Handel masterpiece for The Chichester Singers

The Chichester Singers offer a programme of Handel, Parry and Duruflé when they perform in Chichester Cathedral on Saturday, March 24 at 7.30pm.
Jonathan WillcocksJonathan Willcocks
Jonathan Willcocks

Musical director Jonathan Willcocks said: “The programme combines celebratory baroque music (Handel – Coronation Anthems) with the beautifully-evocative mid-20th century Duruflé – Requiem.

“And we also have an interesting lesser-known piece Hear My Words, Ye People by Parry, to mark the centenary of this fine composer’s death in 1918.

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“Parry is today best known for the great hymn Jerusalem, which has virtually become a second National Anthem, and the dramatic anthem I Was Glad which features prominently in most great royal church and cathedral ceremonies.

“But in late Victorian England he was one of the most prominent musicians (director of the Royal College of Music and professor of music at Oxford University) as well as its leading composer in the generation before Edward Elgar.

“Hear My Words, Ye People has Southern links, as it was written for a festival held in Salisbury Cathedral in 1894.

“A further strong local connection is the fact that the original organ accompaniment was orchestrated in 1978 by Richard Barnes, who is currently accompanist to the Chichester Singers, and in this version first performed in St. Paul’s Cathedral for the 300th anniversary of the granting of the Royal Charter.

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“We have two excellent professional soloists (Stephanie Wake-Edwards – mezzo-soprano and Hugo Herman-Wilson – baritone) and the orchestra for this concert will, as usual, be Southern Pro Musica.”

The full programme is Handel – Zadok the Priest; Handel – The King shall Rejoice; Parry – Hear my Words, ye People; and Duruflé – Requiem.

Tickets are available from the box office:http:// https://chichestersingers.co.uk/buy-tickets.

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