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Spring Concert 2008

Programme notes
Handel was a truly cosmopolitan musician. Born in northern Germany in 1685 and educated in Italy from 1706, he brought his unique blend of musical influences to England in 1711 and soon settled in London. Italian opera was the height of fashion with English society at that time and Handel, never one to miss a commercial opportunity, rapidly made his fortune.
Nevertheless by the mid-1730s Italian opera had had its day and a new form of entertainment was required. In May 1738, with dwindling audiences and a theatre to fill, Handel turned to the Old Testament story of Saul for a proposed oratorio.
Without Italian solo singers and the benefit of a lavish staging, Handel decided to take the public by storm with his music. He used a comparatively large orchestra including three trombones, a carillon (a specially built set of bells played from a keyboard), a brand new organ said to have cost £500, and double sized kettledrums borrowed from the artillery at the Tower of London.
The first performance at the Kings Theatre in the Haymarket was attended by the royal family, and was a sensation, with five further performances required to satisfy public demand.
Although Saul was not Handel's first oratorio, its success marked the end of the composer's career as an opera composer and heralded a series of some 14 great oratorios, maintaining Handel's reputation as the foremost composer of his age.

Programme (click on the links to hear the choruses)
The story of Saul traces the king's descent into madness fuelled by envy, and the tragedy of an old man resisting the developing strength of a younger generation.

PART I

Kathryn Jenkin - Soprano

Kathryn studied singing on both the opera and early music courses at the Royal Academy of Music, and now enjoys a variety of concert, operatic, recital and recording work.

Her work as a concert soloist includes performances at St James Piccadilly (Bach's B Minor Mass and St Matthew Passion), St Martin in the Fields (Handel's Dixit Dominus), St John Smith Square (Haydn's Creation), Hexham Abbey (Brahms' German Requiem and The Messiah), and in St Helier, Jersey (Beethoven and Haydn). She has also performed Bach's St John Passion with the Hanover Band in Brighton.
Recent performances include Mozart's Exsultate Jubilate in Northumberland, Mozart's C Minor Mass in London, Ligeti's Requiem in Lucerne, and a concert with The Morriston Orpheus Male-Voice Choir in Berkhamsted.
Kathryn's operatic career so far has included the roles of Tatyana (Eugene Onegin), Despina (Cosi Fan Tutti), Dido and Belinda (Dido and Aeneas), Drusilla (The Coronation of Poppea) and Lucy (Menotti's The Telephone). She has recently appeared as Susanna in The Marriage of Figaro in St Albans. She sings and records with the Extra Chows at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, and performs with London Voices, The Maida Vale Singers, The English Concert and London Sinfonietta Voices. She has also sung with Lyon Opera Chorus and at the Chatelet Theatre in Paris.
Performances in 2008 include a recital for The Octagon Music Society at The Purcell School in Bushey, Mahler's 4th Symphony in Hatfield, and Bizet's 'Carmen' at The Royal Opera House.

Kathryn lives in Berkhamsted with her husband - tenor Phillip Conway-Brown - and their two young children.

Nicholas Pepin - Countertenor

Nick Pepin has held Lay Clerk positions as countertenor in many British cathedrals including Durham, Winchester and Portsmouth. In his positions at Winchester and Portsmouth he sang on numerous CD recordings, including a disk of Gibbons verse anthems with Hyperion, and has toured to the U.S. and throughout Europe.

Nick sings regularly as a soloist in oratorio, especially Bach and Handel. Recent engagements have included Haydn Nelson Mass with the Northern Sinfonia and with the Orchestra of the 17th Century (VVashington D.C.), St Matthew Passion with Lichfield Choral Society and with Sine Nomine Ensemble (Chicago), and numerous performances of Messiah, including with the Hanover Band, and with the London Mozart players last March. He has performed with Romsey and Swindon Choral Societies (St John Passion), Fareham Philharmonic Choir (Bach Magnificat), and the role of Cyrus in Handel's Baithazzar (at both Winchester and Petersfield festivals). More modern repertoire includes the countertenor solo in Bernstein Chichester Psalms which he has sung frequently, including with the London Festival Orchestra, Portsmouth Baroque Choir, and with the Bach Choir under David Hill at the Winchester festival. Forthcoming engagements include the St Matthew Passion in Winchester cathedral, and Monteverdi Vespers next month in Portsmouth. As a choral singer, Nick is a member of the early music group Polyhymnia and the upper voice ensemble The Countertop Quartet which is based in the U.S.A.
Nick has given many song recitals accompanied by his mother, June, a professional pianist, throughout Europe and the USA. His song repertoire specialises in English song, ranging from the medieval period up until the 20th century (e.g. Butterworth and Quilter).

In 1998 he sang in the Denver cathedral choir for a 6 month period whilst on a Fulbright scholarship and during 2003/2004 he lived in Washington D.C for a year working for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (he is also an atmospheric scientist). Whilst in D.C. he sang at the funeral of President Reagan as a member of the National Cathedral Choir.
In 2004 he released a solo C.D. of British song, "Gentle Springs" under his own label, Charlemagne, which was followed at Christmas 2005 by "Let us Light a Candle"

Paul Young - Tenor

Paul began singing in the choir of Hythe parish church in Kent, where he became Head Chorister. This experience inspired him to pursue music at Exeter University, where he was a choral scholar at the cathedral. He ran several music groups including the Exeter Early Music Group, through which he developed his interest in Medieval music. On leaving Exeter he took up employment as a member of the Music staff of the Benedictine school Ampleforth College in North Yorkshire. He also sang frequently in the choir of York Minster. As with the Exeter choir this involved tours and recordings. In 1993 he moved back to Kent to become Director of Music at the Junior King's School, Canterbury. He also became a Lay Clerk at the cathedral. Here he took part in BBC recordings, tours to the USA and around Europe. With his family he spent a year living in Andalucia in Spain, enjoying the relaxed way of life, climate and culture, before returning to England this year to take a new post of Director of Music at Dover College in Kent. Throughout his career he has sung professionally as a soloist, mainly in oratorio roles, specialising in repertoire of the Baroque. However, his performances have ranged from music from the early church to 20th century works such as Britten's "St Nicholas" and Orff's "Carmina Burana". Recent performances have included Bach's "St Matthew Passion", Haydn's "Creation" and Monteverdi's Vespers.

Duncan Perkins - Bass

Duncan Perkins could lay claim to being the youngest ever bass soloist in the Royal Festival Hall as he made his solo bass debut there at the age of just 14. He went on to become a Choral Scholar at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, and since then has been based in Canterbury.
He has toured throughout the world and recorded with a number of London based choirs, notably the Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields and New Company. As a soloist he has performed with many choral societies in London, Paris and the South East. He specialises in the low bass repertoire. Duncan has been a Lay Clerk at Canterbury Cathedral for the past 34 years, whilst also teaching French at Kent College.
His most memorable performance of the Creation as a bass soloist was with Dame Felicity Loft, Philip Langridge and the Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields, but it was sadly only for a final rehearsal without audience.