More Classical News
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Major cathedral concert from top county choir
Posted on Thu 25 Sep
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Striking The Right Notes
Posted on Wed 23 Jul
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Warwick Arts Centre’s Orchestral Season Announced
Posted on Tue 22 Jul
ORCHESTRA OF THE SWAN: WINTERTIDE
The Warwick-based Orchestra of the Swan are promising ‘an exquisite weave of atmospheric, seasonal music’ combined with ‘winter words by Dylan Thomas, Laurie Lee, Charles Dickens and more’ when they pay a visit to Stratford’s Holy Trinity Church - Shakespeare’s final resting place - at the end of the month.
The programme for the concert features, among other compositions, Holst’s Midwinter, Corelli’s Christmas Concerto and Vivaldi’s iconic ‘Winter’ from The Four Seasons. The seasonal poetry and prose is narrated by Sunny Ormonde, best known for her role in BBC Radio Four soap The Archers.
Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-upon-Avon, Saturday 29 November
EX CATHERDA: CHRISTMAS MUSIC BY CANDLELIGHT
What better way to get into the Christmas spirit than by enjoying an evening with one of the country’s most critically acclaimed choral music ensembles?
Under the directorship of its founder, Jeffrey Skidmore, Ex Cathedra’s atmospheric and much-loved Christmas Music By Candlelight event features festive favourites from around the globe and across the ages, interspersed with a variety of seasonal readings...
The Saturday the 20th performance at Birmingham’s St Paul’s Church takes place at 4pm. All other concerts begin at 7pm.
St John’s Church, Hagley, Tuesday 2 December; St Chad’s Church, Shrewsbury, Thursday 4 December; Lichfield Cathedral, Friday 5 December; Coventry Cathedral, Thursday 11 December; St Peter’s Collegiate Church, Wolverhampton, Saturday 13 December; St Mary’s Church, Moseley, Wednesday 17 December; St Paul’s Church, Birmingham, Friday 19 - Monday 22 December
JARUALDA QUARTET
“Our name is a fusion of all our names,” explains the Jarualda Quartet, “because our interdependence is at the core of our ethos. We are all equally important, and a good quartet is always about more than the sum of its parts.”
Comprising violinists Alex Postlethwaite and David Joyce, viola player Jane Park and cellist Ruth Henley, Jarualda boasts a wealth of experience, with all four of its members being much in demand as soloists, chamber musicians and section principals.
The quartet’s Shrewsbury concert features works by Shostakovich, Beethoven, Haydn and Paul Henley.
The Gateway, Shrewsbury, Thursday 4 December
PICCADILLY SINFONIETTA: VIVALDI FOUR SEASONS
The ever-busy Piccadilly Sinfonietta have established an impressive reputation for their performances of baroque and classical works for chamber orchestra.
Their presentation of Antonio Vivaldi’s Four Seasons takes place by candlelight.
The programme also includes Corelli’s Christmas Concerto and a number of other much-loved works.
Lichfield Cathedral, Thursday 4 December; Shrewsbury Abbey, Wednesday 10 December
MANCHESTER CAMERATA & KANTOS CHAMBER CHOIR
As retellings of the Christmas story go, Handel’s Messiah is definitely one worth hearing...
Originally written for Easter and featuring a series of much-loved classics - including For Unto Us A Child Is Born and the legendary Hallelujah! - Messiah was first performed in 1742 and had been much anticipated. Indeed, so large an audience was expected for its Dublin premiere that women who were attending were asked to wear dresses ‘without hoops’ in order to make ‘room for more company’...
Manchester Camerata here team up with Kantos Chamber Choir for a rendition of the work that should certainly get its audience in the Christmas spirit.
Victoria Hall, Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, Friday 5 December
CITY OF BIRMINGHAM CHOIR: HANDEL'S MESSIAH
The City of Birmingham Choir’s December performance of Handel’s magnificent choral masterpiece is a well-established element of the Midlands’ festive music scene - and as retellings of the Christmas story go, it’s most definitely one worth hearing...
The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra further add to the evening’s magic. Adrian Lucas conducts, with Birmingham’s city organist, Thomas Trotter, on the harpsichord.
Symphony Hall, Birmingham, Friday 5 December
MIDLAND SINFONIA: MUSICAL INSPIRATIONS
This year marking its 30th anniversary, the Midland Sinfonia makes a welcome return with a programme of music inspired by other compositions.
Included in the concert is The Beatles’ Penny Lane, the trumpet solo of which took its inspiration from Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No2, which also gets an airing.
Brandenburg Concerto No4, Rimsky-Korsakov’s Christmas Eve Suite, and Gordon Jacob’s Suite For Treble Recorder also feature.
