Richard Hickox at the Spitalfields festival

Christ Church Spitalfields, 2010

Each year Christ Church Spitalfields hosts a music festival.  The church, designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor and built between the years 1714 and 1729, is a marvellous venue for music making. In the early 1990’s I photographed a rehearsal for a performance of Bach’s Mass in B minor conducted by Richard Hickox who died suddenly in 2008.

Richard Hickox, Christ Church Spitalfields early 1990's

I recently digitised the negatives of the rehearsal and remembered the warm relationship between Hickox and the orchestra, choir and soloists.

Soloist rehearsing for an evening performance of the B minor Mass by Bach

The afternoon rehearsal for the evening performance enabled me to move around and get a variety of shots.

Richard Hickox rehearsing at Christ Church early 1990's

I watched the evening performance from the balcony at the back of the church.

Rehearsal at Christ Church early 1990's