On June 28 the City of Canterbury Chamber Choir will premiere a number of memorial compositions dedicated to John McCabe by some of Britain’s leading composers including Thomas Hyde, Robert Saxton, Cecilia McDowall, David Matthews and Deborah Pritchard. Music by McCabe will also be performed alongside Faure’s Requiem and Tippett’s Spirituals from A Child of Our Time. The concert, which will take place in St. Mary of Charity Church, Faversham, forms part of the continuing John Armitage Memorial series which raises money for brain tumour research. The entirety of the evening’s music is dedicated to the memory of John McCabe and his love of classical music, old and new. The performance will be conducted by George Vass.Tributes have continued to be voiced following several concerts celebrating the life and work of the Novello composer. Robert Matthew-Walker, attending the poignant and moving memorial concert at the Purcell Room, Southbank on the 12 June commented:It [Sonata ‘Haec Dies’ for trumpet and piano] was magnificently played by Simon Desbruslais (who commissioned it), wonderfully partnered by Clare Hammond, demonstrating how McCabe was able, in his final months, to show what can be achieved in the face of conditions which would have felled a less powerful creative mind…a truly memorable recital, the whole forming a fitting tribute to a great musician - classicalsource.com 12/6/15To find out more about the concert and the John Armitage Memorial follow this link.
