On Saturday, November 15th, St Nicolas Church in Newbury will be hosting the local premiere of 'A Season to Sing’, composed by Joanna Forbes L'Estrange, and performed by acclaimed Newbury choral singers The Cecilia Consort. The group is one of the 55 choirs worldwide who commissioned this exciting new work: a choral reimagining of Antonio Vivaldi’s enduring popular set of violin concertos, The Four Seasons.
2025 is the 300th anniversary of Vivaldi’s most famous piece. A Season to Sing enhances the music’s programmatic content by weaving into the well-loved melodies texts from poetry and the Bible on the subject of each season.
According to BBC Music, “Joanna Forbes L’Estrange seems to have been born with catchy melodies coursing through her veins”. So a combination with Vivaldi’s renowned concerti will be an experience not to be missed!
The remainder of the programme includes some great favourites of the Cecilia Consort singers and audiences alike: Morten Lauridsen’s setting of ‘Lux aeterna’ is a rich and intensely moving piece, fully exploring choral textures from the sonorous, slow unfolding of the Introitus through to the final, joyous Alleluia providing an uplifting conclusion to this most powerful work.
The final two items are Benjamin Britten’s and Herbert Howells’ Hymns to/for St Cecilia, the patron saint of music, after whom the choir is named.
Doors will open in readiness for a 7.30pm start and tickets, priced at £17.50 for adults and £5 for under 18s
The Cecilia Consort, founded in 1990, is an auditioned chamber choir of some forty local singing enthusiasts - performing a minimum of two concerts a year, normally in March and November.
