Programme Notes - 2 December 2006

Giacomo Puccini - ‘Messa di Gloria’

In Messa di Gloria, Puccini has crafted a solemn and imposing choral work which oozes drama and emotion. The work is performed by a large choir, male soloists and orchestra which combine to provide moments of surging unison and great intensity. Written when Puccini was 18, as his graduation thesis from the Institute Musicale of Lucca, Italy, it provided the inspiration for much of his later, more well-known operatic works and conveys spontaneity and balance for the chorus and orchestra.

Ralph Vaughan Williams – ‘Sancta Civitas’

Vaughan Williams was a spiritual man whose music was a complete expression of his faith. This faith is perfectly conveyed in the stillness and mystery of this short but immense choral work. While the tempo of the music is often unhurried, the tension is sustained and then intensified so that the overall characteristic of the work is its extraordinary swiftness.