NONSUCH SINGERS
TOM BULLARD | director
RECORDINGS
Nonsuch Singers are proud to present their recording of Will Todd's trio version of the fabulous Mass in Blue, released at a special launch concert at St Martin-in-the-Fields on 18th June 2019.
Alongside Mass in Blue we complete our programme with a selection of some of our favourite jazz standards, originally written for some of the world’s leading vocal groups, including The Swingle Singers, The King’s Singers and New York Voices. Although originally intended for very small ensembles, we hope you enjoy what we have done with these wonderful arrangements for larger forces.
It’s wonderful to have a new recording of Mass in Blue available, this time in the piano trio version rather than the original full band scoring. Nonsuch Singers and conductor Tom Bullard have done a fine job of giving a new spin on the piece, with sparkling contributions from soloist Joanna Forbes L’Estrange and pianist John Turville. The choral timbres are vibrant and engaging and the energy of Mass in Blue shines through in spades.
Will Todd
Of our launch concert on 18 June:
This was an evening of impressive performances from all, but special congratulations must go to Nonsuch Singers and Bullard for achieving the rare feat of pulling off the transition into the world of jazz and swing with such skill.
Nick Boston - Classical Notes
In October 2013, Nonsuch Singers gave the UK premiere of Gabriel Jackson's To the Field of Stars, the ideal piece for the choir's debut recording with its rich textures, rhythmic complexity and interplay between choir, cello and percussion. The companion pieces also have their thematic origins in the stars and the heavens - Arvo Pärt's invocation to the Morning Star, taken from his Seven Magnificat Antiphons, Jonathan Dove's exultant Seek Him that Maketh the Seven Stars, and another gem by Gabriel Jackson, Creator of the Stars of Night. Broadening the celestial theme allows for the inclusion of the Assumption of the Virgin in Victoria's sublime Vidi Speciosam, and the sheer joy of Byrd's dance-like Laudibus in Sanctis. But before all this, it is O Quam Gloriosum, Victoria's great motet that starts us on our journey before reappearing, transformed, at the end of To the Field of Stars as bells peal out in celebration ...
Available from Convivium Records and all major digital platforms