The Ark at St Laurence, Alvechurch, Birmingham, Saturday 6 December
WORCESTER FESTIVAL CHORAL SOCIETY
Worcester Festival Choral Society’s performance of Handel’s magnificent choral masterpiece is a popular element of the Midlands’ festive-music scene - and as retellings of the Christmas story go, it’s most definitely one worth hearing.
The 164-year-old Society’s 140 voices will be joined by four solo performers and the Meridian Sinfonia Baroque orchestra.
Worcester Cathedral, Saturday 6 December
LINAROL CONSORT
Comprising musicians who are leading exponents of the viol, the Linarol Consort present a concert telling the story of a truly dramatic event: a shipwreck that led to a chance meeting between Henry VII of England and Philip the Handsome of Burgundy.
Huntingdon Hall, Worcester, Sunday 7 December
BIRMINGHAM PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA
One of the Midlands’ best known and most admired non-professional orchestras, the Birmingham Phil here get into the Christmas spirit with an afternoon concert titled Cinderella And Other Pantomime Stories.
Alongside a selection of music from Prokofiev’s Cinderella, the programme also features Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty Suite, Rupert Cole’s Resonant Tale and Nielsen’s Aladdin Suite.
Jack Lovell-Huckle conducts.
Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, Sunday 7 December
CHRISTMAS WITH ANNA LAPWOOD
With more than two million followers on social media, it’s fair to say that Anna Lapwood is bringing the magic of the organ to the masses. Hailed by Gramophone as ‘the dream ambassador for classical music’, Anna is here presenting ‘a festive evening of carols from the console and tidings through the pipes’.
Birmingham Town Hall, Tuesday 9 December
HALESOWEN ORCHESTRA
The Halesowen Orchestra has been described as one of the town’s hidden jewels - and it’s a description with which the ensemble’s many supporters would no doubt wholeheartedly agree.
Founded in 1986, the amateur group of musicians meet once a week to practise a varied repertoire of works by some of the world’s greatest classical composers.
This month’s concert features a wide selection of music, from Sibelius’ Karelia Overture to the Wallace And Gromit Theme and Polar Express Suite.
Halesowen Town Hall, Saturday 13 December
BIRMINGHAM BACH CHOIR
An afternoon concert presenting both familiar and lesser-known festive music, Birmingham Bach Choir’s annual carol service is the perfect way to kickstart your Christmas celebrations.
O Come All Ye Faithful, Once In Royal David’s City and Hark The Herald Angels Sing are among the featured carols, which will be interspersed with nine readings.
St Alban’s, Birmingham, Sunday 14 December
JOGLARESA
Medieval and folk ensemble Joglaresa bring their unique brand of festive fun to the region mid-month, presenting a concert of carols specifically designed to get their sure-to-be-appreciative audience singing along.
The band will be hosting a short workshop before the show, providing attendees with the chance ‘to learn the nuts and bolts of a few numbers you didn’t know you always knew!’
Mulled wine and mince pies are included, ‘to warm up the vocal cords beautifully’.
St Mary’s Church, Warwick, Tuesday 16 December
ARMONICO CONSORT
Armonico Consort’s latest concert is a tribute to the music of George Frideric Handel and sees them performing anthems which the composer wrote for King George II’s coronation in 1727. Two of the works, Zadok The Priest and The King Shall Rejoice, are widely considered to be among the most powerful and evocative pieces ever composed for such an event.
The programme also features Dettingen Te Deum. One of Handel’s most widely admired works, it was written to celebrate King George II’s triumphant return from the Battle of Dettingen in 1743.
The composer’s famous Fireworks Music completes the line-up. The work was created in 1749, to accompany the royal celebrations for the ending of the War of the Austrian succession.
Malvern Theatres, Friday 5 December; Warwick Arts Centre, Coventry, Thursday 18 December
ORCHESTRA OF THE SWAN: THE BELLS OF PARADISE
If, for whatever reason, you’re struggling to get into the Christmas spirit, this could well be the concert that unlocks those hitherto-constrained feelings of festive merriment.
The Coventry born-and-raised Harvey Brough, who’s perhaps most famous from 1980s jazz harmony group Harvey And The Wallbangers, leads local community choir Vox Populi as they perform Christmas carols from around the globe and through the ages.
Holy Trinity Church, Leamington Spa, Saturday 20 December
MIDLANDS HOSPITAL CHOIR SING NOEL, ALLELUIA!
Britain’s Got Talent semi-finalist 2024 Denise Leigh is the soprano for this concert of seasonal music, which sees the Midlands Hospitals’ Choir teaming up with the Phoenix Singers. Organist Richard Dawson and the highly rated Gemini Brass also contribute to what promises to be a memorable afternoon of musicmaking.
Birmingham Town Hall, Sunday 21 December