Jonathan Dove (b1959) is known for his operas, ranging from the comic opera Flight to works for television and community operas.
Composition History
The Missa brevis was commissioned by the Cathedral Organists' Association for their 2009 conference in Wells Cathedral and was Jonathan Dove's first published liturgical Mass.
Composer's Artistic Vision
As a teenager, Jonathan Dove translated J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Hobbit" into music on the piano and built sophisticated model theatres with ultraviolet lights and hydraulic revolving stages.
Compositional Technique
Run, shepherds, run! was designed for audience participation, with the audience's part dividing into two and then four sections, singing with parts of the choir, which Dove describes as potentially leading to 'happy chaos'.
Composition History
Run, shepherds, run! was commissioned by the Spitalfields Festival to celebrate the life of Christopher Robert Vaughan, a local resident and patron of the festival who died in his late thirties.
Compositional Technique
Jonathan Dove's Missa brevis features a Kyrie with linear development and polyphony, and a Gloria that is a moto perpetuo with a rhythmically dancing organ figure.
Performer Biography
The Wells Cathedral Choir, which includes boy and girl choristers and Vicars Choral, celebrated its 1100th birthday in 2009, with its choral tradition dating back over 800 years.
