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Sun, Moon, Sea and Stars - our next concert in Didsbury
After our resoundingly successful Christmas concerts at The Bridgewater Hall with the Manchester Concert Orchestra, the mood and venue change to a calmer setting. Our next concert – Sun, Moon, Sea and Stars – sees us at Emmanuel Church, Didsbury on 12th March where we will be singing in aid of the charity Freedom from Torture. This concert is for those of you who warm to descriptive poetry set to beautiful harmonies by some of the world’s best composers for choirs.
The concert title is taken from Bob Chilcott’s piece of the same name, which is a tender love song for Kate: ‘forever you will be – like sun, moon, sea and stars to me, to me’. Bring your handkerchiefs. Another Chilcott piece is his gentle arrangement of the American folksong Hush Little Baby. As usual in our own concerts, we have an international list of composers and will be singing some new pieces hitherto unknown or lesser known in the UK. Jussi Chydenius figures in many of our recent concerts. He describes himself as ‘a hopeless romantic and an utterly text-oriented composer’. We will be singing three of his pieces: Deep in the Night is very funky; Tonight is a melancholic love song; I Am the Great Sun is one of the Chorale’s favourites with exciting crescendos and changing rhythms. Eric Whitacre is an American who writes complex harmonies that delight and intrigue choirs and listeners alike. His Seal Lullaby closely captures Rudyard Kipling’s poem about the moon and ‘the slow-swinging seas’. Even further away, New Zealand’s David Hamilton adds a new piece to our repertoire – Only the Moon Has Secrets. Look on our website to see our full repertoire. However, bringing us closer to home, we will be singing Bright Star by the Chorale’s own Chris O’Hara who hails from Glossop. The website has an interview with Chris where he describes his piece as ‘slightly challenging’. We’re working on another piece by Chris. Watch out for the world premiere! There will be other songs on our title theme, but we will be adding in a few lighter surprises.
Freedom from Torture is a charity providing therapy, practical assistance and medico-legal documentation to survivors of torture and organised violence. Most clients are refugees or asylum seekers who are not only suffering the effects of torture but also the uncertainty of life in exile. The centre in Manchester, which receives around 12 referrals a fortnight, also runs music groups, a football group, offers training and supervision for those working with survivors and has a family and young people's service. The small local supporters group always welcomes help. Please contact Merryn Cooke 0161 861 0153 if you are interested.
