Richard Pantcheff: African-Caribbean Elegy, Op. 70 London Choral Sinfonia & Michael Waldro

• Richard Pantcheff (b. 1959):
• 1 Pantcheff: African-Caribbean Elegy, Op. 70: No. 1, There Runs a Dream 04:41
• 2 Pantcheff: African-Caribbean Elegy, Op. 70: No. 2, To Those 03:04
• 3 Pantcheff: African-Caribbean Elegy, Op. 70: No. 3, Ancestor on the Auction Block 05:36
• Total Runtime 13:21

Info for Richard Pantcheff: African-Caribbean Elegy, Op. 70

The African-Caribbean Elegy (Opus 70) by Richard Pantcheff is a cycle of three part-songs for mixed choir written in 2009. The words are all by famous West Indian poets, reflecting on the nature of cultural and historical links between West Indian and African peoples. The work was premiered in Johannesburg in 2010.

The time that the composer was living in Barbados coincided with a significant increase in popular interest in exploring the ethnic and cultural connections between West Indian peoples, their traditions and history, and those of Africa (West Africa in particular).

By 2009, the composer had moved to South Africa, and was able to consider the African – West Indian cultural connections from the other end of that continuum. It proved to be a fascinating subject, and one which caught the interest of Michael Dingaan, a key figure in the South African musical world. Michael commissioned the composer to write a new work for his Chamber Choir of South Africa, an ensemble of young black professional singers in Johannesburg.

London Choral Sinfonia
Michael Waldron, conductor

The London Choral Sinfonia
is a dynamic professional chamber choir and orchestra specialising in bringing new life to choral works in a wide range of classical styles.

Each season we put on at least four concerts in London, with a wide range in repertoire: often we collaborate with emerging composers, and commission new works, but we also seek to uncover lesser-known pieces in the canon of classical music.

Recent concerts have included Remembrance: Mozart Requiem and Parry Songs of Farewell; Baroque Masterpieces: Bach Motets and Handel Dixit Dominus; and Brahms – Sacred and Profane: Liebeslieder Waltzes and Ein Deutsches Requiem.

Michael Waldron
is establishing himself as one of the leading choral conductors of his generation. His work has been praised in the national press and appears frequently in concerts in the UK and internationally.

As a conductor Michael has most recently worked alongside Stephen Layton and the City of London Sinfonia, Jeffrey Tate and the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra, London Lyric Opera, Opera della Luna, and many other leading groups.

Collaborations with the Iford Opera Festival and London Festival of Contemporary Choral Music have built on his experience in the worlds of vocal and instrumental music gained during his time as Organ Scholar at Trinity College, Cambridge.

Booklet for Richard Pantcheff: African-Caribbean Elegy, Op. 70