Sunday 6 April 2025 – 7.30pm
St John`s Church Buxton
French Connections

Lili Boulanger (1893 – 1918)
Psalm 130: Du fond de l’abîme
Francis Poulenc (1899 – 1963)
Sept répons des ténèbres
Camille Saint-Saëns (1835 – 1931)
Symphony No. 3 Organ Symphony
ANDREW CUMMINGS – organ
LOUISE INNES – mezzo-soprano
SAM HAYES – conductor
Chorus & Orchestra of Buxton Musical Society
Leader: Steven Wilkie
This Spring concert gives you the opportunity to experience TWO Buxton premieres and a chance to see our Musical Director Designate, Sam Hayes in action at the rostrum.
Lili Boulanger was the first woman to win the prestigious Prix de Rome award from the Paris Conservatoire, joining such luminaries as Hector Berlioz, Charles Gounod and Claude Debussy. Her life was tragically cut short a mere five years later but her small body of work, including tonight’s dramatic setting of Psalm 130, contains many gems whose worth are only now being fully recognised.
The programme also contains one of Poulenc’s three major choral works, Sept répons des ténèbres. Along with his Gloria, performed by the Society on several occasions, and his Stabat Mater, this piece shows the two contrasting sides of Poulenc’s character – the deeply devout and uncontrollably sensual – as he contemplates the final week of Christ’s life.
“a fizzing, bubbling mass of Gallic energy who can move you to both laughter and tears within seconds. His language speaks clearly, directly and humanely to every generation.”
– the writer Jessica Duchen describing Francis Poulenc
The concert’s finale will be Saint-Saëns wonderful and rousing Organ Symphony. Buxton’s Andrew Cummings will be at the organ console as Musical Director Designate, Sam Hayes guides the orchestra through this ever popular work.
Tickets are £18 and are available through Buxton Opera House Box Office: 0845 127 2190 or 01298 72190 or book online: buxtonoperahouse.org.uk. Accompanied children and full-time students are free.
Tickets are also available from Society members and on the door before each concert in St John’s Church (limited availability)