Conductor Joanna Tomlinson has commissioned this setting of First World War poet Siegfred Sassoon’s most famous poem for Farnham Youth Choir. The poem encompasses a joyful reaction to the end of the war and perhaps too the way that an outbreak of singing in the trenches had banished the horror. The setting develops ideas inspired by the poem’s sudden universal joy and bird imagery and its recurring main theme repeats and dies away to the…
Written for baritone soloist, mixed chorus and orchestra, this is a joyful celebration of singing. Words by Emily Dickinson, Rabindranath Tagore, Sara Teasdale and Abraham Cowley in their differing ways all examine the special powers and attributes of singing. In amongst them comes an energetic dance movement sung entirely to nonsense syllables inspired by Scottish mouth music and vocal exercises. The finale sets a poem by Robert Herrick and builds to a climactic conclusion on…
The London première will be given by Imperial College Choir and Orchestra (Director Colin Durrant) at Holy Trinity Church SW7. Janet conducted the first performance in the final concert of the 2016 Thaxted Festival. In tribute to Gustav Holst, founder of the Festival 100 years ago, the piece combines texts about the harmony of the spheres with Orlando Gibbons’ glorious Renaissance hymn Eternal ruler of the ceaseless round of circling planets, Singing on their way.…
Janet will lead an introductory session to her new score The Ceaseless Round of Circling Planets during the Repertoire Session for independent composers’ music. By contrast her setting of Hinei Ma Tov (from Psalm 133) will be sung in a session on music of different faiths led by Jeremy Haneman (Mixed Up Chorus) http://www.3ff.org.uk/mixed-up-chorus/ MazeMusic’s stand in the trade exhibition will be well stocked with new scores for all abilities and plenty of old favourites…
Janet’s composition Of Beaks and Quills will be premièred by Francis Knights and the Dulcis Venti quartet led by Stephen Watkins on June 4th 2016 at the Headgate Theatre Colchester