The Festival Concert this year is the Opus Magnum of Venetian composer Claudio Monteverdi.
Written as an audition piece to the Pope, Monteverdi poured every ounce of his talents and skill into this extraordinary work.
Claudio Monteverdi’s Vespro della Beata Vergine (Vespers for the Blessed Virgin) of 1610 is a monumental early Baroque masterpiece, blending traditional polyphony with innovative operatic styles. It features 13 movements for soloists, choir, and orchestra, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, and stands as a pivotal, dramatic, and deeply emotional work of sacred music.
This will be performed by the massed choirs and period instruments of the festival, and directed by Sinfonia Smith Square director Simon Over.
The Southwell Consort, Guerrero Baroque Collective, with soloists from the Davey Consort
Sophie Bevan
Daisy Bevan
Ana Beard Fernandez
Francis Bevan
Dominic Bevan
Felix Leach
Ben Bevan
Daniel Tate
Simon Over studied at the Amsterdam Conservatoire, the Royal Academy of Music, and Oxford University. From 1992 to 2002, Simon was a member of the music staff of Westminster Abbey, and Director of Music at both St Margaret’s Church and the Chapel of St Mary Undercroft in the Palace of Westminster. Since 2015, he has been Music Director at St Clement Danes, the central church of the Royal Air Force. He is the Founder-Conductor of the UK Parliament Choir, Principal Guest Conductor of the Dunedin Symphony Orchestra, New Zealand, formerly Music Director of Bury Court Opera, and Conductor of The Malcolm Sargent Festival Choir.
Simon founded Sinfonia Smith Square in 2002 and is now its Artistic Director. He is the Founder-Conductor of the UK Parliament Choir; in April 2023, Simon conducted the Parliament Choir and Sinfonia Smith Square (formerly Southbank Sinfonia) in their performance of The Dream of Gerontius (Elgar) in the Papal Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls, marking the canonisation of Saint John Henry Newman. Simon has also worked with many internationally acclaimed artists as a conductor, pianist, and accompanist.
