Tag Archives: English Chamber Orchestra

News – Winter Music in City Churches

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published by Ben Hogwood from the original press release

Almost at the mid-way point between the past and future Summer Music in City Churches festivals, we bring news of two winter warming concerts to enjoy in the lead-up to Christmas.

Pavel Sporcl, English Chamber Orchestra, Holy Sepulchre EC1A 2DQ Sunday 30 November, 7pm

The 29th Made in Prague Festival concludes in grand style with a gala celebrating Czech violin virtuoso Pavel Šporcl, whose expressive artistry and dazzling technique have enthralled audiences worldwide.

The programme features Mendelssohn’s Octet in E-flat major, bursting with youthful brilliance, alongside Dvořák’s lyrical Romance and spirited Mazurek. Šporcl’s virtuosity will shine in a solo by Paganini, ensuring a thrilling and unforgettable finale to this year’s festival.

City of London Choir: Carols in the City – St Giles Cripplegate EC2Y 8DA Friday 19 December, 6.30pm

Just ahead of a sell-out carol concert in the Barbican with the King’s College Cambridge choir, the City of London Choir and conductor Daniel Hyde return to St Giles Cripplegate with a wonderful selection of carols and Christmas music, in the company of organist Andrew Lumsden.

Beloved carols by contemporary composers including John Rutter, Morten Lauridsen and Cecilia McDowall sit alongside traditional favourites – with plenty of audience participation. The perfect start to your family festivities.

For links to the concerts, click here for the English Chamber Orchestra and here for the Carols in the City.

Published post no.2,721 – Monday 17 November 2025

In honour of Raymond Leppard

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This week we learned of the sad passing of Raymond Leppard, a conductor whose legacy should truly be celebrated. Anyone getting to know the music of Bach or other Baroque greats in the 1980s and 1990s would surely have encountered his wonderful recordings with the English Chamber Orchestra, either in their first pressings or through judicious reissuing on the Philips label.

Leppard offered a modern instrument alternative to the burgeoning movement of period instrument performance. Although the two sides had their differences, he ultimately showed there was room for both approaches, the music always foremost in his mind.

Leppard’s recordings always have poise, grace and energy, and hopefully the attached playlist will bring them to a wider audience. He was a fine choral and vocal conductor, resurrecting many operas from the Baroque and furthering the cause of composers such as Rameau and Monteverdi. It also includes part of a recent disc he did for Decca with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, where he was conductor from 1987 until 2001.

The playlist includes John Alden Carpenter’s Sea Drift from that disc, the Holberg Suite by Grieg and two works by J.S. Bach. Chiome d’oro, a short excerpt from Leppard’s recording of five books of Monteverdi madrigals, is included on account of its appearance as one of the conductor’s Desert Island Discs in March 1972.

Picture of Raymond Leppard (c) Thomas J. Russo