James McCarthy: Codebreaker & Will Todd: Choral Symphony No. 4, Ode to a Nightingale

Featuring

David Temple
Julia Doyle
BBC Concert Orchestra
Hertfordshire Chorus
James McCarthy
Will Todd

Did you know?

1/7

Performer Biography

Julia Doyle, the soprano on this recording, made her professional debut singing Handel's Messiah with The King's Consort and Britten Sinfonia/Polyphony.

Composer's Artistic Vision

In Codebreaker, James McCarthy focuses on three key moments in Alan Turing's life: falling in love with Christopher Morcom, the war, and his final hours.

Performer Biography

Hertfordshire Chorus, one of the UK's finest symphonic choirs, is known for commissioning new music and performs regularly in major concert halls, often with the BBC Concert Orchestra.

Composition History

Will Todd's Ode to a Nightingale was commissioned by Hertfordshire Chorus with support from Rod Jones, a long-time patron of the choir.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Will Todd's choral symphonies, including Ode to a Nightingale, are linked by a motivic/thematic construction, where a single cell or motif permeates the entire structure.

Composer Biography

Alan Turing, the subject of Codebreaker, was a private man dedicated to scientific and mathematical inquiry, a national hero who saved millions of lives in WWII, and is considered the inventor of the computer.

Composition History

James McCarthy's Codebreaker was commissioned by Hertfordshire Chorus and funded by Janet Cameron, who suggested the idea of writing about Alan Turing.