An exciting programme from the HAMPSTEAD COLLECTIVE starting on 31st August
The Hampstead Collective has been formed out of lockdown by the choir of Hampstead Parish Church and its organist and director of music, Peter Foggitt. The church and choir have exemplified a new language of connection over the last few months, running virtual services with a weekly hymn and anthem, as well as daily prayers and communal activities. These offerings have provided a lifeline for many in, at best, a landscape without punctuation, and, at worst, one marked irrevocably by suffering and loss. With the generous support of the Hampstead Church Music Trust, The Hampstead Collective is delighted to be at the forefront of a joyous and safe return to in-person, embodied music for spiritual reflections.
The Collective has put together an inaugural autumn season of sacred music, broadcast live online, and to socially distanced audiences, from the historic surroundings of the Parish Church. For seventeen weeks beginning 31st August, the Collective will come together every Monday at 7pm to explore the transformative power of church music-making through a diverse programme of Bach Cantatas, Handel large-scale works, Sacred Meditation, and Song. All repertoire has been chosen to complement and illuminate the cadence of the Church Calendar, but also to illustrate the individual as part of a whole, a chance for everybody’s distinct musical voice to be heard.
The online events are free of charge, and can be accessed on all social media platforms, as well as the Collective’s website: https://www.thehampsteadcollective.com. Following the announcement of the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport, the Collective is also delighted to welcome socially distanced audiences to their events. Tickets are limited, and can be accessed via Eventbrite, Facebook, and the Collective’s website.
Our opening concert features a double bill of Bach Cantatas, one of the core strands of programming for our series. Bach’s music is sacred and societal, but also unmistakably human – this is not the sound of certainty or of one who never questions or wavers, but the music of someone who is searching, looking for meaning beyond what is immediately visible in earthly surroundings, and it is this that makes his music feel so relevant, and so modern.
Soprano Christine Buras writes:
‘When Jess (Dandy) first suggested Cantata 199, Mein Herze schwimmt im Blut, to open our “Start the Week” concert series, I leapt at the chance to perform it. Anyone familiar with Bach’s music, and particularly his sacred vocal works, knows he is capable of delving into and illustrating the deepest and most complex of human emotions in his music. This short cantata, scored for a modest ensemble of strings, oboe, and voice, shows the full scope of this ability, all told through an intimate first-person narrative. We begin in a state of acute suffering and self-loathing, overwhelmed by our own monstrous, sinful nature. But over the course of the cantata, a miraculous transformation takes place. With profound remorse and repentance, and absolute trust in God’s forgiveness, our shame is transformed to ebullient joy. I find this work to be one of the most affecting in Bach’s entire oeuvre; in fact, it was one of the pieces of music which, when I first heard it as a teenager, made me feel that I had a vocation as a musician. I can’t think of a work I’d rather perform for my first live performance after lockdown. I hope you are able to join us on Monday evening to share in the experience of bringing this astounding music to life.’
Link to first Eventbrite event: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/mein-herze-schwimmt-im-blut-tickets-117662312143?utm-medium=discovery&utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&aff=escb&utm-source=cp&utm-term=listing