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History of the BBC Singers: the 1990s

Simon Joly conducts the BBC Singers at the Proms, 1990
Simon Joly conducts the BBC Singers at the BBC Proms, 1990
(click image to enlarge)

1990: The BBC Singers give the world premiere of Magnus Lindberg's untitled - previously thought to be unperformable due to its extreme technical difficulty.
 
1991: Bo Holten is appointed Guest Conductor of the BBC Singers and begins a radical transformation of the group's interpretation of early music.

1992: Concerts in Seville for Expo 92, and in Brussels (the world premiere of La melancholia by Pascal Dusapin).

1994: The BBC's Religious Broadcasting Department moves to Manchester; the BBC Singers take part in their last Daily Service on 30 March. They perform in Brussels, Vienna and Berlin, and their 70th anniversary is marked by a whole evening's broadcasts on BBC Radio 3. New works are commissioned for the anniversary season from Luciano Berio, Iannis Xenakis and many other composers.

1995: The anniversary commissions continue and include Love Songs in Age - a substantial work by the jazz musician Barbara Thompson. The Singers appear at the Cheltenham Festival and at the new Cité de la Musique in Paris. Simon Joly is succeeded as Chief Conductor by Stephen Cleobury - the first professional church musician to hold the post.

1997: On September 6 the BBC Singers take part in the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales, performing to an estimated global audience of 2.5 billion.

1999: The 75th anniversary of the BBC Singers is marked by a nationwide tour - fourteen concerts in seven English cities - and eight newly-commissioned works including Giles Swayne's Havoc - the sequel to CRY, his BBC commission of 1980. A profile in The Times describes the BBC Singers as "wonderful beyond belief".




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