"one of the world's finest choirs"- Rob Barnett, Classical MusicWeb International
"one of the most accomplished small choral groups of our time" - Gramophone Magazine
"distinguished singing from a superb choir" - International Record Review
"a really outstanding choir" - Ward Swingle, founder, Swingle Singers
Vasari Singers, under Jeremy Backhouse, is one of the UK's leading chamber choirs. Now in its 28th year, the choir performs a wide range of repertoire with passion and sensitivity to exacting standards and considerable press acclaim.
Recent reviews of the choir's commission and premiere CD of the oratorio The Cloud of Unknowing by Francis Pott, included "a top flight choir and, moreover, one that is at the top of its form, a performance that goes way beyond the printed page of the score" - MusicWeb International, "passionate and precise" - The Times, and "The Mighty Vasari Singers give it everything they can muster" - The Gramophone.
MusicWeb International's review of recording of Will Todd's Mass in Blue described Vasari as "one of the world's finest choirs". In Gramophone Magazine's November 2005 review of Anthems for the 21st Century, Vasari was described as "a consistently outstanding choir" and "one of the most accomplished small choral groups of our time".
Vasari performs regularly in most of London's major concert venues and taken part in numerous commercial concerts and festivals, including the BBC Proms. The choir appears regularly on BBC Radio 3 and BBC Television, recently including appearing on the BAFTA-award winning documentary soundtrack Seven Wonders.
The choir is acclaimed for its versatility, performing choral music from a wide range of styles and eras, from the Renaissance to contemporary. As well as concerts, taking part in choral evensong is a major feature of Vasari's schedule. The choir sings regularly in Canterbury Cathedral other main English cathedrals, with recent visits to Gloucester, Liverpool and Ripon.
New music is central to the choir's activities, and since 2000 has commissioned over 20 works from British composers. In 2005 Vasari celebrated its 25th anniversary with 10 new commissions, a recording of these and other 21st-century anthems and a world première concert at St John's, Smith Square. In November 2008, the group will commission and première a new a capella Requiem by the British Composer Gabriel Jackson.
Vasari's extensive discography reflects the choir's versatility, passion and quality. The highly acclaimed Cloud of Unknowing was MusicWeb International's CD of the Year in 2007. The two CDs of works by the French composer Marcel Dupré, both received Gramophone's 'Editor's Choice'. The Howells Requiem and Frank Martin Mass CD was Gramophone Award-nominated, and the 2007 disc Noel Nouvelet was MusicWeb International's Recording of the Month. A new recording of Maurice Durufle's Requiem, with soloists Sarah Connolly Christopher Maltman, Robert Cohen, and Jeremy Filsell at the organ, will be released on Signum in 2008.
Vasari Singers gratefully acknowledges financial support from the PRS Foundation, the RVW Trust, the Holst Foundation, the Michael Marks Foundation, the Leche Trust, the Kenneth Leighton Foundation and valuable assistance from our sponsors including White Horse Press, AFM Lighting, La Sologne Publications, Sim Canetty-Clarke Photography, Metro Imaging, Genica Design, and SLDesign.
Vasari Singers is a UK Charity No. 1071299.
Ward Swingle was the product of an unusually liberal musical education. In his hometown, Mobile, Alabama, he grew up with the sound of jazz and played in one of the great Big Bands before finishing High School. He graduated Summa Cum Laude from the Cincinnati Conservatory and studied piano with the celebrated Walter Gieseking in postwar France. In Paris in the sixties he was a founding member of the fabled Double Six of Paris, then took the scat singing idea and applied it to the works of Bach, hence The Swingle Singers, whose early recordings won five Grammies.
When the Paris group disbanded in l973, Ward Swingle moved to London and formed an English group, expanding the repertoire to include classical and avang-garde works along with the scat and jazz vocal arrangements. The 2003 touring schedule of the Swingle Singers (who are now celebrating their 40th anniversary as a vocal group!) will include trips to Europe, North America and the Far East.
In l984 Swingle returned to live in America. Though he remained as Musical Advisor for his London-based group, he devoted most of his time to workshops, guest conducting and the dissemination of his printed arrangements through his publishing company, Swingle Music.
His pioneering ideas in new choral techniques have produced invitations to conduct The Stokholm and Netherlands Chamber Choirs, The Dale Warland Singers, The Sydney Philharmonia Motet Choir, the BBC Northern Singers and the MENC National Honors Choir at Kennedy Center. Over the last ten years he has given a long series of workshops and seminars at outstanding universities in both Europe and North America.
In March of 1994 he and Mrs. Swingle moved back to France, where he continues his work in arranging, composing and guest conducting. He has recently written a book called "Swingle Singing" in which he tells the story of the French and English groups, his own story, and defines 'Swingle Singing' techniques with illustrations from his arrangements and compositions.
For more information on Ward Swingle, please visit his website