A Hymn of Heavenly Beauty
A Premier, 17-voice choral ensemble from England
James Burton, conductor
{Ticket prices: $25 General | $20 Senior | $5 Student}

A Hymn of Heavenly Beauty

This program celebrates some of the finest choral works from the Renaissance through to the present day, ranging from the haunting Allegri "miserere mei, Deus", to Whitacre's resplendent "I thank You God'. Featuring a number of familiar favorites, these works showcase the rich dark soundworld of the Russian orthodox, the prayerful intimacy of contemporary English masters and the soaring contrapuntal lines of the late Renaissance. Closing with Harris' spectacular "Faire is the Heaven', this program is a true homage to choral greats past and present.

Tenebrae

Described as “phenomenal” (The Times) and “devastatingly beautiful” (Gramophone Magazine), award-winning choir Tenebrae is one of the world’s leading vocal ensembles, renowned for its passion and precision. Under the direction of Nigel Short, Tenebrae performs at major festivals and venues across the globe, including the BBC Proms, Edinburgh International Festival, Leipzig Gewandhaus (Germany) and Melbourne Festival (Australia). The choir is renowned for its highly-acclaimed interpretations of choral music ranging from the hauntingly passionate works of the Renaissance through to contemporary choral masterpieces, and is a dedicated advocate for contemporary composers, having worked with Judith Bingham, Ola Gjeilo, Alexander L’Estrange, Alexander Levine, Paweł Łukaszewski, Paul Mealor, Hilary Tann, Joby Talbot, Sir John Tavener and Will Todd. Tenebrae is also frequently engaged with the world’s finest orchestras, regularly appearing alongside the Academy of Ancient Music, Aurora Orchestra and Britten Sinfonia, and also curates an annual Holy Week Festival in partnership with St John’s Smith Square.

Choral development is also central to Tenebrae’s ethos, and the choir has pioneered an inspirational workshop method, The Tenebrae Effect, designed to challenge and advance every participant by instilling skills essential to a Tenebrae performance. Since 2016 it has provided crucial training and performance opportunities to a quartet of outstanding young professional singers through its Associate Artist Scheme. As part of this fellowship, these young singers deliver regular choral development workshops in collaboration with Tenebrae’s education partners, Music Centre London and London Youth Choir. Tenebrae’s ever-increasing discography has brought about collaborations with Signum, Decca Classics, Deutsche Grammophon, EMI Classics, LSO Live, and Warner Classics. In 2012 Tenebrae was the first-ever ensemble to be multi-nominated in the same category for the BBC Music Magazine Awards, securing the accolade of ‘Best Choral Performance’ for the choir’s recording of Victoria’s Requiem Mass, 1605. The following year Tenebrae’s Fauré Requiem with the London Symphony Orchestra was nominated for the Gramophone Awards, having been described as “the very best Fauré Requiem on disc” and “the English choral tradition at its zenith” (Richard Morrison, Chief Music Critic, The Times). In 2014 the choir’s recording of Russian Orthodox music, Russian Treasures, reached number 1 in the UK Specialist Classical Chart. In 2016 Tenebrae received its second BBC Music Magazine Award for a recording of Brahms and Bruckner Motets, the profits from the sale of which benefit Macmillan Cancer Support, and in 2018 it received a Grammy nomination for Music of the Spheres, its album of part songs from the British Isles. ‘Passion and Precision’ are Tenebrae’s core values. Through its continued dedication to performance of the highest quality, Tenebrae’s vision is to deliver dramatic programming, flawless performances and unforgettable experiences, allowing audiences around the world to be moved by the power and intimacy of the human voice.

James Burton

Born in London, conductor James Burton trained as a chorister at the Choir of Westminster Abbey and as a Choral Scholar at St John’s College, Cambridge University. He holds a Master’s in Orchestral Conducting from the Peabody Conservatory. He is currently the Boston Symphony Orchestra Choral Director and Conductor of the Tanglewood Festival Chorus, and he is Director of Orchestral Activities at Boston University. 

Mr. Burton has guest conducted concerts with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and, since his debut in 2017, he has been a frequent guest conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra. He has conducted many leading UK orchestras and opera houses including the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, English National Opera, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, the Hallé Orchestra, the Orchestra of Scottish Opera, the Royal Northern Sinfonia, BBC Concert Orchestra, English Touring Opera, and Manchester Camerata. Since giving his debut in 2016, he has been a frequent guest conductor of the Orquestra Sinfónica Nacional of Mexico. In 2018 he was honored to lead the orchestra’s 90th anniversary concerts, performing Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 in the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City. His gives his debut with the Vermont Symphony in the 2022-23 season. 

Mr. Burton’s love and knowledge of choral repertoire has led to many years of working closely with choirs. He has given concerts with professional groups including the Gabrieli Consort, the Choir of the Enlightenment, and Wrocław Philharmonic. He conducted the BBC Singers in the augural season of Dubai’s Opera House in 2017. From 2002-2009 he served as Choral Director at the Hallé Orchestra, where he was conductor of the Hallé Choir and founder conductor of the Hallé Youth Choir, winning the Gramophone Choral Award in 2009.

Mr. Burton is well known for his inspirational work with young musicians. He has given many concerts and masterclasses with university orchestras and choirs from Oxford, Manchester, Yale, Princeton, Cornell, and Kentucky, as well as Genesis Sixteen and the National Youth Choir of Great Britain. He was Music Director of Schola Cantorum of Oxford from 2002-2017, and was the special international guest conductor of the National Youth Choir of Japan in 2017. Mr. Burton teaches the DMA orchestral conducting students at Boston University and has given conducting masterclasses at the Royal Academy of Music in London and at the Tanglewood Music Center, and he founded a scholarship for young conductors at Oxford. He founded the Boston Symphony Children’s Choir in 2018.

Mr. Burton’s growing composition portfolio includes works for commissioners including the Lexington Philharmonic, National Portrait Gallery in London, the Choir of St. John’s College, Cambridge, and the Exon Festival where he was composer-in-residence in 2015. His most recent composition is a 30-minute work The Lost Words for upper voices and orchestra (or piano) which received its premiere at the Tanglewood Festival in 2019, jointly commissioned by the Boston Symphony and the Hallé Orchestra. Many of Mr. Burton’s compositions have been performed by leading professional choirs including Tenebrae, the BBC Singers, The Sixteen, and one of his works was featured as the opening track on the new Christmas album by the King’s Singers. Mr. Burton’s works are published by Edition Peters.