This year’s Autumn Concert at St Alfege’s Church was an extra special occasion, as Colfe’s welcomed composer, conductor and pianist Andrew Campling who conducted the Senior School Orchestra, Senior Choir and Junior Choir who performed his composition In Paradisum.
Andrew Campling directs the London Docklands Singers, the Thames Chamber Choir, the Marcel Sinfonia, and is chorus master of the Choir of the London School of Economics. He describes his composition:
No man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the Continent, a part of the main … any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee. [John Donne, 1573-1631]
“These words form the preface to In Paradisum. The work’s text is that of the Requiem Mass – a text full of contrasts, ranging from mourning and penitence, through fear and foreboding, to hope and faith in the promise of Paradise. The Sequence, a major portion of the text, dates from the 13th century, and contains powerful sentiments. The words may be taken literally, or regarded more as poetic imagery which reveals profound truths about the human condition.
In striving to find an overall musical structure, the text of the Requiem Mass itself suggests various ways of unifying the material. For example, the reprise of the words requiem aeternam near the end of the work lends itself to musical recapitulation, and I have further chosen to rework the theme of the Dies irae in the Confutatis maledictis to enhance musical coherence. Also, the Agnus Dei has clear harmonic links with the Lacrimosa. Plainsing is a crucial component of the work.
Various plainchants are quoted directly, notably the Dies irae. Furthermore, many of my own melodic motifs are derived from plainsong. One particular motif – involving a rising fourth – is central to the work and appears in some guise within every movement. Plainsong is also a major influence on the harmonic language much of which is modal. By way of contrast, whole tone harmony, chord clusters and bi-tonal sections also feature. Musical settings of the Requiem Mass vary in the text used for the final section. I have chosen to end the work with the words of In Paradisum in order to underline the essentially affirmative nature of the work.”
The programme also featured Mendelssohn’s Organ Sonata No. 5 performed by Ludwig (Y13), Ravel’s Pavane pour une infante défunte performed on piano by Harrison (Y13), a Junior School Choir performance of Don Besig’s As long as I have Music, and Jules Massenet’s Méditation from Thaïs performed by the Senior School Orchestra and featuring a violin solo from Ari (Y13).
Director of Music Tim Newberry said: “This evening’s Concert was a very special occasion. We enjoyed a wonderful programme with outstanding solo, orchestral and choral performances. The whole school choir was privileged to perform Andrew Campling’s In Paradisum, a lyrical and dramatic setting of the requiem mass. Very special thanks go to Andrew for his collaboration in this project and for conducting tonight’s performance.”
