00:00Good afternoon. My name is Phil Hewitt, Group Arts Editor at Sussex Newspapers and also
00:07Chairman of the Festival of Chichester. And in both capacities, of course, it's fantastic
00:11to speak to Jonathan Wilcox. You are one of the key elements in our Festival of Chichester
00:16year after year, and that's absolutely right that you should be, aren't you?
00:21Well, the Chichester Singers are really proud and delighted to be a part of the festival. We've been
00:26a major part of the festival throughout its life, and I was thrilled to hear it's your 13th season,
00:31and it's grown like topsy. There's so many, you know, 140 different events, which is just a
00:37marvellous achievement for Chichester, and a reflection of what a wonderfully artistic place
00:41it is. And my choir are just proud to be a part of it with a central concert on June the 28th.
00:48What does it give the choir to be part of a wider festival, rather than a concert in isolation?
00:52Well, a choir such as the Chichester Singers, which brings together, you know,
00:57keen amateur singers from across the whole Chichester, West Sussex sort of area.
01:02I mean, the heart of that is in the community, and the community is what the festival is. And
01:08so it's an absolute natural fit for us that our choir should be able to give one of the major
01:14concerts in Chichester Cathedral. And we're so lucky, of course, to have for the large events,
01:19the cathedral, which is such a lovely building and a fine acoustic. And so we're bringing a largely
01:25English programme to the cathedral on June the 28th. The title actually is Sunrise Mass,
01:32which is the major work, which is actually by a Norwegian composer called Ola Jullo, called Sunrise
01:38Mass. He was born in Norway, but his education was partly in Britain. He was a student at the Royal
01:44College of Music, and then the Juilliard School of Music in New York, where he now lives. But
01:50for me, he's one of the most interesting of the young contemporary composers who are writing really
01:56good choral music for choirs, larger choirs. And we're really pleased.
02:00How did you come across his work?
02:01Well, I get sent all sorts of copies of music by composers and by their publishers. And
02:07I look at them. And sometimes it takes me 10 seconds to look at them. And sometimes I spend a
02:11long time, depending on what the first impression is, always thinking, how would this go in terms of
02:19a piece of music that the choir would really enjoy to learn and rehearse, and also a piece of music that
02:25they would give a really persuasive performance of. And finally, of course, a piece of music that an
02:30audience would really find, you know, gripping and interesting and stimulating. And I think that
02:36this work really hits every button. It's scored for a large mixed chorus, sopranos, altos, tenors and
02:42basses, and then strings. And so you haven't got, you know, brass, you haven't got percussion. And so
02:49the dominant sound is that of choral music with the lovely sustained sound of strings accompanying them.
02:55It sounds fantastic. And I imagine we say this every summer, every time we speak,
02:59but a huge part of the pleasure of the job that you do must be deciding what goes with what and
03:04how you put together the programme. That must be challenging, but enjoyable.
03:09Yes. Well, obviously, the core repertoire for a choir, such as the Chichester singers of the major
03:15choral works, Verdi Requiem, Mendelton, Elijah. But in planning seasons, I always also try and introduce
03:22works which are lesser known, not because they're lesser quality, but just because history hasn't yet sort of
03:28had the opportunity to distill them. And two other English composers of the 20th century,
03:34who are truly worthwhile composers, Gerald Finzi and George Dyson. And we're doing one of each of
03:40those works, Finzi's Magnificat and Dyson Jerusalem. And those are two composers who at the moment are
03:48slightly in the shadow of the greats like Vaughan Williams and Britton and Walton. But I think in,
03:54you know, move forward 100 years or so, they'll be viewed as really significant composers. And so
04:00I'm very keen to bring that sort of work to life and to give the choir a chance to sing things that
04:07they may not know, and also for an audience to enjoy a nice mixed programme. And one selfish point,
04:14I mean, I'm nearly, you know, I've been with the choir a long time now, this is my 47th season,
04:18and I always try and include in every Chichester Singers season, at least one work which I've never
04:23conducted before.
04:25That's not selfish, that's your prerogative.
04:28Well, it keeps me fresh. And the Sunrise Mass and also the Finzi Magnificat are two works which
04:34I've known about, but I've never had the opportunity to conduct and so really pleased to do that.
04:38Fantastic. Well, it sounds a beautiful programme. Sunrise Mass is the title of the concert. Chichester
04:44Cathedral, Saturday, June the 28th. Jonathan, as always, lovely to speak to you. And it is
04:49truly fantastic that you are, as you should be, right at the heart of the Festival of Chichester.
04:54Well, thank you, Phil. Best of luck in your role as chairman of the festival. You know,
04:58it's a terrific, you know, 140 different events, all within a few weeks. And it's a great tribute
05:06to all the artistic community in the Chichester area. All strength to your elbow.
05:10That's really sweet of you to say so. Thank you very much indeed. Good to talk to you.
05:13Thanks, Phil.
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