Tarik O'Regan : Critical Mass (World Premiere) / Mozart : Solemn Vespers
Wimbledon Choral's new commission

Saturday, 18 April 2026, 19:30 - 22:00
Cadogan Hall, 5 Sloane Terrace, London SW1X 9DQ

Written in 1790, Mozart's Vesperae solennes de confessore was written originally for liturgical use in Salzburg Cathedral.  Its title suggests it was intended for the service of evening 'vespers' held on a specific day on the liturgical 'calendar of saints' ('confessores') although the saint in question has never really been established - maybe not existing at all.

It consists of 6 movements, the first five being based on Psalms 110, 111, 112, 113 & 117, and the last on the Magnificat, the canticle sometimes called the Song of Mary that is a sung or recited part of many liturgical services in the christian world.   The fifth movement, Laudate Dominum omnes gentes, is often performed in isolation from the rest of the work.

Following its highly successful commission of Cecilia McDowall's Da Vinci Requiem, leading to its world premiere in the Royal Festival Hall in March 2015, Wimbledon Choral has taken the plunge again by commissioning prominent British-American composer Tarik O'Regan to compose a mass setting, Critical Mass, based around his Coronation Agnus Dei, that itself was commissioned by HM The King for his coronation in May 2023.  The work will reimagine the traditional mass setting through a humanistic lens.  Using the Coronation Agnus Dei as a point of departure, each movement will feature a new text from a leading writer, chosen by O'Regan.   

See also www.wimbledon-choral.org.uk/criticalmass. 

The programme will be completed by the inclusion of two short orchestral pieces, Elgar's delightful Sospiri (op 70) and the fourth movement, Adagietto, from Mahler's Symphony No.5.