Blessed Cecilia, appear in visions

To all musicians, appear and inspire
 

From Britten’s Hymn for St Cecilia






 Finchley Choral Society’s spring concert will feature a selection of unaccompanied choral works by Britten, Tippett, Verdi, Bruckner and Purcell.

Britten’s Hymn for St Cecilia sets words of a three part ode by WH Auden. Britten was born on St Cecilia’s day (22 November) and had long wanted to write a piece dedicated to St Cecilia – the patron saint of music and musicians. Britten's music to the Hymn embraces this idea of celebration. The piece was first performed on St. Cecilia's Day in 1942 – Britten's twenty-ninth birthday.

Tippett, a contemporary of Britten, composed the oratorio A Child of our Time between 1939 and 1941. The piece responds to the events in Europe at that time and the Negro Spirituals, which the Finchley Choral Society will perform, appear in the oratorio as the songs of victims of oppression. The set of spirituals features popular songs including Steel Away and Deep River and the work encapsulates Tippett’s own style, recognisably English, coloured with jazz and folk influences.

Verdi’s Hymn to the Virgin is a loving hymn of praise to the Virgin Mary scored for a cappella female voices. The concert will also include sacred setting by Bruckner and Purcell and will be conducted by the choir’s Music Director Grace Rossiter.

FCS was founded over one hundred years ago to give local people the opportunity to take part in high quality music making. It is now a thriving community choir presenting 3-4 concerts a year. The choir will be returning to the Free Church, Hampstead Garden Suburb. This impressive Grade I listed building, built by architect Edwin Lutyens in a similar style to St Jude’s, is one of the choir’s regular concert venues.

This concert will have done much to confirm Finchley’s deserved and growing reputation. Rossiter is giving them the confidence to grow and the opportunity to take risks...

David Winskill (Ham & High) on Beethoven’s Mass in C

Saturday 2 April 2011 at 7.45pm

Hampstead Garden Suburb Free Church

Central Square, London, NW11 7AG

Benjamin Britten                        Hymn to St Cecilia

Michael Tippett                        Five Negro Spiritual from A Child of our Time

Giuseppe Verdi                        Hymn to the Virgin

And choral settings by Anton Bruckner and Henry Purcell

Grace Rossiter                         conductor

Tickets £13.00 | £1 students/children

Tickets are available from the FCS box office (020 7263 3358) FCS members or at the door. Tickets can also be purchased from Les Aldrich Music, 98 Fortis Green Road, N10 3HN or call 020 8883 5631.