A View From Mam Tor
This programme invites you on a musical journey: beginning high on Win Hill, gazing across the ridge towards Ladybower Reservoir, tracing the ridgeline to Mam Tor for a moment of quiet reflection over its sweeping views, before descending into the valley… and arriving here, in the very pew where you sit this evening. Along the way, you’ll hear echoes of ancient chants that are sempiternal like these hills, alongside the world premiere of Kitty Green – a brand-new work rooted in the folklore of this very landscape.
The Journey
WIN HILL
Soundscape + The Bluebird – Charles Villiers Stanford (1852–1924)
Our journey begins high on Win Hill, where the air feels still and the view stretches towards Ladybower Reservoir. Charles Villiers Stanford’s The Bluebird captures that moment of quiet suspension: a luminous soprano line glides like a bird over water, the harmonies beneath holding us in a calm that feels almost timeless. A subtle soundscape deepens the sense of being held aloft, just above the noise of the world.
ALONG THE GREAT RIDGE
The Hills – John Ireland (1879–1962)
From here, we follow the path along the Great Ridge. John Ireland’s The Hills perfectly and directly summon the landscape with which we are so familiar – rich, lyrical harmonies evoking permanence, weathered sandstone, and the quiet grandeur of the countryside, allowing us to take in every changing light and contour.
A VIEW FROM MAM TOR
Earth Seen from Above – Meredith Monk (b. 1942)
Earth Song – Frank Ticheli (b. 1958)
Ave Generosa – Hildegard von Bingen (1098–1179)
Arriving at Mam Tor, the view opens in every direction – a vast panorama of ridges, valleys, and the wonky quilt of fields below. This is a place where the scale of the land meets the stillness of the sky, and it’s here that the music takes us from extrospection, to gratitude, to something higher.
Meredith Monk’s Earth Seen from Above strips away words entirely, leaving only the raw, elemental sound of the voice. In its repetitions and shifting textures, it feels like listening to the earth itself breathe – an irony that conjures an ancient hum from the beeps and tones of a satellite, that connects human song to the rhythms of wind, water, and stone.
From this quiet meditation, Frank Ticheli’s Earth Song rises as a sustained prayer for peace. Its warm, hymn-like chords feel as though they’re rooted deep in the ground, yet they open upwards, carrying the listener’s gaze and spirit beyond the horizon. It also serves as an affirmation for the singers themselves, with music and singing being their refuge.
Hildegard von Bingen’s Ave Generosa draws the sacred into this landscape, praising the Virgin Mary with imagery of lilies, fertile soil, and life-giving dew. Her soaring, unaccompanied melody has the same clarity and brightness as the light spilling across the ridges, and its ecstatic leaps feel like a direct expression of joy at the meeting of heaven and earth. The music locks the listener in a spiritual state; a feeling not dissimilar to the impermanence of life we feel when confronted with the geological banquet on display from the top of Mam Tor.
DOWN THE VALLEY
O Pastor Animarum – Hildegard von Bingen (1098–1179)
We begin our descent into the valley with Hildegard’s O Pastor Animarum. Here, the Shepherd of souls reminds us of our contemporary sheep farming locals, and the chant carries the pastoral calm of the land itself – valleys cradling flocks, streams guiding their way down the basin. The music holds us gently, preparing us for the return to the human world.
…INTO ST EDMUND’S CHURCH
Kitty Green – Timothy Peters (b. 1995)
Finally, we step into St Edmund’s Church for the world premiere of Timothy Peters’ Kitty Green. Rooted in a Peak District folktale collected by artist Joe Winstanley, the piece carries the voices of this landscape’s past into the present, uniting story, place, and community. It’s a reminder that the hills and valleys we’ve traversed today are alive with tales waiting to be told – and sung.
The Composers
Charles Villiers Stanford (1852–1924)
Stanford was an Irish composer, conductor, and teacher whose influence on British music was immense, counting Vaughan Williams, Holst, and Ireland among his pupils. A master of choral writing, he blended Germanic Romanticism with an English lyrical sensibility.
The Bluebird (1910) is a serene part-song setting of Mary Coleridge’s poem, notable for its stillness and word-painting. Its luminous soprano line floats above gentle, static harmonies, mirroring the image of a bird gliding silently over water. The preceding soundscape element by Timothy Peters generates this atmosphere, creating an almost cinematic sense of suspension in time.
