A work for Soprano Woodwind 2 Horns and Strings.Duration: circa 15 minutesProgramme Note: 'This work was commissioned as a possible companion piece to Mozart?s Exsultate Jubilate and the decision was quickly made to write something as a complete contrast. The poems chosen one anonymous from the early 16th century the other two by the famous Scottish poet William Dunbar [1460? 1513?] describe the promise of salvation after life?s dark passage. Each of the three poems echo this thought: ?In celum ther is joy with Thee? ?A short torment for infinite gladness? and ?Since erdly joy abides never Work for the joy thatlastès ever?. Thus in each poem the poet can overcome the fear of his inevitable death with the certainty of salvation: this work also has its ?dark? moments but the overall mood is one of calmness and peace. As with the words there are several musical motives that link the three songs. The musical motive for the refrain ?Terribilis mors conturbat me? in the first macaronic poem [also a salute to Mozart since the Exsultate is in Latin] returns a little higher and more despairingly in each verse until the last verse where it is played a whole octave higher. This motive reappears [played mostly by the oboes] in the last song but now the pitch of each repeat goes in reverse that is from high to low. The famous motive of the Gregorian chant Dies Irae [representing death] is used to accompany the prayer of the second song. A musical motive for the joy of Paradise appears in the second song ?A free choice given to Paradise or Hell?. There is also a ubiquitous 3-note chordal cluster which is used to illustrate the words: sometimes as a colour and

Scène lyrique-Cléop tre - Scène lyriquefor Soprano solo and orchestraThe cantata Cléop tre belongs to a group of six surviving compositions written by Hector Berlioz between 1826 and 1830 for the prestigious Prix de Rome competition. This was administered by the music section of the Académie des Beaux-arts one of the four Académies that constituted the Institut de France during the Bourbon restoration.The text of the cantata Cléop tre written for the competition by Pierre-Ange Vieillard particularly fired Berlioz?s imagination. His manuscript makes it clear that he viewed the work as a continuous monologue rather than as a traditional cantata with discretesections of recitative and air.Urtext of the New Berlioz EditionPerformance material (BA5787-72) available for hire

Kaija Saariaho?s Emilie Suite was a joint commission by Carnegie Hall New York City Cité de la Musique Paris Luzerner Sinfonieorchester and Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg.It wasfirst performed on 30 November 2011 at Carnegie Hall by the Avanti! Chamber Orchestra conducted by Hannu Lintu with Elizabeth Futral (soprano).The first performance in Paris took place on 23 April 2013 at Cité de laMusique by the Avanti! Chamber Orchestraconducted by Ernest Martinez Izquierdo with Barbara Hannigan (soprano).

Ole Buck's Fairies for Soprano and Orchestra (1972). The text is a cut-up by the composer after Cicely Mary Barker’s Flower Fairies Book. Parts are available on hire: hire@ewh.dk