St Clement Danes, Friday 7 November 2025
Join Vivamus for a selection of Remembrance-themed works and prayers for peace, with a particular focus on works from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries composed by British or Canadian composers. In the eightieth anniversary year of the end of World War II, our venue tonight is St Clement Danes Church, restored after serious fire damage towards the end of the Blitz, and re-consecrated in 1958 as the Central Church of the Royal Air Force.
Rufus and Vivamus are joined tonight by Martin Ford, the Organist and Director of Music of The Royal Military Chapel (The Guards’ Chapel) in Westminster, and a Professor of Organ at the Royal College of Music.
Programme
‘Introduction’ and ‘March’ from The Battle of Britain Suite – Sir William Walton (1902–1983)
Battle of Britain is a 1969 British war film documenting the battle between the German Luftwaffe and the RAF in British skies during summer 1940 and featuring a notable cast headed by Laurence Olivier as Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding. The first of the film’s two scores was written by Sir William Walton, with Sir Malcolm Arnold serving as conductor and assistant orchestrator. Although the opening music received some good notices, only one section of Walton’s composition made it into the final film score, which was largely written by Ron Goodwin (1925–2003).
Holy is the true light – Sir William Henry Harris (1883–1973)
Marked ‘a short anthem for Saints’ Days,’ Holy is the true light was composed around 1947 in memory of Evelyn Ley, the wife of Harris’ friend and colleague Henry Ley, Precentor of Eton College. The text may have been brought to Harris’ attention by Herbert Howells, who had set it as part of his Hymnus Paradisi. Harris’s setting is less intricate, although it has a similarly devout quality. It formed part of the Queen Mother’s funeral service in 2002, recalls the spaciousness of Harris’ larger and more famous anthems for double choir, and is harmonically similar.
Remembrance – Will Todd (1970–)
Remembrance was written in 2014, the anniversary of the start of World War I, and inspired by the subject of war. Marked ‘To be performed with great expression,’ the piece is available for various combinations of vocal and instrumental parts. Tonight’s performance features the SAA version.
Crown Imperial – Sir William Walton (1902–1983)
Crown Imperial is an orchestral march commissioned for the coronation of King George VI in May 1937. Walton had been suggested as a potential composer of a coronation anthem for Edward VIII but by the time the BBC commissioned Walton, Edward had abdicated and the imminent coronation was to be that of his brother. Walton went on to write the commission in less than a fortnight. It was subsequently arranged for organ by Herbert Murrill (1909–1952).
Requiem – Herbert Howells (1892–1983)
Herbert Howells’ Requiem was once thought to have been written in response to the tragic death of his son Michael in 1936. Evidence has since become known that it was written for Boris Ord and King’s College, Cambridge in 1933. Either way, the text is striking insofar as only two of the six movements feature the traditional Latin words of the Requiem as utilised, for example, by Mozart; the remaining texts are from the Book of Common Prayer, Psalms 23 and 121 (the latter of which Howells set to different music as a standalone psalm chant) and from the Book of Revelations. As so often in Howells’ music, moments of calm contrast with notable harmonic complexity and emotional intensity, especially in the Latin movements, perhaps at times broadly foreshadowing Will Todd’s notion of a ‘mass in blue.’
Lo, the Full, Final Sacrifice – Gerald Finzi (1901–1956)
Lo, the Full, Final Sacrifice – captioned ‘a festival anthem for chorus and organ (or orchestra)’ – was commissioned by the significant patron of the arts the Rev. Walter Hussey for the 53rd anniversary of the consecration of St Matthew’s Church, Northampton (1946). Its text memorialises the celebration of the Eucharist and was collated by Finzi from two poems by Richard Crashaw (c. 1613–1649) that were themselves poetic translations of Latin hymns by St Thomas Aquinas (c. 1225–1274). In its length and sectional quality the work perhaps calls to mind works by Finzi’s compositional influences Stanford and Bairstow. It also combines an earnest English quality with some fearful chords, such as that heard in the gap between: ‘Stretch all thy powers; call if you can / Harps of heaven to hands of man’ and ‘This sovereign subject sits above / The best ambition of thy love.’ The ‘Amen’ is often noted as a gem of the period and has been excerpted for performance in church services as a standalone item.
Spitfire Prelude – Sir William Walton (1902–1983)
‘Spitfire Prelude’ is based on part of Walton’s score for the 1942 film The First of the Few, one of several films released that year with music by Walton. The prelude (heard tonight) is the music accompanying the film’s opening credits, while the companion fugue is used to describe the making of the Spitfire aircraft. A number of arrangements for organ exist, including that heard tonight by freelance organist, choral director and sometime Vivamus accompanist Tom Winpenny (1983–).
After the War – Paul Gross (1959–) and David Keeley (1961–) arr. Mark Sirett (1952–)
Noted Canadian singer Sarah Slean sang After the War in song form in the 2008 film Passchendaele, which focuses on the experiences of a Canadian soldier at the Third Battle of Ypres in 1917 and was inspired by stories told by the grandfather of one of the film’s creators. Tonight’s performance features an arrangement for TTBB choir and piano by Ontario-born composer Mark Sirett, with the text recast in part to be from the soldier’s perspective.
