Saturday 18 October 2025, 5pm
Downing Place United Reformed Church, Cambridge
Benjamin Britten – Rejoice in the Lamb
Maurice Duruflé – Requiem
Performed by:
Cambridge Philharmonic Chorus
Conductor: Tom Primrose
Organ: Alex Trigg
Hannah Dienes-Williams: Soprano
Helena Paish: Alto
Joseph Hancock: Tenor
Tom Butler: Baritone
Join us for an evening of French and English choral masterworks that explore the spiritual, the poetic, and the transcendent. The programme opens with Benjamin Britten’s Rejoice in the Lamb, a quirky and imaginative setting of text by the 18th-century poet Christopher Smart. Written while Smart was confined in an asylum, the poem is a unique outpouring of religious devotion. Britten’s setting captures its emotional extremes – from playful rhythms and whimsical solos to moments of deep pathos – all conveyed with his characteristic 20th century style.
In contrast, Maurice Duruflé’s Requiem offers a luminous vision of eternal peace. Rooted in the timeless melodies of Gregorian chant, Duruflé creates a deeply contemplative work that stands apart from the drama of many Romantic settings of this text. With rising star soloists from the Royal Academy of Music, this promises to be an evening of sensual vocal colour.
Hannah Dienes-Williams
Hannah is a London based soprano working across Europe as a soloist and ensemble singer, particularly specialising in contemporary music. She graduated with Distinction in her MA from the Royal Academy of Music, where she was awarded the DipRam for her final recital, the Edlee Prize for singing and the Edwin Samuel Dove Prize, selected from the whole of the Academy.
Whilst studying, she was a member of the Academy Song Circle and supported by the Josephine Baker Trust, as well as being chosen for the Glyndebourne Opera Lab. She also received mentorship from Barbara Hannigan. Before this, Hannah studied Music at Clare College Cambridge, where she graduated with a First and the Lester Brough Prize for Music. Recent highlights include her debut at the Salzburger Festspiele in Nono’s ‘Io Frammento del Prometeo’, a new horticultural opera with London Sinfonia and EXAUDI, voice and synth works in Minoritensaal Graz, Brett Dean’s ‘Wolf Lieder’ alongside Riot Ensemble conducted by the composer, singing as a chorus member for English National Opera in ‘Dead Man Walking’, Mahler’s ‘Rückert-Lieder’ at Cadogan Hall with Ballet Nights, Mozart’s Requiem with National Youth Choir and London Sinfonietta and Fauré’s Requiem with Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
Hannah regularly sings with the Edward Grieg Kor in Norway, EXAUDI, The Facade Ensemble, The Carice Singers, and Cantando Admont in Austria.
Hannah sang as a choral scholar in Clare College Choir and Head Chorister at Guildford Cathedral; where she sang as a soloist on multiple recordings. At Cambridge, she received art song coaching from Joseph Middleton as a Pembroke Lieder Scholar, sung multiple principal roles in opera productions, and won the Clare College Concerto Competition.
Future engagements include a tour of Germany featuring a premiere written for her and collaborating with Beat Furrer for Irish New Music Festival.
He began singing as a chorister in the Choir of New College, Oxford, under the direction of Edward Higginbottom. Whilst in secondary school, he was a member of the inaugural cohort of Choral Scholars with the Oxford Bach Soloists, directed by Tom Hammond-Davies. He read Music at the University of Cambridge, where he sang as a Choral Scholar and then Lay Clerk in the Choir of St John’s College, directed by Andrew Nethsingha and Christopher Gray. He also sang as a Scholar with Voces8 from 2022 to 2023 and in the same year was a member of the Sir Arthur Bliss Lieder Scheme at Pembroke College, receiving tuition from Joseph Middleton. In recent years he has enjoyed masterclasses and tuition with Sir Thomas Allen, Ailish Tynan, Nick Mulroy, and Lucy Crowe.
Recent performances include Britten’s Male Chorus in ‘The Rape of Lucretia’ and the title role in ‘St Nicolas’, the Evangelist role in Bach’s ‘Christmas Oratorio’ and ‘St John Passion’, premiere performances of student-written operas for the Opera Makers programme at the Royal Academy of Music, and Opera Scenes also at the RAM, alongside freelance choral work. He is looking forward to playing Remendado in the Royal Academy Opera production of Carmen in November 2025.
Joseph is also involved in music education work, delivering singing workshops in schools across the country with the Voces8 Foundation as a member of their Education Team. He has also worked as a volunteer with the London branch of The Choir with no Name, an organisation of Choirs involving people affected by homelessness.
Joseph is grateful for the support of Help Musicians, the St John’s College Choir Association, and the Josephine Baker Trust.
Tom read music at St John’s College, Cambridge, and is now continuing his studies in the opera school at the Royal Academy of Music (RAM) where he studies under Mark Wildman and Iain Ledingham.
His recent engagements include performances at the Ryedale Festival in both 2024 and 2023, where he took on the role of Adonis in Blow’s Venus and Adonis and presented a recital of Brahms songs and duets. At RAM, Tom performed in Britten’s The Burning Fiery Furnace as the Herald and as an undergraduate, he took on roles such as the Twin Brothers (Die Zwillingsbrüder) and Eisenstein (Der Fledermaus) with the Cambridge University Opera Society, as well as Achilla (Giulio Cesare) and Figaro (Le nozze di Figaro) with the Trinity College Music Society.
Tom’s notable performances at Cambridge include his role as a soloist on Magnificat 3 with St John’s College Choir, as well as on the recording of Chesnokov’s All-Night Vigil with St John’s Voices. He has also appeared as a soloist with St John’s College Choir on BBC Radio 3 and 4 broadcasts.
He was the winner of the Clare College Song Competition in 2021, alongside his pianist George Herbert, and received the Donald Wort Prize for his final recital at Cambridge, in addition to the Vocal Postgraduate Prize at RAM.
Tom regularly appears as a soloist in oratorio performances, including recent appearances with the Choir of King’s College, Cambridge at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, and with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra at Christchurch Priory. Tom is a Lay Vicar at Westminster Abbey, where he recently performed for the Coronation of His Majesty the King.
Tickets
Tickets: from £15 (student concessions and free carers’ tickets available)
Pre-bookable programme £2
Please note that tickets are purchased on a non-refundable basis.
Access: Step-free access to the building is available at the Downing Place entrance to the building and there are also accessible toilet facilities. Click HERE to find out more.
If you require a free carer’s ticket or have additional access requirements, please get in touch tickets@cam-phil.org.uk
Photo Credit: Bill Hiskett Photography