John Ireland (1879–1962)
Ireland was an English composer and pianist whose music often draws inspiration from nature, literature, and the English landscape. A private, introspective figure, he wrote works in many genres but is perhaps best remembered for his songs and chamber music.
The Hills is a choral setting of words by James Kirkup, evoking the permanence and quiet grandeur of the countryside. Written in Ireland’s characteristically rich harmonic language, it captures a distinctly pastoral atmosphere that sits within the early 20th-century English choral tradition, alongside composers such as Vaughan Williams and Howells.
Meredith Monk (b. 1942)
Monk is an American composer, singer, and interdisciplinary artist, widely recognised as a pioneer of
extended vocal techniques and minimalism. Her work spans music, theatre, dance, and film.
This piece is an example of her wordless vocal writing, where melody, texture, and timbre take precedence over traditional text-setting. Emerging from the experimental currents of the late 20th century, it connects to both minimalist repetition and ancient, ritual-like vocal practices.
Frank Ticheli (b. 1958)
Ticheli is an American composer celebrated for his concert band and choral works, known for their accessibility and emotional immediacy.
Written in 2007, Earth Song is a plea for peace, expressed through a sustained, hymn-like texture. It belongs to a contemporary American choral tradition that favours tonal clarity and emotional directness, echoing the work of composers such as Morten Lauridsen and Eric Whitacre.
Hildegard von Bingen (1098–1179)
Hildegard was a German Benedictine abbess, polymath, visionary, philosopher, mystic, poet, composer, medical writer and practitioner, whose vast output includes theological writings, medical treatises, and music. She is argued to be the founder of scientific natural history in Germany and is one of the earliest known named composers in Western music.
Her music is known for its free-flowing melodies and modal language, reflecting the monophonic sacred tradition of the medieval Church, while its ecstatic leaps and unusual melodic contours reveal Hildegard’s individual voice.
Timothy Peters (b. 1995)
Peters is a Sheffield-based composer, conductor, and singer whose work often blends historical inspiration with contemporary sound worlds. He is the founder and Artistic Director of FaceNoise, a choral foundation creating fresh, imaginative choral experiences.
Kitty Green is a world premiere, setting a local folktale collected by artist Joe Winstanley. The music reimagines oral storytelling through choral textures, linking the Peak District landscape with its mythic past and continuing the age-old tradition of preserving community histories through song.
bio of Timothy Peters
Timothy Peters is a conductor, tenor and composer living in Sheffield. He is the founder and Artistic Director of FaceNoise Choirs, and a Music Director of Barnsley Youth Choir which comprises of over 700 young singers. Moving away from London, where he sang as a member of the Chapels Royal (HM Tower of London), he has rejoined Kantos Chamber Choir and continues as a session singer for Sony Masterworks.
Here are some of his latest musings...
"I believe we’re at a turning point in UK music. Cuts to arts funding and music education have left many young people without easy ways to experience music-making. In fact, I think almost everyone of working age has missed out on major singing access—school singing is rapidly declining, and most other opportunities have stayed rooted in traditions that felt increasingly distant after the 1960s, when a cultural split emerged: pop music and its many offshoots—rock, soul, folk revival, jazz fusion—evolved at lightning speed, while classical music followed a “high art” path that became less and less accessible to the public.
At the same time, AI can now generate art at lightning speed—often by drawing from artists’ work without permission. Its growing prominence can make artistic pursuits feel redundant, leaving us facing a potential cultural void. For me, this makes messy, improvised, live human music more vital than ever. True musical skill grows best by first passing through the shambolic and organic—only then can we create something with real integrity.
FaceNoise keeps human connection at the fore. Pop Chorus is our open space for simply making noise together. Singers offers new classical experiences for committed amateur singers. Our professional choir, launching in 2026, will focus on collaboration, connection, and conceptualisation—creating high-quality, thought-provoking performances that remain accessible and alive.
This approach isn’t always grant-friendly. Large funders and sponsors often want guaranteed outcomes, clear metrics, and polished results—but the space I’m creating with FaceNoise is deliberately different.
Our concerts are performed to a high artistic standard while remaining human, accessible, and open to innovation. They prioritise connection over convention, bringing audiences into an experience that feels alive, relevant, and rooted in collaboration.
With this in mind, if this philosophy resonates with you and you’d like to help FaceNoise grow, I’d love to hear from you. Support can come in many forms—funding, services, time, skills, or anything else you can offer to help keep this vision alive."
