Origin concerts, City of London Sinfonia
Six concerts celebrating the best of music past and present, given in a relaxed atmosphere amid the fine architecture of Southwark Cathedral by an orchestra celebrating 50 years
Southwark Cathedral is the home of City of London Sinfonia's six immersive concerts. Photo: Apple and Biscuit Recordings
One of London's most exciting orchestras simply never rests. For 50 years since its foundation, City of London Sinfonia has been refreshing live music-making with innovative programming, and it celebrates its big birthday with six concerts that bring together favourites from the classical music repertoire and new pieces with immediate appeal.
Origin is the title of the concert series at Southwark Cathedral, as the four programmes delve into the very roots of music, explore its relationship with the world at large, and reflect on half a century of communicating with audiences.
In keeping with its lively image, City of London Sinfonia invites audiences to join them in three ways. You can take a seat in the nave, promenade at will around the cathedral's inviting spaces, or flop on to one of the cushions scattered around this fine building on the south bank of the Thames.
Audiences at City of London Sinfonia concerts can relax to get the most from the music
The first concert (Wed 27 Oct, 7PM-8:30PM) is called Origin: An Authentic Voice. In it, the music of well-loved British composers including Edward Elgar, Ralph Vaughan Williams and George Butterworth is complemented by newer works, including modern Scottish composer James MacMillan's atmospheric From Galloway and Sally Beamish's Gala Water. The theme of the concert is the influence of folk music on classical music.
The baritone soloist in Butterworth's haunting Songs from A Shropshire Lad, Roderick Williams, has also arranged the folksong selection of Vaughan Williams. Violinist Alexandra Wood directs the orchestra, and the clarinettist in contemporary composer Huw Watkins's world premiere Five Duos for Clarinet and Violin is Katherine Spencer.
Roderick Williams is both composer and soloist at the CLS concert on 27 Oct. Photo: Richard Lewisohn
The second Origin concert (Thurs 4 Nov, 7:30PM to 8PM) is entitled Shifting Sounds. It brings together three composers who have broken the mould. Beethoven feels like the bedrock of classical music today, but in his time he defied convention and expectations over and over again. It's this radicalism that CLS revisits with his Symphony No 1.
Jean-Féry Rebel has a special place in musical history: his Les élémens suite opens with a collision of notes called a tone cluster, which must have baffled audiences in 1737! But he laid the ground for the generations of composers who followed him. His vivid depiction for dancing of the world's creation contrasts with the 10 complex miniatures of emerging South Korean composer Donghoon Shin. My Shadow receives its UK premiere and is inspired by a poem of Robert Louis Stevenson.
City of London Sinfonia, which celebrates its 50 years at Southwark Cathedral
Scenes from the Wild (25-27 Nov) is a dramatic song cycle based on the 2020 book by Dara McAnulty, Diary of a Young Naturalist, with music by Cheryl Frances-Hoad and text by the late librettist and musician Amanda Holden who sadly passed away last month.
Joining CLS for these world premiere performances is tenor William Morgan; the conductor is contemporary music specialist Geoffrey Paterson. The audience, always free to move at CLS, is especially invited to listen from different points to sounds inspired by the natural world that inspires McAnulty.
There are three performances of Scenes from the Wild: at 7PM on Thurs 25 and Sat 27 Nov, and at 2:30PM on Sat 27 Nov.
City of London Sinfonia's busy violin section
City of London Sinfonia's 50th birthday series finishes with This is CLS – a look at the orchestra's legacy and future, and includes works commissioned by the musicians over the decades, as well as celebratory works such as Monteverdi's fanfare, the Toccata from Orfeo.
Also on the programme (Thurs 3 Mar 7PM-8:30PM) is John Tavener's spiritual The Hidden Face, with counter-tenor Hugh Cutting and oboist Dan Bates, and two works by the British-Bulgarian composer Dobrinka Tabakova, one being given its premiere.
Happy 50th birthday, City of London Sinfonia. You make us comfortable at your concerts. But you also keep us on our toes...
