2024 sees the 200th anniversary of the composer and organist Anton Bruckner, and Chandos Chamber Choir will mark this milestone with a concert of sacred music from across Europe, centred around Bruckner’s ever-popular motets. The programme ranges from the Baroque composers Henry Purcell and Antonio Lotti to contemporary works, showcasing the versatility and endurance of this repertoire.
The programme features the Baroque gems Remember Not, Lord, Our Offences by Purcell and Lotti’s Crucifixus. This last piece is a depiction in eight parts of the crucifixion of Christ, with a series of suspensions evoking the agony of the Passion. As each part enters, the setting resonates with the sound of hammered nails.
This musical journey then progresses through the German Romantic composers Brahms, Reger and Rheinberger, and is concluded by a selection of 20th century and contemporary works. These include O Vos Omnes by Pablo Casals, two pieces by the late Romantic French composer Mélanie Bonis, and settings by contemporary composers Olivia Sparkhall, Janet Wheeler and Karl Jenkins. The latter’s setting of Locus Iste brings us full circle with its echo of Bruckner’s setting of the same text.
