Opus 48 - Autumn concert

Opus 48 will be performing Bernstein's Chichester Psalms together with Finzi’s Lo, the full final sacrifice, Howells’ Take him, earth, for cherishing and Rutter’s Requiem.

Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms takes the words from the Book of Psalms in the original Hebrew and sets this to an affirmative and serene score, reflecting ‘peace and reconciliation’. Initially performed in New York in 1965, this piece has gone on to be performed all over the world, with some of the passages adapted from material cut from West Side Story. 
Although the world premiere was in New York, the piece had been commissioned by Walter Hussey, Dean of Chichester Cathedral, who also commissioned Finzi’s Lo, the full, final sacrifice. This dramatic and expressive anthem culminates with a closing eight-part Amen, which is one of the most remarkable and poignant pieces of choral writing of its period.

Howells’ Take him, earth, for cherishing was composed in 1963, shortly after the assassination of President J F Kennedy for his memorial service. Through his music, Howells builds a dialogue between earth and paradise that is supremely moving. Rutter’s Requiem similarly takes us on a journey from darkness to light, reflecting ‘the ideals of beauty and calm reverence’, which so inspired the composer.
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