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Living Voices is a new collection of ten inspiring choral pieces composed by Russell Hepplewhite. This innovative project brings together the talents of Hepplewhite and ten of Britain’s most outstanding contemporary poets, each commissioned to create poetic responses to our world today.

The idea for Living Voices originated with Russell Hepplewhite, who invited the poets to offer their diverse reflections on the nuances of modern life. The resulting poems explore a wide spectrum of human experience – birth and death, youth and age, sickness and health, landscape and memory. The emotional scope of the collection is equally varied, encompassing pieces that are light-hearted and comic alongside those that are profound and moving.

Accessible and rich in expression, Hepplewhite’s music proves a perfect partner for these contemporary texts. Drawing on his extensive experience writing for the theatre, his compositions aim to translate the poets’ messages into a vibrant collective choral sound. Living Voices promises to engage anyone drawn to the telling interaction of contemporary life and art.

The ten distinguished poets who have contributed to this unique collection and the titles of their commissioned works are:

  1. Mona Arshi – Tender
  2. Pam Ayres – Leaving
  3. Fiona Benson – Three Trees/Angel
  4. Joseph Coelho – The Diarist’s Pages
  5. Wendy Cope – I Wake
  6. Jamila Gavin – Song of Flight
  7. Roger McGough – The Good Ship Attenborough
  8. Andrew Motion – ‘from: Gravity Archives’
  9. Alice Oswald – Riddle
  10. Michael Rosen – True Story

Ten selected choirs around the UK will each give the world premiere one of these new choral works over the coming months. The project has been funded by private donations and support from the Finzi Trust.

Performances:

5th April I Wake by Wendy Cope, Exeter Festival Chorus, St Peter’s Church, Budleigh Salterton

10th May Leaving by Pam Ayres, Gloucester Choral Society, Gloucester Cathedral.

17th May The Diarist’s Pages by Joseph Coelho, Highgate Choral Society, St Michael’s Church, Highgate

14th June ‘from: Gravity Archives’ by Andrew Motion, Wimbledon Choral Society, Wimbledon High School

21st June True Story by Michael Rosen, Epsom Choral Society, St Andrew’s Church, Cheam

26th June Riddle by Alice Oswald, Whitehall Choir, St Andrew Holborn

5th July Song of Flight by Jamila Gavin, Birmingham Bach Choir, Malvern Priory

5th July Tender by Mona Arshi, Divertimento, St Nicholas Church, Warwick.

5th July The Good Ship Attenborough by Roger McGough, Hexham Orpheus Choir, Hexham Abbey

12th July Three Trees/Angel by Fiona Benson, Voices of Hope, Alnwick Playhouse.

This collection promises to be a significant addition to the contemporary choral music repertoire, offering pieces that are both musically engaging and thematically relevant to modern audiences. The music will be published by Stainer & Bell in summer 2025.

Read an interview with Russell Hepplewhite about Living Voices