Addison Singers Concert “Sing, Mortals!” on 16th March

The next Addison Singers concert is nearly upon us and will be held on Saturday 16th March 2024.

The concert will open with a command to ‘Sing, Mortals!’ by Arthur Bliss. Bliss’s music has a unique harmonic pallet, synonymous with mid-twentieth century English styles. It is a challenging, rousing opening to the Addison Singers’ concert programme.

Attention then turns to celebrating the Patron Saint of Music and Musicians, St. Cecilia, the first piece of which is by Charles Giffen, an American who, amongst other interests, is a mathematician and early music editor. This will be contrasted later in the programme with the more famous setting by Herbert Howells. The Chamber Choir provide an interlude of Spanish works between these settings, presenting two Marian works by Morales (born in Seville), and a short but ravishingly beautiful setting of ‘Ave Maria’ by Rodrigo.

After the interval, the Oratorio Choir will perform two well-loved works. Haydn’s ‘Te Deum in C’ was composed for Empress Marie Therese, the wife of Franz I of Austria. They were well known to each other with Haydn having accompanied Marie Therese, who, by all accounts, had a good singing voice. The composition is in a tripartite form, with a short, slow middle section. For the keen eared, there are references to eighth psalm-tone, which gives source material for the composition. Schubert’s ‘Mass in G’ (Mass No. 2) is notable for its brevity of composition (and its brevity in performance length), taking less than one week in the compositional stage and around twenty-two minutes to perform. Originally scored for strings and organ, it later received further orchestration with additional brass and timpani courtesy of Schubert’s brother, Ferdinand, due to its popularity upon publication after the composer’s death.

Addison Singers welcome soloists from within the choir in their performance, showcasing their depth of talent within the Addison Singers.

Tickets cost £18 (plus booking fee) for adults and £3 (plus booking fee) for the under 16s. Tickets can be bought online at ticketlab.co.uk/series/id/1227#.

Sing, Mortals! by Addison Singers
7.30pm, Saturday, 16th March 2024
St Peter’s Church
Southfield Road
W4 1BB