This is London November 2026 - Flipbook - Page 14
PARLIAMENT CHOIR PERFORM
MOZART REQUIEM AND MESSIAH
The Parliament Choir are to perform
Mozart’s Requiem in D at Smith Square
Hall on Wednesday 4 November (19.30).
It leaps out from the annals of music
history – for two big reasons. On the
one hand, it is a towering achievement
of sacred music. It's also an enduring
enigma: an unfinished masterpiece beset
by mystery, drama, and controversy.
Mozart’s final masterpiece is timeless,
sombre, masterful. Opening with primal
lamentation in the 'Requiem aeternam',
it traverses terror in 'Dies irae', fragile
grief in 'Lacrimosa', calming faith in
'Recordare', and concludes with a
sombre serenity, leaving listeners
enveloped in both awe and melancholy.
Soloists will be Ana Beard Fernandez,
Emma Lewis, Hugo Brady, Neal Davies ,
with the Istante Collective.
It remains a frequently performed
work, part of the Western canon, and its
final form – whether artistically
incomplete or profoundly human – has
inspired conductors, theologians,
philosophers, and musicians to reflect
on mortality, genius, and collaboration
beyond the grave.
The Parliament Choir will also sing
Of All Persons and Estates, by Nicholas
O’Neill, the first Composer in Residence
for Parliament for nearly 500 years. The
piece is based on the prayers said in the
House of Commons and the House of
Lords at the beginning of each sitting
day. The orchestra will perform Joseph
Haydn’s Sinfonia Concertante.
Handel’s Messiah is arguably the
most famous oratorio ever written and
certainly Handel’s best-known work,
needing little introduction. The
Parliament Choir will perform Messiah
at Smith Square Hall on 2 December.
Written at remarkable speed, Handel’s
Messiah enjoyed immediate success
when it debuted in Dublin in 1742. Its
reception in London proved much less
favourable, and the work struggled to
win over audiences at first. Over time,
however, performances in support of the
Foundling Hospital transformed public
attitudes, and Messiah gradually became
one of the most celebrated and enduring
works in the choral repertoire.
The Parliament Choir is an
autonomous body in Parliament under
the auspices of the Speaker in the House
of Commons and Lord Speaker, and is
open to all who work in Parliament.
Founded in 2000 by Lord Filkin and
Simon Over, it was created to offer those
working in Palace of Westminster the
opportunity to sing together despite the
demands of parliamentary life.
The Choir’s repertoire is ambitious
and wide ranging, spanning Opera Gala
to major choral masterpieces such as
the Dream of Gerontius and St Matthew
Passion, singing in Latin, German,
Czech and Russian.
To book tickets, visit the website
www.parliamentchoir.org.uk
ACADEMY OF ST MARTIN IN THE
FIELDS PERMANENT HOME
The Academy of St Martin in the
Fields has completed its acquisition of
the London Festival Orchestra, which
owns The Warehouse, Waterloo, one of
London’s vital rehearsal and recording
spaces. Born from the close relationship
over many decades, the acquisition
provides the Academy with its first
permanent home while safeguarding a
crucial part of the capital’s musical
infrastructure.
Ross Pople, cellist, founder and
music director of London Festival
Orchestra, established The Warehouse
during the 1990s as a home for the
orchestra and as a dedicated space in
the heart of London where orchestras,
choirs and ensembles could rehearse
and record.
Now, in that same spirit, the Academy
of St Martin in the Fields will establish a
permanent home for the musical
excellence and adventurous spirit at the
heart of its player-led approach. The
Warehouse will provide the conditions
for exceptional music-making: a
permanent home where musicians and
the performing arts community can
explore new projects, exchange ideas,
rehearse, collaborate, and develop their
work together.
© Matthew Johnson
14
At a time when orchestral rehearsal
space in London is increasingly scarce
and many of the city’s cultural spaces
remain under pressure, the acquisition
safeguards the future of an important
creative building for the benefit of
musicians and for future generations.
T H I S I S L O N D O N M A G A Z I N E • T H I S I S L O N D O N O N L I N E • w w w. t i l . c o m • @ t h i s i s l o n d o n m a g
