Hallé Choir

Hallé Choir
Choir
OriginManchester, England
Founded1858 (166 years ago)
FounderSir Charles Hallé
GenreClassical
ChoirmasterMatthew Hamilton
Chief conductorKahchun Wong
Concert hallBridgewater Hall, Manchester
Associated groupsThe Hallé
Websitewww.halle.co.uk/halle-choir/

The Hallé Choir is a large symphonic chorus of around 220 singers based in Manchester, England.[1] It was founded as Manchester Choral Society[2] alongside the Hallé Orchestra in 1858 by Sir Charles Hallé.[3] The choir gives around 15 concerts a year with The Hallé at The Bridgewater Hall and other venues across the UK. Appearing with international conductors and soloists in concert and recordings, the choir performs a repertoire of major choral and operatic works ranging from mainstream pieces to more esoteric pieces and commissions.[1]

Recent highlights have included performances of Elgar’s three great oratorios The Dream of Gerontius, The Apostles and The Kingdom as the climax to the Hallé’s 2022–2023 season (and all three have also been released on the Hallé’s own multi award-winning CD label), Rachmaninov’s The Bells with the Hallé and Sir Mark Elder at the 2023 BBC Proms and Fauré’s Requiem with Kahchun Wong, the Hallé’s Principal Conductor.

As well as appearing with the Hallé, the Choir also performs regularly with other orchestras at venues and festivals around the UK, including the BBC Proms, Edinburgh International Festival and York Minster. Recent collaborations have included Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir under Edward Gardner at the 2022 BBC Proms, and the world premiere of Brett Dean’s In This Brief Moment with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and Chorus under Nicholas Collon, also in 2022.

Recent Hallé Choir Directors have included James Burton, Frances Cooke and Madeleine Venner.[4] The current Hallé Choir Director is Matthew Hamilton.[5]

Conductors

Notable recordings

Since the launch of the Hallé record label in 2003[9] the choir has appeared on a number of recordings including Holst's Hymn of Jesus (Hallé, 2013),[10] Delius' Sea Drift (Hallé, 2013),[10] Matthews' Aftertones (Hallé, 2014),[11] Vaughan-Williams' A Sea Symphony (Hallé, 2015)[12] and Elgar's Spirit of England (Hallé, 2017).[13] The Hallé have also won a number of awards for recordings featuring the Hallé Choir:

Award Winning Hallé Choir Recordings
Year of Recording Composer Work Orchestra Conductor Label Awards
2009 Elgar The Dream of Gerontius Hallé Mark Elder Hallé Gramophone Award Best Choral Recording[14]
2010 Wagner Götterdämmerung Hallé Mark Elder Hallé Gramophone Award Best Opera Recording[15]
2011 Elgar The Kingdom Hallé Mark Elder Hallé Gramophone Award Best Choral Recording[16]
2013 Elgar The Apostles Hallé Mark Elder Hallé Gramophone Award Best Choral Recording[17]

BBC Music Magazine Choral Award

BBC Music Magazine Recording of the Year[18]

References

  1. ^ a b "About us". Hallé Choir. Archived from the original on 18 July 2013. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  2. ^ Beale, Robert (2007). Charles Hallé: A Musical Life. Ashgate. ISBN 978-0-7546-6137-5.
  3. ^ Kennedy, Michael (1982). The Halle, 1858-1983 (1. publ. ed.). Manchester University Press. p. 96. ISBN 978-0-7190-0921-1.
  4. ^ "Hallé Choir Director". Hallé Choir. Archived from the original on 11 February 2012. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  5. ^ "Hallé Orchestra - Matthew Hamilton".
  6. ^ "about". matthew hamilton. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
  7. ^ "Founding Conductor | SGCO". Retrieved 14 July 2019.
  8. ^ "James Burton (Counter-tenor, Choral Conductor) - Short Biography". www.bach-cantatas.com. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
  9. ^ "Labels". Chandos Records. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
  10. ^ a b "The Hymn of Jesus; Sea Drift & Cynara Album". Hallé Orchestra. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
  11. ^ "Colin Matthews No Man's Land Album". Hallé Orchestra. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
  12. ^ "Vaughan Williams A Sea Symphony Album". Hallé Orchestra. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
  13. ^ "For the Fallen Album". Hallé Orchestra. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
  14. ^ "Choral". www.gramophone.co.uk. 6 October 2009. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
  15. ^ "Opera". www.gramophone.co.uk. 1 September 2010. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
  16. ^ "Choral". www.gramophone.co.uk. 12 August 2011. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
  17. ^ "Choral". www.gramophone.co.uk. 27 August 2013. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
  18. ^ "The Winners 2013 | Classical-Music.com". www.classical-music.com. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
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