Birmingham Bach Choir return to Bournville Parish Church, Birmingham, on Saturday 22 November 2025 for Let There Be Light.

At the heart of the concert is a performance of Sir John Rutter’s famed Requiem.

Completed in 1985, and dedicated to the composer’s late father, Rutter’s Requiem consists of seven movements and is, for many, his masterpiece. Utilising both English and Latin texts, it begins with a slow brooding section before eventually reaching it’s peaceful, resting, conclusion.

Described by the composer as intimate, contemplative and consolatory, it’s a highly accessible and inclusive work. Fired to write his own Requiem after seeing the original manuscript of Gabriel Faure’s own Requiem in Paris some years earlier, Rutter’s work has become one of the best-loved and most widely performed choral works of the 20th century.

Accompanying the Requiem is a lesser known work by Rutter, Hymn To The Creator of Light. Written in memory of composer Herbert Howells, who died in 1983, it was first performed at the 1992 dedication of the stained glass window made in Howells’ memory at Gloucester Cathedral. Brimming with a mystical intensity, its harmonies echo Howells’ own music.

The final work of the night is Laudes Organi (In Praise of the Organ), the last piece written by Zoltán Kodaly, in 1966 – the year before he died.

Joining Birmingham Bach Choir and Paul Spicer and choir for Let There Be Light are Joseph Roberts (cello) and Tommy Hill (oboe), from the Sinfonia of Birmingham; organist Martyn Rawles; and soprano Ciará Preston Myakicheff.

Having studied Vocal Performance at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, Ciará was awarded an Ex Cathedra Choral Scholarship for 2020–21, and sang with the newly-formed Scholars’ Consort, directed by Jeffrey Skidmore. Joining Birmingham Bach Choir on several occasions, for both concerts and recordings, her last concert appearance with the choir was for 2024’s well-received Summer Concert.

Let There Be Light will mark the choir’s first appearance at the church in over a decade.

Birmingham Bach Choir: Let There Be Light is at Bournville Parish Church, Birmingham, on Saturday 22 November at 6pm. For tickets and more details see: birmingham.bachchoir.com