We spoke to Tenebrae ahead of their upcoming concert, I Saw Eternity. Here's what they had to say...

“I saw Eternity the other night,

Like a great ring of pure and endless light,
All calm, as it was bright;
And round beneath it, Time in hours, days, years,
Driv'n by the spheres
Like a vast shadow mov'd; in which the world
And all her train were hurl'd.”

In 2021 we performed the world premiere for a new work by Sir James MacMillan – ‘I saw Eternity the other night’. The words are from a poem by Henry Vaughan, and they describe the ways men and women risk their place in eternity by valuing earthly pleasures over God. MacMillan grew up in a devoutly Catholic family in East Ayrshire and his music is suffused with spirituality as well as his Scottish heritage and a strong social conscience. His works have been part of the canon of British choral music for many years, with pieces such as the Miserere widely performed.

We are delighted to be back at St John’s Smith Square on 6 April to showcase our mastery of MacMillan’s music, not least in the Tenebrae Responsories, which are fiendishly difficult for us. However, the music has a meditative quality, in part thanks to the Far Eastern and Eastern European influences on MacMillan’s style, and stirs many different emotions in the listener.

Equally born of religious influence are the choral works by Johann Sebastian Bach, whose Lutheran upbringing and strong faith was the driving force behind his many cantatas, motets and other works for choir (originally performed for church services). Three of his most iconic motets (Singet dem Herrn, Komm, Jesu Komm and Jesu Meine Freude) are interleaved between the MacMillan in this concert. Renowned for their technical difficulty, Bach’s motets are pillars of the choral repertoire, requiring minute attention to detail as well as a full emotional range.

Known for our passion and precision, Tenebrae is one of the world’s leading choirs and this programme is perfect repertoire for Holy Week.

“Unaccompanied choral singing comes no better than this: in blend, accuracy, precision, commitment.” – The Guardian

To book tickets for I Saw Eternity, visit the event page here.