Ruth Holton

Last updated

Ruth Holton (born 1961) [1] is an English soprano singer.

Contents

Training

Holton won a choral exhibition at Clare College, Cambridge and studied music there. [1] [2] Her later musical studies were with Elizabeth Lane, Nancy Long and Julie Kennard. [1]

Career

Like several other former members of the Clare College choir, she joined the Cambridge Singers, founded by John Rutter, a previous director of music at Clare. [3] [4] She has also been recorded as a member of the Tallis Scholars. [5]

Holton is a frequent singer of baroque music and has performed or recorded with such early music specialists as John Eliot Gardiner, Ton Koopman and Gustav Leonhardt. [1] [2] Several critics have noted the light boyish qualities of her voice. [6] [7] [8] Holton made her recording debut as a soloist in 1986 with Bach's St John Passion and between 2000 and 2001 took part in a project with Pieter Jan Leusink, the Netherlands Bach Collegium and the Holland Boys Choir to record all Bach's sacred cantatas as part of Brilliant Classics' complete Bach Edition. She participated in the project of Ton Koopman and the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir to record Bach's complete vocal works. She has also worked with the choir of St. Thomas Church, Leipzig, where Bach was cantor, and took part in their televised performance of the Mass in B minor marking the 250th anniversary of the composer's death, [2] [9] as well as in an earlier broadcast of the St John Passion. [1]

Other baroque composers she has recorded include Carissimi, Purcell and Handel. Among her work on later music are recordings of Mozart, Haydn and Schütz, a live performance of Dvořák's Stabat Mater, and performances and recordings of contemporary composers including John Adams, Steve Reich and new works by David Briggs, Howard Thomas, Matthew King, Brian Inglis and Guy Woolfenden. She has also given Lieder recitals, some of which have been broadcast by BBC Radio 3 or Westdeutscher Rundfunk. [1] Holton has appeared at events such as the Aldeburgh Festival and the Three Choirs Festival. In addition to performing, she has coached singers internationally, as well as having been head of vocal studies at St. Joseph's College, London. [2] [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephen Cleobury</span> English organist and conductor (1948–2019)

Sir Stephen John Cleobury was an English organist and music director. He worked with the Choir of King's College, Cambridge, where he served as music director from 1982 to 2019, and with the BBC Singers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andreas Scholl</span> German countertenor

Andreas Scholl is a German countertenor, a male classical singer in the alto vocal range, specialising in Baroque music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Masaaki Suzuki</span> Japanese organist, harpsichordist, and conductor

Masaaki Suzuki is a Japanese organist, harpsichordist, conductor, and the founder and music director of the Bach Collegium Japan. With this ensemble he is recording the complete choral works of Johann Sebastian Bach for the Swedish label BIS Records, for which he is also recording Bach's concertos, orchestral suites, and solo works for harpsichord and organ. He is also an artist-in-residence at Yale University and the principal guest conductor of its Schola Cantorum, and has conducted orchestras and choruses around the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ton Koopman</span> Dutch conductor and harpsichordist (b. 1944)

Antonius Gerhardus Michael "Ton" Koopman is a Dutch conductor, organist, harpsichordist, and musicologist, primarily known for being the founder and director of the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir.

Daniel John Taylor, is a Canadian countertenor, conductor and early music specialist. Taylor directs the Trinity Choir, the Theatre of Early Music and is Professor of Opera, Voice and Early Music at the University of Toronto.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir</span>

The Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir is a Dutch early-music group based in Amsterdam.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Agnew</span> Scottish operatic tenor and conductor

Paul Agnew is a Scottish operatic tenor and conductor.

Robin Blaze is a British countertenor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christoph Prégardien</span> German lyric tenor (born 1956)

Christoph Prégardien is a German lyric tenor whose career is closely associated with the roles in Mozart operas, as well as performances of Lieder, oratorio roles, and Baroque music. He is well known for his performances and recordings of the Evangelist roles in Bach's St John Passion and St Matthew Passion.

Notable recordings of Johann Sebastian Bach's St Matthew Passion (Matthäus-Passion) are shown below in a sortable table.

Caroline Stam is a Dutch classical soprano who has an international (European) performing career specializing in baroque repertoire, reinforced by a distinguished presence in modern recordings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Max van Egmond</span>

Max van Egmond is a Dutch bass and baritone singer. He has focused on oratorio and Lied and is known for singing works of Johann Sebastian Bach. He was one of the pioneers of historically informed performance of Baroque and Renaissance music.

Dorothee Mields is a German soprano concert singer of Baroque and contemporary music.

Christopher Stephen Varcoe is an English classical bass-baritone singer, appearing internationally in opera and concert, known for Baroque and contemporary music and a notable singer of Lieder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Netherlands Bach Society</span> Dutch ensemble specialising in Baroque music

The Netherlands Bach Society is the oldest ensemble for Baroque music in the Netherlands, and possibly in the world. The ensemble was founded in 1921 in Naarden to perform Bach's St Matthew Passion on Good Friday and has performed the work annually since then in the Grote of Sint-Vituskerk. From 1983 until 2018, Jos van Veldhoven was the artistic director and conductor. Shunsuke Sato became artistic director in June of 2018 and resigned from the position in June of 2023.

<i>Herr Jesu Christ, wahr Mensch und Gott</i>, BWV 127

Herr Jesu Christ, wahr' Mensch und Gott, BWV 127, is a cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach for use in a Lutheran service. He composed the chorale cantata in 1725 in Leipzig for the Sunday Estomihi, the Sunday before Lent. It is based on Paul Eber's 1582 hymn in eight stanzas "Herr Jesu Christ, wahr Mensch und Gott". Bach first performed it on 11 February 1725.

Hana Blažíková is a Czech soprano and harpist. She is focused on Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque music, appearing internationally. She has recorded as a member of the Bach Collegium Japan, among many others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bach cantatas (Teldec)</span> Album series released by Teldec

J. S. Bach - Das Kantatenwerk is a classical music recording project initiated by the record label of Telefunken in 1971 to record all 193 sacred Bach cantatas. The project was entrusted to Nikolaus Harnoncourt and Gustav Leonhardt. Each conductor had his own instrumental ensemble, based in Austria and the Netherlands respectively.

Midori Suzuki is a Japanese classical soprano, specializing in Baroque music. She has recorded many cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach with the Bach Collegium Japan, both as a soloist and as a member of the ensemble.

Caroline Trevor is an English contralto, focused on early music and Baroque music in historically informed performance. She has been one of two alto voices in the award-winning ensemble The Tallis Scholars since 1982.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Holton, Ruth" in David M. Cummings (ed.) International Who's Who in Classical Music, 2003, London, Europa Publications p.353.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Ruth Holton Biography at GoldbergWeb.com.Accessed November 1, 2009.
  3. ↑ See e.g. listing of performers at Christmas Night, Carols of the Nativity, Collegium Records COLCD 106, for Holton's participation.
  4. ↑ Profile of Cambridge Singers on their own record label, Collegium Records, accessed November 1, 2009.
  5. ↑ See e.g. credits section for The Tallis Scholars sing Tudor Church Music - Volume Two, Gimmell CDGIM 210.
  6. ↑ . J.A.S. Review of Carissimi oratorios. Gramophone November 1990 p.129
  7. ↑ John Quinn Review of Bach Cantatas, Musicweb International
  8. ↑ L.S. Review of St John Passion, Gramophone February 1987, p.78
  9. 1 2 Biography at agent's site Daviesmusic, accessed 1 November 2009
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.