Halesworth Festival Voices
Presents

A Choral Concert of Baroque music including a Magnificat by Vivaldi, Beatus Vir by Monteverdi and works by Schütz, Gabrieli and Purcell – Conductor Ian Humphris

at St Mary’s Church, Halesworth on Sunday 31st May at 7.30pm.

Admission £8 including refreshments.

Tickets may be obtained from Halesworth Bookshop or on the door.
Alternatively, ring Dorothy on 01986 873202 to book an advance ticket.

Venice around the turn of the 18th century provides the background to our programme. Giovanni Gabrieli and Claudio Monteverdi were in charge of music at St. Mark’s; Heinrich Schütz studied there under Gabrieli, and Antonio Vivaldi was Music Maestro at the Ospedale della Pietà for orphaned girls. This was a Golden Age for Italian choral music and all our items are jewels from this period, full of life and energy, perfect for a springtime Sunday evening.. This year marks the anniversary of 350 years since the birth of England’s first great composer (some say the greatest English composer), Henry Purcell. We honour him with one of his compositions, Chacony, edited for strings by Benjamin Britten, who was a very great admirer of Purcell

We will be accompanied by a small string group with organ, the pick of East Anglian musicians led by Jim McLeod, who lives at Sudbourne. Solos will be sung by members of the choir, all local people. It is a very happy coincidence for this region that the choral trainers of Halesworth, Bungay and Beccles are all friends and colleagues of very longstanding, with very distinguished professional careers, and all three will take part in this Baroque concert. Harvey Rathbone, Bungay, will be baritone soloist, and Philip Simms, Beccles, will play the organ. It is a truly local event.

Our debut concert in December 2008, performing Benjamin Britten’s St. Nicolas, was a sell-out, so do not miss this opportunity to hear us again at our May concert.

We will also be singing at this year’s Halesworth Arts Festival on Saturday 17th October, performing Haydn’s Nelson Mass and Te Deum to mark the 200th anniversary of Haydn’s death.

We would welcome new members of all voices for this special occasion. Our rehearsals are on Monday nights, and music and voice CDs are already available. Ring Maggie Pepper on 01986 874900 for membership information.