Nigel Short: Introduction

The Artistic Director, Nigel Short

When I was at Westminster Cathedral, I not only enjoyed singing with the choir, but also solo singing in opera and oratorio and in small groups specialising in genres ranging from medieval and renaissance to contemporary and pop.

In 1993, I was offered the chance to join the world-renowned vocal ensemble the King’singers. Here was a group that embraced all different styles and treated all of them with an equal respect and a disciplined approach to preparation and performance.

Having worked for several years with the King’singers, I began to miss the “buzz” of singing with a larger force of singers and the freedom to move around a stage and be more physically involved in a performance.

After life with the King’singers, I was asked what I would like to do in an ideal world. There was only one answer; my dream was to work with a team that had all the discipline and precision of a world-class ensemble yet with the power of a large choral group. Such a team would be able to use ecclesiastical buildings as a theatrical space, thus combining my love of traditional choral repertoire with a more dramatic “operatic” style of performing.

Like most of the members of Tenebrae, I began singing at an early age in churches and cathedrals and have grown to love the architecture and atmosphere these great buildings can create. Having discussed the idea with like-minded musicians, singers and friends, together we realised my dream with the formation of Tenebrae – a wonderful combination of talented composers and arrangers, pianists and organists, specialists of jazz and renaissance, instrumentalists and singers.

Soon after, I began working closely with writer Richard McDonald to create a work that would be an ideal vehicle to launch Tenebrae. The result was “The Dream of Herod”. To capture not only the sound of Tenebrae but also the strong visual image enhanced by the use of candlelight, it was suggested we produce a DVD as well as a recording of this work.

Tenebrae is now reality, but already another dream is waiting to be realised; develop a new role for Tenebrae – an educational one. Why not make it Tenebrae’s mission to impart the experience and joy of singing to children and teenagers, to form and prepare them for choral scholarships or places at music college and to help them embark on a long and successful professional career in singing?