderful Black Dyke Band, we can sing two more choruses than would otherwise have been possible”.
The chorus were set to perform a brass version of Messiah in April but the concert had to be postponed. Soprano Catrin Pryce-Jones was to have appeared alongside the chorus, so she was delighted when Darius asked her to make a virtual recording of How Beautiful Are the Feet, along with members of the world-famous Black Dyke Band, all performing from their own homes during lockdown.
“The new arrangement is very light and delicate, which is just right for this aria,” said chorus administrator Anne Adams. “Catrin sings it beautifully and the band accompany her with great sensitivity.”
You can judge for yourself, as the recording has been uploaded to the chorus website and can be enjoyed for free at https://sheffieldphil.org/how-beautiful-are-the-feet/.
In addition to the new Messiah arrangements, the chorus also commissioned Darius to write some Christmas music for them to sing at their popular annual carol concert at the City Hall in December. He has created a new brass arrangement of Resonet in Laudibus, a 16th-century German carol. If that concert can’t go ahead, they plan to perform it virtually as part of an online carol concert, along with the Black Dyke Band, again recorded from their own homes.
The brass Messiah concert has been rescheduled for Saturday, April 23, 2022 in Sheffield City Hall. The 180 members of the chorus were going to be joined by more than 50 singers from Perigeux in France and from Sheffield’s twin city of Bochum in Germany. Happily, both choirs are planning to cross the Channel for the rescheduled concert.
In June 2020, during the coronavirus lock-down, our Music Director Darius Battiwalla produced brass arrangements of some movements from Handel’s Messiah that hadn’t up to then been arranged for brass band accompaniment. He did this in preparation for our performance of Messiah with the world-famous Black Dyke Band, originally scheduled for 2020 but which had to be postponed until April 2022.
Listen to one of the movements, the lovely soprano aria ‘How Beautiful Are the Feet’, sung by Yorkshire-born soprano Catrin Pryce-Jones accompanied by the Black Dyke Band.
Catrin Pryce-Jones
Yorkshire born Soprano Catrin Pryce-Jones studied music at the Royal Academy of Music, Chethams School of Music and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.
Catrin has been soprano soloist with many choral societies including the Edinburgh Choral Union, Oxford Harmonic Choir, Brighton Orpheus Choir, Sheffield Philharmonic Chorus and the Halifax Choral Society, singing solo soprano in numerous oratorios including the Fauré Requiem, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, the Vivaldi Gloria, Bach’s St John Passion, Mozart’s Requiem, Haydn’s Creation and of course Handel’s Messiah.
The Chorus continues to pay its three professionals during these strange times, which are proving to be very difficult for professional musicians, many of whom are self employed. In return for the continued payments, the three musicians are working for the Chorus in different ways.
For example, Music Director Darius Battiwalla is composing a new Christmas carol, and writing brass arrangements for the sections of Messiah that don’t currently have them. This will enable the Chorus to sing more of Handel’s work when it joins with Black Dyke Band in the re-scheduling of the brass concert which was postponed due to the coronavirus.
“We are pleased to be able to support our three professionals by commissioning alternative work from them at this time” said Chorus Chair Paul Henstridge. ” We are all missing live rehearsals, but at least we will gain a lasting positive out of this very difficult situation”.
Accompanist Rachel Fright and Voice Coach Maggie McDonald are working together to digitise Maggie’s vocal exercises, which are sent to the Chorus to enable them to continue to keep their voices in trim during the lock-down.
The Chorus version of O Holy Night has been selected as a winner of the Classic FM / Making Music carol competition, in which 5 carols are selected to be played in the Classic FM Drive slot in the week commencing Monday 16 December 2019.
The CD has a real Yorkshire flavour and includes some of the Sheffield carols, traditionally sung in local pubs over the Christmas period. Darius Battiwalla’s O Holy Night for chorus and brass band is a wonderfully uplifting arrangement which goes down a storm at our carol concerts each year.
This is the fourth time one of the carols from our recording has been selected for the Classic FM Drive competition, and we are thrilled that this time it’s our favourite, O Holy Night.
It will be played in the Classic FM Drive slot sometime between 5pm and 8pm on Monday 16 December 2019.
