Choir workshop ‘Feel the Spirit’
Performing John Rutter’s impressive “Feel the Spirit” in two days? Enjoy a composition by John Rutter that you won’t be performing so quickly? Experience CantaRode during this unique Sing-along project!!
This is possible during the CantaRode Meezing Project.
Under the inspiring direction of the international top conductor Brady Allred from the USA, “Feel the Spirit” by the famous contemporary English composer John Rutter will be rehearsed.
The choir workshop will take place on Wednesday 17 May from 19.00 – 22.30 and Thursday 18 May from 09.30 – 19.30.
The performance will take place on Thursday May, 18 th during the Opening Concert of the CantaRode International Choral Festival in the Parkstad Limburg Theaters, location Kerkrade.
Costs of participation (including lunch on Thursday): € 65,-/person.
Core choirs are:
Kamerkoor Cantate Venlo, rehearsal by Dion Ritten
Ensemble Chèvremonts Mannenkoor 1912 Kerkrade, rehearsal by Véron Jongstra
The rehearsals will take place on May 17 and 18 in Rolduc Abbey (Aula Minor).
Wednesday 17 May
19:00 to 22:30
Thursday 18 May
09.30 – 11.00: rehearsal
11.00 – 11.20: break
11.20 – 12.30: rehearsal
12.30 – 14.00: lunch
14.00 – 16.30: rehearsal choir + orchestra Rolduc Abbey (Aula Minor)
18.30 – 19.30: walk-through in Parkstad Limburg Theaters, location Kerkrade, project choir and orchestra
20.00 : performance at the Opening concert
The registration fee (including lunch on Thursday 18 May 2023) is € 65,-
Registration is possible until May 10. You can register by sending an email to: info@cantarode.nl
When registering, indicate which voice you sing. (Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Baritone or Bass.)
Please transfer the registration fee to: IBAN: NL36 RABO 0302 6344 60 to Stichting CantaRode, mentioning CantaRode Meezing Project John Rutter.
After registration and payment you will receive the scores digitally.
However, if you prefer the scores as a book, you can purchase them via https://www.broekmans.com/en/bladmuziek/feel-the-spirit-a-cycle-of-negro-spirituals-vocal-score-mezzo-soprano-solo-mixed-choir-and-orchestra-or-chamber-ensemble-930306
Conductor Brady Allred
American conductor Brady Allred is currently artistic director and conductor of the Salt Lake Choral Artists, a regional choral organization with five choirs totaling about 350 singers.
In addition to the many concerts in the US, the various choirs of Allred have made international tours through Europe, Asia and South America.
Allred also regularly performs as a guest conductor, jury member at national and international competitions and gives national and international workshops.
He is also a jury member of the Cantarode festival 2023.
‘Feel the Spirit’ – John Rutter
‘Feel the Spirit’ is a composition for mezzo soprano, choir and orchestra by John Rutter from 2016 and consists of 7 movements, all spirituals:
Joshua fit the battle of Jericho
Steal Away
I Got a Robe
Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child
Every time I feel the Spirit
Deep River
When the Saints Go Marching In
John Rutter (born 24 September 1945) is an English composer, organist and choral conductor. He mainly writes compositions for choirs.
He went to Highgate School in London with the composer John Tavener. Afterwards he studied music at Clare College, Cambridge. There he conducted the college choir from 1975 to 1979 and was also organist in that position. In 1981 he founded the Cambridge Singers, which he soon made one of England’s best chamber choirs.
Rutter is also known for his collaboration on music publications such as Carols for Choirs (in collaboration with David Willcocks) and Oxford Choral Classics. He also founded his own record label, Collegium Records.
Although he is not particularly religious[1], Rutter mainly writes church music, but he has also composed music for narratives (musical fables). He has written more classical works such as a Gloria, a Magnificat and a Requiem as well as works for the Anglican liturgy, including anthems and a number of carols. His style is eclectic: he uses influences from the English, French and German choral traditions, with some traces of pop music and jazz.
The latter is especially evident in his use of syncopated rhythms. It has earned him the criticism that his compositions are too simplistic and too traditional. Rutter has indeed arranged English traditionals such as The keel row and The willow tree, but he was also one of the first conductors to perform the original version for small ensemble of Gabriel Fauré’s Requiem.
Composer John Rutter himself wrote about this work:
The great heritage of the African-American spiritual has fired the imagination of composers, performers, and audiences for more than 100 years. Each generation has produced interpretations of many kinds, yet, curiously, few composers have combined the resources of soloist, choir, and orchestra. John Rutter was inspired by the vocal artistry of Melanie Marshall to build a set of spirituals crafted to her personal style, partnered by choir, with the orchestra to supply a further dimension of colour and emotional depth.
Feel the Spirit is a cycle of seven familiar spirituals in beautiful arrangements. Equally suitable for concert, school, or church use, the vivid and expressive arrangements can be performed individually, or as a complete cycle that showcases the rich heritage of the spiritual. The work brings new life to such well-loved titles as Steal away, I got a robe, and When the saints go marching in.