Vox 21 and City of London Schools Camerata

For their first meeting, Vox 21 and the City of London Schools' Camerata will perform Maurice Duruflé's Requiem - a French work at the heart of the choral repertoire across the Channel - and motets by Richard Quesnel, choirmaster of the Camerata and associate composer of Vox 21 for the 2024-2025 season.

Organist and composer, Maurice Duruflé (1902-1986) left a catalogue of almost exclusively sacred music. A lover of Gregorian chant, which he practiced almost daily in the liturgy, Duruflé composed his entire Requiem from melodies from this tradition. For this concert, Vox 21 and the City of London Schools' Camerata sing the third and final version of the work written in 1961 for choir and chamber instrumental ensemble, almost 15 years after the first two (for large orchestra and for solo organ).

The premiere of the original version of the work took place in 1947 at the Salle Gaveau in Paris, where the public heard for the first time the organ and the instrumental ensemble dialogue in a perpetual intertwining, offering a setting of great refinement to the choral part. The latter, very colorful and refined, testifies to the science of the choir that Maurice Duruflé possessed. He dedicated this very meditative and luminous Requiem to his father.
 

Vox 21

Born in 2016 under the leadership of Evann Loget-Raymond, Vox 21 is a vocal and instrumental ensemble. The core of the work of these musicians is music for vocal ensembles, from Gregorian monody to great romantic polyphonies. In addition to works from the Western heritage, Vox 21 regularly explores the works of contemporary composers. 

The ensemble combines musicians collaborating with the greatest ensembles in France and Europe with young talents from major music schools, academies and winners of international competitions. These musicians come together in Vox 21 out of a passion for the repertoire, but also to enrich the interpretation by drawing on the different cultures and specializations of each: early music, traditional music and the great choral tradition.

Since its beginnings, the ensemble has performed in particular at the Academy of Sacred Music in Sainte-Anne-d'Auray, at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, at the Grands Concerts in Lyon and at the Saintes Festival.

City of London Schools' Camerata

The City of London Schools' Camerata is a mixed-voice chamber choir of around twenty young singers. They are all educated in two schools located in the historic centre of the City of London, between the Roman ruins and the towers of the financial district, in the shadow of St Paul's Cathedral. The schools benefit from privileged links with various specialist teaching partners including the Guildhall School of Music and Drama; several students have been masters at the Chapel Royal, St James's Palace, Temple Church, and Southwark Cathedral.

They participate in the ambitious music programs of the City Schools; in 2023 they presented a program of choral works by Lili Boulanger and Gustav Holst with orchestra and this summer they are giving a concert dedicated to Shakespeare's texts set to music by contemporary composers as part of the “Summer Music in City” festival.

The choir is directed by Richard Quesnel, music director of the City Schools, former choirmaster of the Maîtrise de Sainte Anne d'Auray, recent winner of the Bettencourt Prize. Richard Quesnel is a composer and choirmaster, an Agrégé d'Education musicale, holder of the State Diploma in ensemble conducting and a Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters.
 

Evann Loget-Raymond

Evann is a young musician born in Brittany. He divides his time between his activities as a countertenor, conductor and composer. He began his apprenticeship at the Academy of Music and Sacred Arts in Sainte-Anne-d'Auray where he began working in vocal ensembles as a child and was guided by the composer and choirmaster Richard Quesnel. At the same time, he learned piano and accompaniment at the Vannes Conservatory. From 2015 he continued his studies in Paris, in the singing classes of Robert Expert and Jean-Philippe Zielinski, then in the conducting class of Marc Korovitch. In 2017, he joined the first class of the Philippe Jaroussky Musical Academy. Evann is also a graduate of the École de Grégorien de Paris where he worked with Louis-Marie Vigne.

