This Is London 8 March 2019

PETROS SINGERS PERFORM
BRAHMS REQUIEM
One of the great choral masterpieces
of all time, Brahms Ein Deutsches
Requiem is being performed in the
stunning surroundings of St James’s
Piccadilly on 23 March. First performed
on Good Friday 1868, it is a work of
considerable physical and emotional
magnitude, as well as being profoundly
personal. While Brahms was indifferent
to organised religion, the death of his
beloved mother in 1865 brought his
spiritual convictions into sharper focus.
The Requiem was therefore a highly
personal undertaking of coming to terms
with his loss while recalibrating his
spiritual compass.
In his Requiem, rather than dwelling
on the judgment of the deceased,
Brahms seemed intent on consoling
those left behind. In a letter to Clara
Schumann, he calls it a ‘human requiem’
and it is this sentiment that makes it so
captivating to audiences both familiar
with and new to this monumental
composition.
Brahms was also a keen musical
historian, collecting and editing music
by many of his famous predecessors. In
this concert, the Requiem is preceded by
a series of motets and songs by
composers known to Brahms –
including J S Bach, Heinrich Schütz,
Fanny Mendelssohn and Clara
Schumann – which illuminated his
influences in the composition of this
masterful work.
The programme will be performed by
top-class soloists – Miriam Allan
(Soprano) and Marcus Farnsworth
(Baritone) will be accompanied by Libby
Burgess and William Vann playing
Brahms' piano arrangement for fourhands.
The chorus will be provided by
the well-regarded chamber choir, Petros
Singers, and the concert directed by
Richard Bannan.
The concert starts at 19.30 and tickets
are available either on the door, from
15.00 on the day, or from the website
www.wegottickets.com/petrossingers
(no booking fee). For further details,
visit www.petrossingers.org
WALTHAM FOREST LONDON
BOROUGH OF CULTURE
In a major nature writing commission,
Faber New Poet and Caught by the River
poet-in-residence Will Burns are to
create a series of new works inspired by
Epping Forest as part of an exciting
literacy strand for The People’s Forest.
The People’s Forest is year-long
programme of work taking place as part
of the Mayor’s first London Borough of
Culture in Waltham Forest. Curated by
arts consultant and events producer
Kirsteen McNish and writer Luke Turner,
the project will celebrate the borough’s
unique relationship with Epping Forest
and its importance as an urban
woodland.
Alongside a comprehensive
programme of events, talks, gigs and
artist collaborations, The People’s Forest
will continue the history of great writers
drawing inspiration from nature to present
a literary programme designed to seek out
new writing related to London’s strange
and wonderful woodland.
Acclaimed poet Burns will walk from
Wendover Woods to Epping Forest to
shape a new series of poems to be
released throughout the year as part of
The People’s Forest, revisiting family
history, memory and the forest.
Woodlands and forests have provided
the setting and themes for storytelling
since the birth of human culture, from
the founding myths of our modern
civilisations via Shakespeare and the
fairy tales that scared us as children.
Charles Dickens used Epping Forest as
the place to open Barnaby Rudge, and
Alfred, Lord Tennyson, the poet Edward
Thomas, and TE Lawrence spent time
among the trees. www.wfculture19.co.uk
May Day Fayre.
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