St Oswalds Sheffield – Sheffield Philharmonic Chorus

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.

Buy Anthems on Black Dyke Band website

Buy Anthems via Naxos

Tis the season…….

Tuesday 15 December 2020

Sheffield Telegraph

‘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.”

Link to article in the Sheffield Telegraph Tuesday 15 December 2020

Listen to the virtual carol concert