Recorded LIVE from the London Festival of Contemporary Church Music on 20th May 2021, this performance of 'Four Psalms' by Sebastian Forbes was part of a special concert marking the composer's 80th birthday.
Joanna Forbes L'Estrange (soprano)
Paul Plummer (organist)
'Four Psalms' was commissioned in 1968 by Barnet Music Society for soprano Prudence Lloyd and her husband, organist David Patrick.
i. Psalm 130: Out of the deep
ii. Psalm 64: Hear my voice O God
iii. Psalm 131: Lord, I am not high-minded
iv. Psalm 100: O be joyful in the Lord
Duration: 10 minutes
BIOGRAPHIES
Sebastian Forbes (b.1941) is a member of an active musical family, beginning with his father Watson Forbes (viola) and including many of his relations, offspring and grandchildren. He studied at the Royal Academy of Music and then at Cambridge University; there he gained a first-class degree in Music, sang bass in the chapel choir at King’s College, and was later awarded a doctorate for composition (MusD). In 1964-68 he was based in London, as composer, organist, choral conductor, and BBC producer. He was then a university lecturer, first at Bangor and soon at Surrey, where he became Professor in 1981. Emeritus Professor from 2006, he continues with composition, choral conducting, organ playing, and occasional CD production.
His early musical outlook was shaped by two experiences, his father’s activity in chamber music, particularly the Aeolian String Quartet’s involvement in new music, and his own training as a chorister under Martindale Sidwell at Hampstead Parish Church, with plenty of solo singing there and elsewhere.
His compositional style, which found its particular focus in the early 1960s, can be summarised by epithets that appear in volumes of The New Grove: ‘a composer of intellectual toughness’ (1981) and ‘subtle harmonic plotting’ (2000).
Joanna Forbes L’Estrange (b.1971) is a British soprano and jazz singer. Following an MA (Hons) degree in Music from Oxford University her career began with seven years as Soprano/Musical Director of the five-time Grammy® Award-winning a cappella group The Swingles. Its unique sound has inspired many composers, notably Luciano Berio who included “eight amplified solo singers” in his orchestral masterpiece Sinfonia, a piece which Joanna has performed over sixty times with orchestras throughout the world.
Contemporary music plays a significant role in Joanna’s solo career. Her repertoire includes multiple works by Steve Reich, including Desert Music and Music for 18 Musicians, Stockhausen's Stimmung and Grand Pianola Music by John Adams. At London’s iconic Abbey Road Studios Joanna records Hollywood film soundtracks (200+ to date) and is a soloist for the live-to-projection concerts of Howard Shore’s Lord of the Rings trilogy. Solo recordings include Will Todd’s Mass in Blue (Convivium label).
Joanna’s choral music is published by the RSCM. She is the founder/Artistic Director of AQUILA, an all-female vocal group based in Cambridge and, this summer, will be conducting The Self-Isolation Choir. She lives with her composer/jazz musician husband and their two musical sons.
PRODUCTION CREDITS
Sound recording - Ken Blair
Video - Al Forbes
With thanks to the Chris Batchelor, London Festival of Contemporary Church Music and St Pancras for their permission to make this recording.
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