Commotio (Oxford-based choir) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Commotio is an Oxford

Oxford

The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...

-based chamber choir formed in August 1999 to promote neglected contemporary choral repertoire.

History

Its conductor (and founder) is Matt Berry. Matt studied music at University College, Oxford, where he was Organ Scholar and then Assistant Organist. He has studied organ under David Sanger, David Goode and Ian Curror, and choral direction with Patrick Russill.

Commotio's performances have included the 2nd UK concert performance of Alfred Schnittke's

Alfred Schnittke

Alfred Schnittke ; November 24, 1934 – August 3, 1998) was a Russian and Soviet composer. Schnittke's early music shows the strong influence of Dmitri Shostakovich. He developed a polystylistic technique in works such as the epic First Symphony and First Concerto Grosso...

Requiem, the World Première of Pierre Villette’s

Pierre Villette

Pierre Villette was a French composer of choral and instrumental music.Villette was born into a musical family in 1926 at Duclair, Normandy. He studied with Maurice Duruflé before attending the Paris Conservatoire. Pierre Boulez was a fellow student but their careers followed very different paths...

Inviolata and Peter Klatzow’s Prayers and Dances from Africa.

Commotio also promotes and performs the works of a younger generation of composers, most recently Jonathan Bridcut, Richard Allain, Mihyun Woo, Robert Fokkens

Robert Fokkens

Robert Fokkens is a South African classical music composer. He is among a new generation of younger composers in post-apartheid South Africa. He was educated in Cape Town at Rondebosch Boys' School....

, John Duggan and Alexander Campkin.

Commotio's debut CD of South African choral music was released in February 2006, followed by a CD for Choir and Cello in February 2008. A track from the latter disc, Richard Allain’s Ubi caritas, was chosen to feature on the Classic FM core playlist and appears in the compilation CD Smooth Classics – the Ultimate Collection. A CD of the music of James Whitbourn was released on the Naxos label in February 2010.

Commotio has commissioned Oxford composer John Duggan, and Richard Allain, and most recently Edward Cowie

Edward Cowie

Edward Cowie is an English composer, author, Natural Scientist, and painter-Biography:Cowie was born in Birmingham, England in 1943 and spent most of his early life in the rural countryside...

World premières

Composer	Work
Richard Allain	Night ^*
Ambrož Čopi	Ave Maria ^*
Edward Cowie	Autumn (from Four Seasons) ^*
John Duggan	Futility ^*
	The singing will never be done ^*
	Anthem for doomed youth ^*
Martin Eastwood	Ave Maria
	See, the word is incarnate
Henry Howard	Song for Lydia
Thomas Hyde	As a lily among thorns ^*
	O nata lux
	Sweet was the song
Francis Pott Francis Pott Francis Pott, born 25 August 1957, is a British composer, pianist, senior academic and university administrator.-Life:He held open music scholarships at Winchester College and Magdalene College, Cambridge, studying composition at the latter with Robin Holloway and Hugh Wood while also pursuing...	As Joseph was a-walking
	Balulalow
Pierre Villette	Inviolata
James Whitbourn	He carried me away with the spirit ^*
Mihyun Woo	Voices of a Landscape ^*

Written for the choir ^*

European premières

Composer	Work
Jaakko Mäntyjärvi Jaakko Mäntyjärvi Jaakko Mäntyjärvi is a Finnish composer of classical music, and a professional translator.-Education:Mäntyjärvi studied English and Linguistics at the University of Helsinki, graduating with an FK degree in 1991...	O magnum mysterium
James Whitbourn	Luminosity

UK premières

Composer	Work
Ambrož Čopi	O lux beáta Caélitum
	Exaudi Domine
	Omnes gentes, plaudite manibus
Frank Ferko Frank Ferko Frank Ferko is an American composer.Ferko played piano from childhood, and worked as an organist and conductor in his teens. His first compositions were primarily liturgical in nature, with Lutheran composer Richard Wienhorst being an early influence...	Lord, let at last Thine angels come
Jon Mostad	The Lord is my shepherd
	Sing to the Lord
Fredrik Sixten Fredrik Sixten Sven Fredrik Johannes Sixten is a Swedish composer, cathedral organist and conductor. Sixten was born in Skövde, Sweden. He earned his Bachelor of Arts at the Royal College of Music, Stockholm. He studied composition with Professor Sven-David Sandström and is now recognized as one of Sweden's...	Mariahymn
	Tantum ergo
Rudi Tas	Miserere

Other significant performances

Composer	Work
Richard Allain	Cradle Song
Charles Ives Charles Ives Charles Edward Ives was an American modernist composer. He is one of the first American composers of international renown, though Ives' music was largely ignored during his life, and many of his works went unperformed for many years. Over time, Ives came to be regarded as an "American Original"...	Psalm 90
Peter Dickinson Peter Dickinson (musician) Peter Dickinson is an English composer, musicologist, and pianist.-Biography:He was born in Lytham St Annes, Lancashire, and studied organ at Queens' College, Cambridge, where he was a student of Philip Radcliffe...	Tiananmen 1989
	The Dry Heart
Paul Hindemith Paul Hindemith Paul Hindemith was a German composer, violist, violinist, teacher, music theorist and conductor.- Biography :Born in Hanau, near Frankfurt, Hindemith was taught the violin as a child...	Mass
Peter Klatzow	Prayers and Dances of Praise from Africa
Knut Nystedt Knut Nystedt Knut Nystedt is an orchestral and choral composer.Nystedt was born in Kristiania , Norway, and grew up in a Christian home where hymns and classical music were an important part of everyday life. His major compositions for choir and vocal soloists are mainly based on texts from the Bible or sacred...	Stabat Mater
Alfred Schnittke Alfred Schnittke Alfred Schnittke ; November 24, 1934 – August 3, 1998) was a Russian and Soviet composer. Schnittke's early music shows the strong influence of Dmitri Shostakovich. He developed a polystylistic technique in works such as the epic First Symphony and First Concerto Grosso...	Requiem

Commercial Recordings

Published	Title	Label	Reference
2006	Towards the Light – Choral Works of Peter Klatzow	Herald	HAVPCD 316
2008	Night – Music for Choir and Cello	Herald	HAVPCD 340
2010	James Whitbourn – Luminosity	Naxos	8.572103

External links

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