A celebration of Orlando Gibbons: 400th anniversary concert
Date
Time
Location
Price
Wednesday, 24th September 20251.00pm - 2.00pmSt Margaret's Church
£10
400 years after his death, The St Margaret's Consort celebrates one of the most melodious and inventive of Tudor composers, Orlando Gibbons.
St Margaret's Consort, directed by Greg Morris, Music Director of St Margaret's Westminster Abbey, sings a celebration of music by Orlando Gibbons
400 years after his death in 1625, this concert celebrates his life and work in a building which held particular family significance for the composer.
Orlando Gibbons, organist of Westminster Abbey and the Chapel Royal, was also a parishioner of St Margaret’s and his seven children were all baptised in the church. Illustrating his standing as one of the most melodious and inventive of Tudor composers, the programme includes some of his finest church anthems and organ music, as well as a madrigal with words by Sir Walter Raleigh, who lies buried beneath the altar of St Margaret’s, and perhaps his most famous work, The Silver Swan.
St Margaret’s Consort
The St Margaret’s Consort is the professional vocal ensemble which provides choral music for the many high-profile services which take place in St Margaret’s Church, Westminster Abbey; in particular, the Consort provides the music for celebrations of the life and works of prominent Parliamentarians, due to the close links St Margaret’s has enjoyed with both Houses of Parliament over the centuries. The lower voices of the Consort also sing regularly with the St Margaret’s Choristers. There is evidence of choral music in St Margaret’s dating back to the church’s consecration in 1523, when prominent Tudor composers Nicholas Ludford and Robert
Whyte were closely associated with the church. The current Consort has its roots in the Choir of St Margaret’s Church which in the past half century has been conducted by, among others, Richard Hickox, Simon Over and Aidan Oliver.
Greg Morris Conductor
St Margaret's Consort is conducted by Greg Morris, Director of Music at St Margaret’s Church, Westminster Abbey. Greg oversees and directs the music both in St Margaret’s itself and in the Chapel of St Mary Undercroft in the Houses of Parliament. As part of this role, Greg founded and directs the St Margaret’s Choristers, the Abbey’s first girl choristers to take part in its centuries-long tradition of choral worship. Besides his work at Westminster Abbey, Greg is Musical Director of Collegium Musicum of London and Bar Choral Society. With both choirs, Greg performs music ranging from mediaeval to contemporary works, and in particular collaborates with leading soloists and period instrumentalists in the performance of major works from the Baroque and Classical eras. Greg is also an established organist, in which guise he has performed on four continents, broadcast live on BBC Radio 3, and played at the BBC Proms.
