Feel the Spirit
Gospel, Folk and Swing
including
“Feel the Spirit” by John Rutter
featuring
The Pennine Singers, Richard Brocklehurst
Oldham Music Centre Adult Windband
Saturday, 30th September, 2017, 7.30 pm
Christ Church Friezland, OL3 7LQ
The heritage of the African-American spiritual has fired the imagination of composers, performers, and audiences for more than a hundred years. Each generation has produced interpretations of many kinds, yet, curiously, rather few composers have combined the resources of soloist, choir, and orchestra. John Rutter was inspired by the vocal artistry of Melanie Marshall to build a set of spirituals crafted to her personal style, partnered by choir, with the orchestra to supply an extra dimension of colour and emotional depth.
Feel the Spirit is a cycle of seven familiar spirituals expertly arranged by John Rutter for mezzo-soprano solo, mixed choir, and accompaniment. The vivid and expressive arrangements can be performed individually, or as a complete cycle that showcases the rich heritage of the spiritual. The work brings new life to such well-loved titles as Steal away, I got a robe, and When the saints go marching in.
Feel the Spirit received its concert première in Carnegie Hall in June 2001.