As a singer, he performed for the first time as a soloist in 2015 in Purcell's "Verse Anthems" with the Stradivaria ensemble (conducted by Daniel Cuiller) before singing with the Artaserse ensemble (Philippe Jaroussky), Matheus (Jean-Christophe Spinosi), Les Arts Florissants (William Christie) and Les Cris de Paris (Geoffroy Jourdain). These ensembles and orchestras led him to sing as a soloist in venues such as the Theater an der Wien, the Royal Opera of Versailles, the Moscow Philharmonic, the Seine Musicale and the Palais de Tokyo. 

Alongside his conducting studies, he created Vox 21, his own vocal and instrumental ensemble with which he performed at the Académie de Musique Sacrée de Sainte-Anne-d'Auray, the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, the Grands Concerts in Lyon and the Festival de Saintes. In 2023, Evann was appointed conductor of the symphonic choir of the COGE (Choeurs et Orchestres des Grandes Ecoles). In addition to these formations, he was invited to conduct the orchestra of the Festival de Musique Ancienne de Saorge, and assisted Richard Wilberforce in conducting the Accentus choir as well as Franck-Emmanuel Comte in conducting the Concert de l'Hostel Dieu. 

His passion for composition led him to write his first pieces as a teenager. His latest works include "Under the recieding wave" for the Aesthesis quartet, "Pathways to Inner Houses" for the Orchestre du Printemps (Aurélien Rauss), the theme song for the podcast "Among us the devil" for Capucine de Chocqueuse, the soundtrack for the short film "Je suis Cléromantique" for Anne-Laure Maudet and Reùven Abbou and "Seven Last Words" for the TriOde choir.

Richard Quesnel

Richard Quesnel is a choirmaster, composer and teacher. After graduating from Cambridge University, he worked for almost 20 years in France, first at the choir and theatre of Caen, then as choirmaster at the Academy of Music and Sacred Arts of Sainte-Anne-d'Auray. In 2009, he was made a Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters by the Minister of Culture. He has frequently collaborated with musicians from classical, traditional and jazz cultures: Orchestre de Bretagne, Stradivaria, Mélisme(s), Maîtrise de Notre-Dame de Paris, Alain Buet, André le Meut, Yann-Fanch Kemener, the duo Nijadell and Didier Squiban.

Since returning to the UK in 2017 he has held two prestigious posts, first as Director of Music at St George's College Weybridge, and now as Director of Music at the City of London School, the historic home of the Chapel Royal Choristers. He champions musical partnerships across the City of London, and his current projects include composing a new cantata for a group of choirs to mark the 300th anniversary of Sir Christopher Wren's death, to be sung under the dome of St Paul's Cathedral.

Richard has composed extensively for vocal ensembles and his catalogue includes numerous oratorios, cantatas and masses. ‘DragonSong’ , a retelling of the legend of St George and the dragon for choir, soloists and orchestra, was premiered at Handel’s Church in St George’s Hanover Square in 2020; ‘Promesa’ – an oratorio in three acts –  was performed at the First World War centenary commemorations; ‘Messe Armoricaine’ – for equal voices and string quartet was commissioned by St Botolph-without-Bishopsgate in London, as a sister to Jehan Alain’s ‘Messe Modale’ and draws on elements of traditional Breton music. His music has been performed at the Rodolfus Choral Courses, at the Royal Naval College Chapel in Greenwich, as well as by the choir of Notre-Dame de Paris, the Collegium Vocale of Munich, the Solis Camerata – Arizona State University and by choir groups in Lourdes and Strasbourg. Richard has also written for theatre productions (Absolute Theatre/Battersea Arts Centre), films, short films and documentaries (Aurora Media/Amazon Prime and Fugue State Films). His piano improvisations and arrangements for piano and string quartet of traditional Breton music are available on listening platforms (“Nijadell”, “Le chant de la bombarde”) and his works are published by Cecilia Editions, A Coeur Joie, Kinnor and Voix Nouvelles.

Program and cast

Program

Maurice Duruflé , Requiem (1961 version)

Richard Quesnel , Motets for a capella choir

Interpreters

Vox 21 (vocal and instrumental ensemble)
Direction Evann Loget-Raymond

City of London Schools' Camerata (chamber choir)
Conducted by Richard Quesnel