HUNDREDS of music lovers are expected to dive in to a special, sea-themed concert at Worcester Cathedral when the 150 voices of Worcester Festival Choral Society – one of the region’s most respected choirs – perform one of Ralph Vaughan Williams’s great choral works to mark his 150th birthday.
The concert on November 26 from 7.30pm includes two, early-20th century English choral masterpieces, both paying homage to the ocean and set to verses from Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass poetry collection.
Top of the bill is Vaughan Williams’ first and best-loved choral symphony, A Sea Symphony – re-staged by popular demand after the Choral Society’s originally planned, sell-out 2020 performance of the work had to be cancelled when the pandemic first struck.
Ben Cooper, chairman of Worcester Festival Choral Society, said: “We’re thrilled to be able to perform A Sea Symphony at last. Listening to it really is like taking a musical voyage. You can picture every aspect of the ocean, from the opening brass fanfare announcing that first glimpse of the sea, to the final, distant notes disappearing over the horizon.”
The concert also includes Sea Drift by Frederick Delius, a moving story of lost love set against a seascape backdrop.
Also performing will be renowned soprano Sarah Fox and baritone Andrew Mayor. The Meridian Sinfonia symphony orchestra accompanies, and Worcester Cathedral’s Director of Music Samuel Hudson will conduct.
The Choral Society’s two other concerts in its 22-23 season will be Handel’s Messiah on December 10, and Elgar’s
The Dream of Gerontius on 18 March 2023; both at Worcester Cathedral from 7.30pm.
Established in 1861 and closely associated with Sir Edward Elgar in its early years, Worcester Festival Choral Society’s 150 auditioned singers are drawn from across the County.
It holds three major concerts in Worcester Cathedral each season, performing many of ‘the choral greats’. It also holds an annual one-day ‘Come and Sing’ workshop open to all amateur singers.
Many of the society’s members are also selected for the prestigious Three Choirs Festival Chorus each summer.
A Sea Symphony tickets are available from www.wfcs.online and from TicketSource on 0333 666 3366.
