FROME Voices is looking forward to celebrating the arrival of spring with two performances of British music.
These will be on Saturday 19th March at 7.30pm, repeated on Sunday 20th at 3pm. Both concerts will be at Christ Church, Frome.
The choir reports, “The well-established community choir has acquired an impressive reputation for its choral music over a decade of performing. One audience member described a recent concert as ’an immaculate performance full of wonderful interpretation – very moving’.
“This year, the singers have been busy rehearsing since January and are excited to be able to perform again after nearly two years of lockdown. The varied programme comprises music by four eminent British composers – Hubert Parry, Benjamin Britten, Edward Elgar and Gerald Finzi. Some of the works will be familiar to many people, but there are some less well-known choral pieces in the mix as well – something for everyone to enjoy.
“Elgar’s song-cycle ‘Scenes from the Bavarian Highlands’ is a joyful collection of dances and songs, in turn light-hearted and poignant, written in remembrance of a happy holiday that Edward Elgar and his wife, Alice, had spent in Germany in 1894.
“In dramatic contrast, the choir will then sing two of the choruses from Britten’s powerful and challenging opera, Peter Grimes, set in a Suffolk fishing community. Gerald Finzi’s beautiful music is perhaps less well-known, and the choir will perform one of his glorious sacred works, Magnificat, the song of Mary praising God for having chosen her to be the mother of his son, Jesus Christ.
“And finally, the choir will present Hubert Parry’s ever-popular Blessed Pair of Sirens, a setting of an ode by John Milton and performed at the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in 2011.
“The choir will be accompanied by Liz Kozlowski on piano and organist Matthew Redman. The concerts will be conducted by Frome Voices’ musical director, Alan Burgess.
The concerts will be an hour long, with the chance to enjoy refreshments beforehand in the lovely setting of Christ Church, Frome. Tickets will cost £10 (under-18s free), and can be bought in advance from choir members or on the door by cash or contact-less card.
For more information about Frome Voices please visit their website: fromevoices.org
