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Spectacular spring concert gets a rousing reception
14th March, 2016
Worcestershire music-lovers enjoyed an evening of musical emotion and excitement Worcester Cathedral on Saturday 12th March, when Worcester Festival Choral Society – one of the world-renowned ‘Three Choirs Festival’ choirs – performed four major choral works, supported by leading operatic and concert soloists.
The varied concert began with great British composer Ralph Vaughan Williams’s stunning, 1936 cantata Dona Nobis Pacem – Latin for ‘Grant Us Peace’ – in which he makes a moving plea for peace amidst fears of the Second World War. The choir also performed one of Czech composer Antonin Dvořák’s finest choral works, Te Deum; and the beautiful Alto Rhapsody by Johannes Brahms. Rounding off the evening was the thrilling Polovtsian Dances from the opera Prince Igor by Russian composer Alexander Borodin – a huge audience favourite.
Performing with WFCS were three, internationally acclaimed soloists: award-winning soprano Katherine Crompton; Royal Opera House and recording mezzo-soprano Deborah Miles; and National Opera Studio bass Timothy Dickinson. The concert was supported by the Meridian Sinfonia orchestra and conducted by Worcester Cathedral director of music Peter Nardone.
Ben Cooper, chairman of Worcester Festival Choral Society, commented: “It really was a bumper ‘Spring Spectacular’ concert and hugely well received. Each of the works has its own very definite character, from moments of stirring reflection to huge excitement, so there was something for every music lover to enjoy.”
Established in 1861, Worcester Festival Choral Society comprises around 140 auditioned singers drawn from across the County and beyond. The society stages three major concerts in Worcester Cathedral each year, performing some of the world’s ‘great choral works’. Many of its members perform in the annual Three Choirs Festival, which last year celebrated its 300th anniversary.
Worcester Festival Choral Society's next event is 'Singalongelijah' - a one-day singing workshop offering the chance to rehearse and perform Mendelssohn's great oratorio Elijah in a day. The workshop takes place in Kings School Worcester's historic College Hall on Saturday 16th April, with tickets available at www.worcesterfestivalchoralsociety.org.uk until 1st April.
The Society's next concert then takes place on Saturday 19th November at 7:30pm, with tickets available at www.worcesterfestivalchoralsociety.org.uk from August.
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