Mozart Mass in C Minor

Thierry Fischer conductor
Nicholas Daniel oboe
Sophie Bevan soprano
Lisa Milne soprano
Timothy Robinson tenor
Henk Neven baritone

Tarik O’Regan Chaâbi (European premiere)
Mozart Oboe Concerto in C major, K314
Mass in C minor K 427

Britten Sinfonia is a leading exponent of the music of the young British composer Tarik O’Regan, who travels deep into the highly textured, intensely rhythmic sound world of Algerian popular music with his new piece Chaabi. Named after a specific type of Algerian music, Chaabi is ‘a meditation on the music of a bygone era’ with its roots in the multi-cultural Casbah of Algiers in the first half of the 20th century.

O’Regan’s work blends an eclectic mix of influences with verve and virtuosity: Renaissance vocal works, North African music, classic British rock, jazz and minimalism converge to make his a unique voice among contemporary composers.

Britten Sinfonia displays its hallmark versatility with the sharply contrasting great Mass in C minor by Mozart. Although unfinished, this majestic work is the grandest of Mozart’s settings of the Mass, with a latent theatricality that makes it a riveting experience in the Concert Hall and a superb vehicle for the masterful Brighton Festival Chorus.

Susan Gritton and Robert Murray have unfortunately had to withdraw from this concert owing to illness; Brighton Festival is most grateful to Sophie Bevan and Timothy Robinson for stepping in at very short notice.

View the event programme