28th March 2009
Silver Jubilee Concert, Marking the 25th Anniversary of Alistair Jones's Conductorship of The Chiswick Choir

7:30pm, St Peter's Church, Acton Green, Southfield Road, Chiswick, London, W4

• A Sea Symphony Ralph – Vaughan Williams
• O Clap your Hands – Motet
• The Old Hundredth Psalm Tune
• The Lark Ascending
• Romance for Violin and Orchestra
  Alicja Smietana – Violin

Soloists:

• Julie Kennard – Soprano
• Stephen Foulkes – Baritone

Vaughan Williams's first symphony is a setting of texts taken from the poetry of Walt Whitman, an American poet whose verse was to inspire a number of English composers. A Sea Symphony had now been in the choral repertoire for almost 100 years. It was completed in 1909 and first performed under the direction of the composer at the 1910 Leeds Festival. This work, together with the Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis premiered only 5 weeks before in Gloucester, firmly established VW as one of the leading British composers of his generation.