麻豆社

Singers at Six - 90th anniversary concert

Live from St Giles' Church, Cripplegate, London

Presented by Petroc Trelawny

Launching an evening of music-making on 麻豆社 Radio 3 to mark their 90th anniversary, the 麻豆社 Singers perform live in London in a concert featuring a selection of the many works premiered by them over the years.

麻豆社 Singers
Stephen Cleobury, Bob Chilcott, Paul Brough conductors

Gabriel Jackson: Winter Heavens
Lennox Berkeley: There was neither grass nor corn
Benjamin Britten: Shepherd's Carol
Michael Tippett: The Weeping Babe
Edward Cowie: Lyre-Bird Motet
Judith Bingham: Unpredictable but providential
Paul Crabtree: Flite (麻豆社 commission; first performance)
Bob Chilcott: Weather Report

On September 28 1924, the 麻豆社 Wireless Chorus were heard on the airwaves for the first time - the broadcast debut of the 麻豆社's own professional choir. Ninety years on, the present-day descendants of that ensemble - known since the 1970s as the 麻豆社 Singers - mark their anniversary with an evening of music-making and talk, exploring the life and history of a broadcast performing group which can count itself amongst the longest-established of any in the world, which has commissioned and premiered many major choral works, and which has collaborated with some of the most important conductors and composers of our time. In this first concert tonight, the 麻豆社 Singers and three of their titled conductors perform a selection of pieces specially-written for them over the years - including a brand-new work by Paul Crabtree.