Of course the Chorus will be singing O Holy Night at the annual carol concert at the City Hall on Saturday 14 December 2019 at 2pm and 5.30pm. We are thrilled that the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress of Sheffield will attend the 2pm session.
Also on the programme will be Darius Battiwalla’s arrangements of three local carols – Egypt, Tyre Mill and Hail Smiling Morn – all also on the CD, along with Paul Fincham’s new carol Ring the Bells, the royalties from which will be donated to homelessness charity Crisis.
Tickets available online or from the City Hall box office. The CD will be on sale in the foyer for the special concert price of £10.
Run by Making Music UK and Classic FM, the festive
competition invited performers to submit a performance to be played on the
popular classical radio. With more than 5.7 million listeners tuning in every
week, Classic FM is the biggest classical music radio station in the world.
The competition is part of Classic FM’s 11-year
partnership with Making Music UK, which regularly offers member groups the
chance to submit recordings for live broadcast.
The shortlisted carols have been broadcast in the
lead-up to the festive season on the station’s Drive programme. The winning
five were then being played all this week on the show.
Resident chorus at Sheffield City Hall, the
Sheffield Philharmonic Chorus, won through to the top 10 for the competition.
The Philharmonic Chorus teamed up with Black Dyke
Band for a beautiful rendition of O Holy Night.
The duo often perform this work at their annual
Christmas concerts at Sheffield City Hall, with this year’s event, which took
place on December 14, proving no different.
The carol, composed by Adolphe Adam in 1847,
reflects how the birth of Jesus has impacted on humanity.
Many popular artists who have covered the carol include
Nat King Cole in 1960, Patti LaBelle (1990), Mariah Carey (1994), Josh Groban
(2002) and Idina Menzel this year.
During the first three weeks of December, Classic
FM listeners were also invited to vote for their favourite-ever Christmas carol
– and O Holy Night has held the top spot since 2016.
This year’s results will be revealed on Christmas Day between 1pm and 3pm.
“When I was asked to present the Chorus’s Christmas Carol Concert this December, I admit, I was rather surprised, especially when I heard it would still include over a hundred voices and the full Black Dyke Band”, explained the choir’s new Patron Petroc Trelawny. One of the best known voices on BBC Radio 3 and with over 17 years introducing the BBC Proms, Petroc joined as a Patron earlier in the year, and had been due to present the choir’s annual carol concert at the City Hall, now abandoned due to coronavirus restrictions. ‘The choir’s carol concert in Sheffield has kicked-off my Christmas for a few years now, and I’m absolutely delighted to become their Patron – and to be able to join in the festivities again by recording a contribution from home’.
We were pleased to present another short concert in the popular ‘After Hours’ series in the City Hall’s beautiful ballroom at 9.15pm. At 7pm in the main hall Tabita Berglund conducted the Halle in a programme of Grieg and Sibelius, and the Chorus followed in the ballroom with a programme of choral works from Scandinavia and the Baltic.
Presenting this year’s concerts was Tom Redmond, presenter, horn player and animateur specialising in music education. He’s a regular voice on BBC Radio 3 presenting live concerts, studio programmes and the BBC Proms.
Sheffield Philharmonic Chorus present this spectacular Easter Messiah in Sheffield Cathedral, accompanied by the world-famous Black Dyke Band. The Chorus last performed Messiah with a baroque orchestra in April 2017, and is pleased to be presenting the brass band version this Easter. Making it even more special, the Chorus will be joined by choristers from Sheffield’s twin town Bochum in Germany, and from Perigeux in France, following successful singing trips to both European cities over the last two years.
to the death of the great author Alessandro Manzoni – a figure Verdi revered – it is the most theatrical, agnostic and indeed popular work of its kind ever written. From the hushed beginning of its opening ‘Requiem’, to the tumultuous, apocalyptic vision of the ‘Dies Irae’ and the turbulent uncertainty of the ‘Libera Me’, Verdi brings his supreme skills as a dramatist to bear on the traditional liturgy to quite stunning effect. A Requiem not for the dead but for the living.
Choir and the Cantorion Sirenian Singers, accompanied by the Wrexham Symphony Orchestra in the Bridgewater Hall, Manchester.
See What’s On this week in Sheffield on the 