‘In Remembrance’ from Requiem – Eleanor Daley (b. 1955–)
‘In Remembrance’ was written in 1992 and has been published separately from Eleanor Daley’s eight-movement Requiem, of which it nonetheless forms part. The expression mark ‘Gently flowing’ perhaps gestures towards the blurring between life and death posited by the text. The authorship of the text has been the subject of controversy, one school of thought tending to the view that it is a slight variation on ‘Immortality’ by Clare Harner, published in 1934 after the sudden death of the poet’s brother. Requiem was awarded the National Choral Award for Outstanding Choral Composition of the Year in 1994 by the Association of Canadian Choral Conductors.
O Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem – Martin Hindmarsh (1952–)
‘O Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem’ is a tender setting by the freelance classical singer, conductor and composer Martin Hindmarsh (who sometimes takes Vivamus for rehearsals, including notably our first rehearsal post-lockdown). It is the first piece in a set called Prayers for Peace, a title that, alas, remains more relevant than ever.
Performers
Vivamus
Vivamus is a small, London-based chamber choir who singing a diverse and challenging range of repertoire, from well-known classics to new works by living composers. We rehearse weekly at St Clement Danes RAF church and aim to perform at least four times a year at venues in and around central London, including St Martin-in-the-Fields and St James’, Piccadilly. We also organise away weekends to sing in UK cathedrals.
Rufus Frowde, Musical Director
A freelance conductor, organist, pianist and composer, Rufus was Organist and Assistant Director of Music at the Chapel Royal, Hampton Court Palace from 2003 to 2023 as well as a long-serving Musical Director of Surrey Youth Choir. He has been the Musical Director of Vivamus chamber choir since 2008. He is also the Accompanist of Hertfordshire Chorus, one of the UK’s finest symphonic choirs. He became Artistic Director of The English Chamber Choir in 2024.
Rufus studied music as an Organ Scholar at Merton College, Oxford University. He subsequently became Organ Scholar of Worcester Cathedral and undertook prize-winning postgraduate study in Choral Direction and Church Music at the Royal Academy of Music.
Rufus has always maintained a versatile approach to music-making, seeking to ensure that barriers to quality music-making are overcome. As such, alongside his work as a professional musician, he nurtures the music at his local primary school (Samuel Lucas JMI School, Hitchin) as well as working as an animateur for the Chorister Outreach Project at St Albans Cathedral.
Rufus’ performances have included numerous UK cathedrals, Westminster Abbey, La Madeleine (Paris), Kaunas Cathedral, St Thomas’s Leipzig, St Paul’s Basilica (Rome), Cologne Cathedral, Haarlem Cathedral and Longwood Gardens (Pennsylvania). He has worked with musicians and performers including Emma Johnson, Crispian Steele Perkins, Kiri te Kanawa, José Carreras, Ian McMillan and Michael Rosen. He works with numerous orchestras as a guest conductor including The Hanover Band, Brandenburg Sinfonia, Southbank Sinfonia and the Brandenburg Baroque Soloists in collaboration with his choirs.
Rufus appears as a conductor, organist and composer on the Signum Classics, Resonus Classics, Diversions and Divine Art record labels and his work is frequently broadcast on national radio and television. Rufus was awarded Her Majesty’s Diamond and Platinum Jubilee Medals as well as a 2023 Coronation Medal.
Martin Ford, organist
Martin Ford is the Organist and Director of Music of The Royal Military Chapel (The Guards’ Chapel) in Westminster, and a Professor of Organ at the Royal College of Music.
Martin read Music at Oxford University, graduating with a first-class degree in 2008, before continuing his studies on the Masters programme at the Royal College of Music. He has held organ scholarships at Southwark Cathedral and Magdalen College, Oxford, the positions of Assistant Organist at St Martin-in-the-Fields (2009-2011) and Westminster Abbey (2012-2015), and Acting Sub-Organist of Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford (2018-19) and St Paul’s Cathedral (2021-2024). He has given solo recitals in venues including the church of Saint-Sulpice in Paris, as well as accompanying numerous broadcasts on BBC radio and television. Particular highlights include playing for the service of celebration marking the 60th anniversary of the coronation at Westminster Abbey, attended by Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and broadcast live on television, as well as accompanying the choir of Westminster Abbey in appearances as part of David Starkey’s BBC documentary Music and Monarchy. At St Paul’s Cathedral, Martin appeared in the 2024 ‘Celebrity’ Recital Series, and in 2022 he performed Olivier Messiaen’s nine-movement masterpiece for solo organ, La Nativité du Seigneur. At The Guards’ Chapel, the inauguration of the magnificent new Harrison & Harrison organ in 2024 marked the culmination of a project begun shortly after he took up his post in 2015.
As an accompanist, Martin appears regularly in recitals with a variety of solo singers, as well as playing for larger ensembles, such as the Vasari Singers and the Trinity Boys Choir. His discography includes releases on the Harmonia Mundi and Naxos labels. Notable recent releases include Vaughan Williams’ Five Mystical Songs and Finzi’s In terra pax with baritone soloist Roderick Williams.
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