‘The Birmingham Spirituals’ had its highly successful premiere in Birmingham on 12th July 2014. The composer, Patrick Larley, was inspired by the cultural diversity of the city of Birmingham, and has fused together elements of two contrasting choral styles – that of the traditional Western European choir and that of the Gospel choir.
The new composition is woven around the simplicity of the African/American spiritual. Throughout the six movement work, influences of jazz and blues can be heard alongside traditional, classically evolved harmony and counterpoint. This music is dramatic but calm; it is new and inventive but never austere; above all it is 'spiritual'.
The two musical traditions are also reflected in the range of instruments supporting the singers. A string orchestra, a pair of saxophones, percussion and the distinct sound of the steel pans, with a solo flute hovering, in an improvisatory way, above.
The other half of the concert showcases the two different musical influences, with Haydn’s Little Organ Mass representing the classical European choral tradition. Ken Burton’s arrangements showing another take on spirituals, and the performance of Bach on the Steel pans combining the two cultural influences in one performance.