History Brighton Festival Chorus

1 history

1.1 formation , years (1968-1979)
1.2 1980s
1.3 1990s
1.4 recent years

history

official logo of brighton festival chorus


formation , years (1968-1979)

bfc formed hungarian-born conductor laszlo heltay 1968 brighton festival performance of sir william walton s large-scale cantata belshazzar s feast, conducted composer rpo @ brighton dome. performance huge success , launched brighton festival chorus important part of music scene in britain and, under laszlo heltay s directorship, 1 of successful choirs in country, becoming symbol of festival . in same year chorus performed mozart s kyrie in d minor (conducted sir colin davis bbcso) , kodály s budavari te deum (conducted laszlo heltay bpo).

building on success, bfc performed 3 more concerts in brighton in 1969, , in 1970 made first recording: kodály s psalmus hungaricus lso conducted istván kertész.

in 1972, bfc performed first concerts outside brighton, when took part (as english bach festival chorus) in series of concerts english bach festival (ebf). first of these concerts, stravinsky s symphony of psalms lso conducted leonard bernstein, marked bfc s first performance @ royal albert hall. work recorded, same forces, 2 days later @ abbey road studios. 3 more concerts performed bfc ebf year in oxford , london.

the following year saw marked upturn in number of bfc s engagements perform, 4 concerts in brighton , hove, 2 concerts in london, recording of janáček s glagolitic mass , chorus s first concert abroad: beethoven s 9th symphony @ coliseu dos recreios in lisbon, portugal.

in 1975, bfc s recording of janáček s glagolitic mass rpo under rudolf kempe nominated grammy award in best classical performance - choral category.

in 1976 chorus began long association conductor antal doráti, under baton chorus performed in 18 concerts, in royal festival hall, , made 5 recordings.

the 1980s

the 1980s saw marked upturn in bfc s concert , recording schedule. overall, decade saw bfc perform in 139 concerts (24 in 1988 alone - bfc s busiest year date) , make 8 recordings.

during 1984 brighton festival, bfc performed british premier of penderecki s te deum, conducted composer, performance being considered musical high point of festival.

in 1985, bfc began series of engagements rpo under andré previn, including 2 performances of ravel s daphnis et chloé in year; performance , recording of walton s belshazzar s feast , 2 performances , recording of tippett s child of our time in 1986; 2 further performances of daphnis et chloé in 1987; brahms s german requiem in 1988; , beethoven s 9th symphony in 1989. recording of tippet’s child of our time rpo under andré previn saw bfc receive 2nd grammy nomination in best choral performance category

in 1986, bfc performed first time @ bbc proms, performing walton s belshazzar s feast rpo under vernon handley. following year, bfc took part in 2 promenade concerts, performing schoenberg s gurre-lieder national youth orchestra of great britain under pierre boulez , ravel s daphnis et chloé rpo under andré previn.

as increase overall in concert , recording engagements, decade saw significant increase in demand bfc s services overseas. chorus undertook tours of greece (1981), france (1985 , 1987), spain (1988) netherlands (1988) , belgium (1988) during decade.

the 1990s

bfc continued in demand major orchestras in uk , europe during 1990s, working under baton of such conductors yehudi menuhin (who became honorary president of chorus), vladimir ashkenazy, richard hickox , mark elder, became honorary president of chorus following death of yehudi menuhin in 1999.

bfc performed in 5 bbc proms concerts during 1990s:

britten s war requiem rpo under kurt masur in 1990
beethoven s 9th symphony london philharmonic orchestra under klaus tennstedt in 1991
vaughan williams sea symphony rpo under vernon handley in 1992
beethoven s 9th symphony berlin radio symphony orchestra under vladimir ashkenazy in 1992
mahler s 2nd symphony bbc philharmonic orchestra , edinburgh festival chorus under charles mackerras in 1995

the decade saw chorus perform in france, netherlands, belgium , germany.

in 1992 chorus performed first time @ leeds castle under carl davis. became annual summer engagement chorus continued until 2007.

in 1996, laszlo heltay retired music director of chorus. succeeded deputy, jonathan grieves-smith , then, upon latter s departure australia, james morgan, holds position of music director present day. laszlo heltay holds honorary title of conductor emeritus of bfc

recent years

the chorus continues in demand, , still performs regularly in brighton, london , further afield.

in 2005, bfc took part in world premier of concert version of tavener s veil of temple @ bbc proms, , in 2011 bfc joined forces bbc concert orchestra, bbc national orchestra of wales , 9 other choirs bbc proms performance of havergal brian s monumental symphony no. 1 gothic under baton of martyn brabbins.

in response downturn in market live choral music following 2007/8 financial crisis, chorus began develop own series of small- , large-scale concerts in brighton , hove area, putting on , promoting concerts works ranging rachmaninov s vespers semi-staged performances of bach s st john passion.

since 2009, bfc has been regular participant in bbc big sing royal albert hall, @ special editions of bbc s songs of praise programme recorded.

in 2011 bfc joined orchestre de picardie , 11 other partners across southern england , northern france take part in act - common territory . programme of events, supported financially european regional development fund part of interreg programme, ran 2011-2015, , saw chorus join forces orchestre de picardie, orchestre de bretagne , soloists royal opera s jette parker young artists programme under direction of arie van beek perform verdi s requiem in amiens, compiègne , rennes in december 2013. part of act network, bfc performed beethoven s 9th symphony in rouen in january 2014. 2 further act network performances of verdi s requiem followed in july 2014, when bfc joined royal opera house thurrock community chorus in purfleet, essex.

bfc s 500th concert performance, on friday 2015, semi-staged in round performance of bach s st. john passion @ brighton dome, chorus singing whole work memory.

in 2015, part of celebrations mark 800th anniversary of signing of magna carta, bfc commissioned work morgan pochin on theme of liberty. resulting work invictus - cantata liberty orchestra, adult choir, youth choir , narrators premiered @ brighton dome in june, , saw bfc join forces city of london sinfonia, brighton festival youth choir , brighton , hove community youth choir, conducted james morgan.

in 2016 brighton festival, chorus performed elgar s dream of gerontius off book , memorising whole piece , performing without scores. concert judged 1 of highlights of year s festival.