City of London Sinfonia concerts cost from £1 for under-16s. Roaming tickets are £5. Seating from £20-£25. Click here for full details of the series and of CLS's other work in music and the community at large
Origin is the title of the concert series at Southwark Cathedral, as the four programmes delve into the very roots of music, explore its relationship with the world at large, and reflect on half a century of communicating with audiences.
In keeping with its lively image, City of London Sinfonia invites audiences to join them in three ways. You can take a seat in the nave, promenade at will around the cathedral's inviting spaces, or flop on to one of the cushions scattered around this fine building on the south bank of the Thames.
Audiences at City of London Sinfonia concerts can relax to get the most from the music
The first concert (Wed 27 Oct, 7PM-8:30PM) is called Origin: An Authentic Voice. In it, the music of well-loved British composers including Edward Elgar, Ralph Vaughan Williams and George Butterworth is complemented by newer works, including modern Scottish composer James MacMillan's atmospheric From Galloway and Sally Beamish's Gala Water. The theme of the concert is the influence of folk music on classical music.
The baritone soloist in Butterworth's haunting Songs from A Shropshire Lad, Roderick Williams, has also arranged the folksong selection of Vaughan Williams. Violinist Alexandra Wood directs the orchestra, and the clarinettist in contemporary composer Huw Watkins's world premiere Five Duos for Clarinet and Violin is Katherine Spencer.
Roderick Williams is both composer and soloist at the CLS concert on 27 Oct. Photo: Richard Lewisohn
The second Origin concert (Thurs 4 Nov, 7:30PM to 8PM) is entitled Shifting Sounds. It brings together three composers who have broken the mould. Beethoven feels like the bedrock of classical music today, but in his time he defied convention and expectations over and over again. It's this radicalism that CLS revisits with his Symphony No 1.
Jean-Féry Rebel has a special place in musical history: his Les élémens suite opens with a collision of notes called a tone cluster, which must have baffled audiences in 1737! But he laid the ground for the generations of composers who followed him. His vivid depiction for dancing of the world's creation contrasts with the 10 complex miniatures of emerging South Korean composer Donghoon Shin. My Shadow receives its UK premiere and is inspired by a poem of Robert Louis Stevenson.
City of London Sinfonia, which celebrates its 50 years at Southwark Cathedral
Scenes from the Wild (25-27 Nov) is a dramatic song cycle based on the 2020 book by Dara McAnulty, Diary of a Young Naturalist, with music by Cheryl Frances-Hoad and text by the late librettist and musician Amanda Holden who sadly passed away last month.
Joining CLS for these world premiere performances is tenor William Morgan; the conductor is contemporary music specialist Geoffrey Paterson. The audience, always free to move at CLS, is especially invited to listen from different points to sounds inspired by the natural world that inspires McAnulty.
There are three performances of Scenes from the Wild: at 7PM on Thurs 25 and Sat 27 Nov, and at 2:30PM on Sat 27 Nov.
City of London Sinfonia's busy violin section
City of London Sinfonia's 50th birthday series finishes with This is CLS – a look at the orchestra's legacy and future, and includes works commissioned by the musicians over the decades, as well as celebratory works such as Monteverdi's fanfare, the Toccata from Orfeo.
Also on the programme (Thurs 3 Mar 7PM-8:30PM) is John Tavener's spiritual The Hidden Face, with counter-tenor Hugh Cutting and oboist Dan Bates, and two works by the British-Bulgarian composer Dobrinka Tabakova, one being given its premiere.
Happy 50th birthday, City of London Sinfonia. You make us comfortable at your concerts. But you also keep us on our toes...
City of London Sinfonia concerts cost from £1 for under-16s. Roaming tickets are £5. Seating from £20-£25. Click here for full details of the series and of CLS's other work in music and the community at large
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| What | Origin concerts, City of London Sinfonia |
| Where | Southwark Cathedral, London Bridge, Southwark, London, SE1 JDA | MAP |
| Nearest tube | London Bridge (underground) |
| When |
27 Oct 21 – 03 Mar 22, Four immersive programmes at 7PM on 27 Oct, 4 Nov, 25 Nov, 27 Nov (also 2:30PM) and 3 Mar |
| Price | ££1-£25 |
| Website | Click here for more information and booking |