Singing the praises of choral works old and new

It was working in Jerusalem with the Ankor Children’s Choir which prompted Gregory Rose to compose Sha’alu Shlom Yerushalayim, his new 23-minute choral work for upper voices and harp, which receives its world premiere in London next week.

The choir — attached to the Jerusalem Rubin Conservatory of Music and Dance and run by Dafna Ben-Yohanan — is made up of children aged roughly 8 to 16. They have appeared with most Israeli orchestras as well as with major orchestras abroad.

“Dafna is an inspiring conductor, and really motivates the children, and as a result she gets fabulous results,” says Rose, who is currently professor of conducting at Trinity College of Music in Greenwich in London. “We met at the Hereford International Summer School, where I taught conducting, and she invited me to Israel to conduct and work with children. They were marvellously alert and responsive, and extremely rewarding to work with.”

Sha’alu Shlom Yerushalayim, which will be performed alongside Leonard Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms by harpist Vicky Lester and soprano and alto members of the Jupiter Singers under Rose’s direction, consists of strikingly beautiful and energetic settings, in the original Hebrew, of half-a-dozen or more psalms.