Autumn 2023
Fauré and Brough
Again we have lent an ear to those in the choir who have asked to do some classical choral repertoire. So we are performing the wonderful, timeless Fauré Requiem – a piece many of you know well. If you don’t know it, you have an absolute treat in store. We will also sing his beautiful Cantique de Jean Racine.
A Vox concert wouldn’t be Vox without something new and different however, so we will juxtapose the Fauré with a piece of mine that very few of you will know – The Prophet. We did it 10 years ago, it’s a thrilling text from the well known book by Khalil Gibran and some of the most appealing music I’ve written – spiritual, uplifting and insightful, with wonderful soloists and an excellent band.
The venue will be St James’s Piccadilly, following our EXCELLENT concert there last Easter. A wonderful acoustic and a magnificent setting for this programme. As last time, we need to work very hard to get a good audience, it’s a very special place to perform and we should be proud to return with another very Vox Holloway mix of old and new.
We will be without Christina this term, she is busy with other projects (see her message below). We will miss her, but look forward to seeing her and working with her in the future. I’m happy to say that Rick will be with us to play and to take sectionals – I’m planning to do sectionals every week at the start of term.
We will be working hard this term on choral sound and projection of the words – the Fauré is not difficult in terms of notes, but partly because it’s so well known, it’s important that we really work on blend within each part and as a choir. Many performances of the piece are a little humdrum, we need to find the magic anew in this wonderful music. Last term, we were a little light on sopranos – do ask your soprano friends if they would like to join us for this programme. They can write to me on my personal email (harveybrough@mac.com) for more information so I can make sure we get a good balance. There will be a seperate sub for this.
We are unlikely to be able to fit any more altos in for reasons of space.
Tenors and basses have become really strong over the last year (I think of this as being our tacit tribute to Matt Evan Smith, who is much missed but still inspires us). We can consider taking a few more – again, ask friends who you think would love what we do, to write to me.
Term starts on Tuesday September 5th, the committee and I look forward to seeing you there – do come early so we can do all the admin before a 7 30 start.
We will also start the Chamber Choir again on Tuesday September 12th. We will do a separate programme and concert this term, do write to me if you would like to be part of it. It’s open to all members of Vox, we rehearse from 6.30 – 7.15pm before the main Vox rehearsal.
Vox Holloway Autumn Programme
Sunday November 26th
St James’s Piccadilly
Vox Holloway
Vox Holloway Players
Directed by Harvey Brough
Gabriel Fauré – Requiem in D minor
Cantique de Jean Racine
Harvey Brough – The Prophet
Incantation of Eden
Vox Holloway return to St James’s Piccadilly after their highly successful Easter 2023 appearance. They perform a programme which again mixes old and new – the Fauré Requiem, perhaps the most beloved choral piece ever, juxtaposed with Harvey Brough’s setting of The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran.
This remarkable book is one of the best selling books of all time, translated into over 100 languages. The Prophet is in the city of Orphalese, awaiting a ship to take him home. As he waits he is asked a series of questions by the inhabitants – on Love, on Marriage, on Children, on Death. His replies form a series of 9 movements or counsels, before he vanishes into the mist.
Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone,
Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music.
SPRING 2020 – this one never happened!
Vox returns to the Hackney Empire
FREEDOM SONG – When Gospel Came to the Empire
by Harvey Brough (music) and Justin Butcher (words).
Performed by Vox Holloway and the Hackney Empire choir
‘Sing it loud, sing it clear’
The inspiring true story of the Fisk Jubilee Singers, a group of emancipated slaves who took to the road in 1871 to raise funds for their university and introduced the world to the riches of plantation spirituals.
At: Hackney Empire, 291 Mare Street, London, E8 1EJ
Sunday 29 March, 6pm
Click here for tickets: £10 – £35 (plus £1 per ticket online, £1.25 over the phone).
Vox Holloway 