BBC Singers
The BBC Singers bill themselves as Britain's only full-time, fully professional choir. The ensemble was founded at the same time the British Broadcasting Corporation created its Symphony Orchestra, and for the same purpose: to be available for broadcast work of a wide range of musical repertory. Since the group's inception, the BBC Singers have excelled in the performance of works ranging from the Renaissance to the present day.
The BBC Singers were originally formed in 1924 as the Wireless Chorus, under the direction of the BBC's first chorus master, Stanford Robinson. The ensemble's first broadcast was on September 28, 1924, in a performance of Mendelssohn's oratorio, Elijah. From 1929 until 1994 the group sang for the Daily Service broadcast. Other broadcasts included premieres of new choral music and revivals of great British music from the Renaissance through the age of Purcell. The choir has sung world premieres of such notable works as Britten's A Boy Was Born and Hymn to St. Cecilia, Poulenc's Figure humaine, Henze's Orpheus Behind the Wire, and Magnus Lindberg's Untitled, a piece thought to be too difficult to perform. Over the years, the ensemble assumed various sizes and names -- including the Wireless Singers, the Variety Chorus, and the BBC Chorus -- but in 1972 the name BBC Singers was affixed permanently.
The group has always had its own chief conductor. Following Robinson were Leslie Woodgate (1934-1961), Peter Gellhorn (1961-1972), John Poole (1972-1989), Stephen Cleobury (1995-2007), and David Hill (2007-2017). In 2017, the BBC Singers announced the hiring of Sofi Jeannin as the ensemble's first female chief conductor. With conductor Stephen Cleobury, the Singers made numerous recordings, including the works of Charles Ives and Richard Strauss, and became the first choir to sing an a cappella selection as a part of one of the traditional Proms Concerts. Along with its chief conductors, the group has worked with guest conductors including Stravinsky, Milhaud, Beecham, Bo Holten, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, and Pierre Boulez.
The BBC Singers have commissioned a large number of works by such composers as Britten, Sir Peter Maxwell-Davies, and Iannis Xenakis, among many others. In 2002, the Singers named Edward Cowie as the ensemble's first associate composer. Cowie was followed by Judith Bingham -- a former member of the Singers -- (2004-2010), Gabriel Jackson (2010-2013), and Judith Weir (2015-).
The Singers began touring abroad in the 1940s, going as far as Japan and Mexico in the 2000s. While touring, the group has worked with distinguished conductors such as Herbert von Karajan and Wilhelm Furtwängler. The choir is also heard at festivals in the United Kingdom and Europe, as well as special events, such as the funeral for Diana, Princess of Wales.
The BBC Singers continue to make distinguished recordings, appearing on the Signum, Naxos, and Chandos labels, among others. In 2019, the Singers can be heard on G.F. Handel: Messiah, on Resonus, as well as Enrique Granados' opera Goyescas, on Harmonia Mundi.
© Patsy Morita & Keith Finke /TiVo
Artistas semelhantes
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Smyth: Der Wald
BBC Symphony Orchestra, John Andrews, BBC Singers
Opera - Lançado por Resonus Classics em 8 de set. de 2023
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
Maltworms & Milkmaids
The BBC Concert Orchestra, BBC Singers, David Hill, Ben McAteer
Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) - Lançado por EM Records em 18 de ago. de 2023
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
John Adams: Doctor Atomic
BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Singers, John Adams
Full Operas - Lançado por Nonesuch em 29 de jun. de 2018
Gramophone Editor's Choice24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
La Nuit de Noël
The BBC Concert Orchestra, Stephen Fry, BBC Singers, Rebecca Turner, Barry Wordsworth
Classical - Lançado por Naxos em 1 de nov. de 2006
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Carols Revisited - Christmas with the BBC Singers
BBC Singers, Piano Hands, Morgan James
Classical - Lançado por Warner Classics em 3 de nov. de 2023
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Granados: Goyescas (Live)
BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Singers, Josep Pons
Opera - Lançado por harmonia mundi em 24 de mai. de 2019
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
John Pickard: Mass in Troubled Times
Choral Music (Choirs) - Lançado por BIS em 13 de out. de 2023
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Webern: Symphony Op.21
Christiane Oelze, Gerald Finley, Berliner Philharmoniker, Pierre Boulez, BBC Singers
Classical - Lançado por Deutsche Grammophon (DG) em 1 de nov. de 1996
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Messiah, HWV 56 (Arr. for Wind Ensemble by Stian Aareskjold)
BBC Singers, The Norwegian Wind Ensemble, David Hill
Classical - Lançado por Resonus Classics em 30 de nov. de 2018
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
MacMillan: The Birds of Rhiannon, Exsultet, Magnificat and Nunc dimittis, Màiri & The Gallant Weaver
James MacMillan, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Jonathan Scott, BBC Singers
Symphonies - Lançado por Chandos em 1 de ago. de 2002
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
John Adams: Doctor Atomic
BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Singers, John Adams
Classical - Lançado por Nonesuch em 29 de jun. de 2018
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Elizabeth Maconchy: Music for Voices
BBC Singers, Odaline de la Martinez
Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) - Lançado por Lorelt em 10 de dez. de 2007
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Choirbook for the Queen
BBC Singers, Stephen Disley, Sir Stephen Cleobury
Classical - Lançado por Priory Records em 5 de ago. de 2013
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Strauss: Choral Works
Stephen Cleobury, BBC Singers, Choristers of Kings College Cambridge
Classical - Lançado por Collins Classics em 1 de jul. de 1997
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Visions (Musique chorale)
BBC Singers, David Hill, Iain Farrington
Classical - Lançado por Naxos em 3 de dez. de 2012
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ferneyhough, B.: Choral Music
BBC Singers, Lontano, Odaline de la Martinez
Classical - Lançado por Metier em 14 de mai. de 2007
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sir Edward Elgar (The Sketches, Drafts And Recordings Of His Piano Concerto)
The BBC Concert Orchestra, BBC Singers
Classical - Lançado por Dutton em 1 de fev. de 2005
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Der Wald: I. Prologue
BBC Symphony Orchestra, John Andrews, BBC Singers
Opera - Lançado por Resonus Classics em 25 de ago. de 2023
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
Tableaux: Chamber And Choral Music Of Peter Child
Lontano, Odaline de la Martinez, Maggie Cole, BBC Singers
Classical - Lançado por Lorelt em 8 de out. de 2007
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Asia: Purer Than Purest Pure - Choral Works of Daniel Asia
Classical - Lançado por Summit Records em 10 de ago. de 2010
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Giles Swayne: Cry, Op. 27
Giles Swayne, BBC Singers, John Poole
Choral Music (Choirs) - Lançado por NMC Recordings em 1 de jan. de 1993
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo