Reverent Praise

In a world full of uncertainty and fear, you can take respite in and be calmed by hearing great live music. With its timely message of hope and rebirth we bring you Bach’s beloved Magnificat and compositions by two well-known contemporary British composers. Both Jonathan Dove’s Köthener Messe and Cecilia McDowall's Laudate reflect Bach’s influence through two intriguingly different compositional styles.
 

Dove’s light-hearted approach in his Köthener Messe is written as if Bach were composing while asleep during a church service sermon. While dreaming, he disassembles and reassembles fragments of his own work into a “dream Mass.” Unable to wake up, Bach finds himself mixing musical fragments in uncharacteristic ways. Dove’s composition pays tribute to and reflects Bach’s influences while incorporating his own distinct style, producing a uniquely entertaining and modern result.
 

Using the text of Psalm 112, McDowall’s Laudate returns us closer to Bach’s Magnificat, with its expressions of rebirth and hope. This Laudate  blends Bach’s deep influence with McDowall’s own experience as a choral singer, creating an innovative and modern composition. Through this music you can experience the timeless human desire for refuge from the unpredictability of our existence, whether in dreaming or looking to a higher power, or from simply being sustained by the beauty of music that comforts and reassures.