.png?ph=de843484e2)
Style, passion and class coming up - brass and voices
Saturday 14th December 2019, St Edward's RC Church, Lees, Oldham OL4 5AJ
The Manchester Chorale is looking forward to presenting a joint concert with the Boarshurst Silver band, which is suitably entitled Christmas Brass and Voices. We have a diverse programme for you that mainly reflects the time of year – winter and, just a few days away, Christmas. See the concert poster on the homepage.
The first half of our concert is taken up with mainly a cappela singing from the Manchester Chorale. There will be some familiar and some not-so-familiar carols and Christmas songs. To get you in the mood , the choir starts with Ding Dong Merrily. A few gentle carols with lovely harmonies follow on, punctuated by the 8-part In Dulci Jubilo. Listen to the words of The Bee Carol by Carol Ann Duffy; it’s a delightful description of what happens to bees in the middle of winter: ‘Flightless now and shivering, around the queen they cling’. It was the 2018 Radio 3 Carol of the Year. The Chorale finishes their half with a set of rousing songs starting with Vaughan Williams’ Wassail Song, a celebration of drinking! We then Deck the Hall before Sir Christèmas nowells us out.
Before the interval, the Chorale will be joined by some of the Boarshurst Silver Band to render O Magnum Mysterium by Gabrieli. It’s written for two choirs but on this occasion the band play the Choir 2 part. Should be interesting and exciting.
Boarshurst take over the second half with a blend of Christmas and more traditional brass band tunes. Enter the Galaxies gets them off to a flying start but the tempo slows down round the campfire with Embers and then Mel Torme’s Christmas Song. Just in case you were panicking, White Christmas does feature, together with some brass band classics, like Somewhere Over the Rainbow, A Special Place and Macarthur Park (can we join in?). We may, of course, get to hear some sleigh bells too.
Before the end, everyone will get the opportunity to sing a couple of carols with the choir and the band. Don’t miss this concert – you don’t often get the chance to hear brass and voice together.
