ANTHONY Hammond's Messe Solennelle for choir and two organs will receive its world premiere on Sunday 19th April 2015 at Cirencester Parish Church as part of the 2015 Cirencester International Organ Festival. The American premiere will be in October 2015 at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross, Boston, MA, under the direction of the cathedral's organist Leo Abbott, to whom the work is dedicated.

Dr Hammond commented: "There are some superb French 'double organ' Mass settings, most notably by Louis Vierne and Jean Langlais, which have inspired this new piece. It is common in large French churches to have two organists playing two organs - a large 'grand organ' at the west end plays solo organ music during services, but it is too far away from the choir to be able to accompany choral music so there is a small 'choir organ' at the east end for that purpose. To be organist at the west end organ is often a prestigious post, and many great organ composers have held such positions. Some have composed choral works with 'double organ' accompaniments which give roles to both instruments: the real accompanying is done by the choir organ, while the grand organ performs rather like a soloist in a concerto. In Cirencester Parish Church the grand organ is at the east end of the building by the choir, so for a double organ Mass the singers move to seats at the west end where they are accompanied by a digital instrument."

The last two organ festivals have seen double organ Mass performances in this way, and this time it was felt that it would be nice to continue the tradition. The suggestion was made to Anthony Hammond, by members of the Parish Church choir and music staff, that he might compose a new one.

For this premiere Dr Hammond will direct the festival choir. The grand organ will be played by Assistant Organist, Hugo Kennard. The choir organ will be played by Organ Scholar, Samuel Bristow.

Dr Hammond continued: "What's particularly exciting about this premiere, in addition to the opportunity to hear music for two organs, is that the Parish Church choir will be joined by singers from across the South West, to form a special festival choir. Getting to sing big works like this, liturgically, is something the members of the choir look forward to and work hard towards. It's a huge honour that I was asked to compose a work for them and to have so many talented people, from cathedrals, choirs and churches, across the region, joining them".

Tickets for the Cirencester International Organ Festival (18th - 25th April 2015) are available online at www.cirencesterorganfestival.co.uk, at the Parish Church Shop and Cirencester Visitor Information Centre.