29th November-2nd December 2011 - St Mary the Virgin, Oxford
David recently completed work on a new musical score for a production of Robert Bolt's Tony Award-winning A Man For All Seasons at the church of St Mary the Virgin, Oxford, this autumn. Within the atmospheric setting of Oxford's University Church - the actual location of the trial of Archbishop Thomas Cranmer, one of the play's antagonists - this spectacular story is due to come to life and explore the finer details of the contentious relationship between church and state within the context of historic upheavals and cruel punishment.
A Man For All Seasons tells the tale of Sir Thomas More (1478-1535), lawyer, statesman, and loyal subject of Henry VIII; during the period when the King struggled with the thought of brutal civil war following his possible death without a male heir to succeed him, leading to the break with Rome and the establishment of the Church of England. The intricate events of the play centre around More's refusal to declare his consent that the King had been lawfully proclaimed as supreme over the Church, relying on the legal precedent that silence implies consent, a reliance which - through deceit, plotting, and perjury - inevitably leads to his downfall in the gripping final scenes, as famously brought to life on screen in the 1966 Academy Award-winning film starring Paul Scofield.
The music within the play consists of three different and yet equally important pillars. Mixing the sacred and the secular natures of the play (not to mention the venue) different elements of More's character and of early Tudor life are represented by a mixed-voice choir and a small on-stage consort group. Additional underscore is provided by a pre-recorded orchestra. The choir use elements of plainsong symbolising various different aspects of More's journey - from a simple recitation of the Magnificat during Vespers to four structural motets framing each act with different Latin prayers from the Roman Catholic church: Angele Dei, O Salutaris Hostia, Salve Regina, and Nunc Dimittis. The orchestral sections extend and develop the choral themes, while the consort play a series of Tudor dances and period pieces. Ultimately the musical score blends and juxtaposes the sacred and the secular, the earthy and the divine, while we observe some of the greatest minds of their time attempting to do and to prevent exactly the same.
A Man For All Seasons is being performed from Tuesday 29th November to Friday 2nd December 2011 at 7pm (running time is 3 hours). Tickets cost £9 (£7) and are being sold through the Oxford Playhouse.