An English Choral Garland Yorkshire Bach Choir
Event details
With Lucy Russell violin
Ben Horden organ
Join Yorkshire Bach Choir for a captivating concert woven with themes of nature, gardens and transcendent landscapes. At its heart is a unique arrangement of Vaughan Williams' soaring, timeless The Lark Ascending, reimagined for choir and solo violin.
You can also enjoy Moeran’s vibrant Songs of Springtime and Pearsall's haunting Lay a Garland, as well as two of Britten’s choral masterpieces, Hymn to St Cecilia - an imaginative setting of WH Auden’s poetic tapestry - and Rejoice in the Lamb - which praises a unique natural world through Christopher Smart’s fantastical poetry.
The programme also interweaves Finzi’s rich evocation of pastoral sacrifice Lo, the Full Final Sacrifice and the heavenly expanse of Harris’s Faire is the Heaven.
There will be a pre-concert talk at 6.30pm by Gillian Parker of the University of York on ‘Music in the Garden’ at the concert venue.
Wheelchair access is available via a portable ramp into the church and concert stewards will be available to help. If you do have additional requirements, it’s always helpful to know in advance. Please contact Yorkshire Bach Choir via their contact form.
Image credit: Benjamin Lockey
About the performers
Gillian Parker is Professor Emeritus at the University of York and is completing a PhD in Plant Nursery History.
Founded in 1979 by its Conductor, Peter Seymour, Yorkshire Bach Choir has been regarded for over 30 years as one of the UK’s leading chamber choirs, specialising in performing renaissance, baroque and classical music. The mainstay of the choir’s performance is its annual series of six concerts. In addition, the choir regularly performs elsewhere in the UK and abroad participating in a variety of festivals and has featured on both radio and television. The choir has made recordings of works ranging in period from the Spanish Renaissance of Victoria right through to the classical period, represented by Mozart’s Requiem. These and its other recordings are an enduring benchmark of its achievement.
Lucy Russell is an internationally distinguished violinist, celebrated for her exceptional artistry on both historical and modern instruments.
Her association with the University of York is longstanding, beginning with studying at the University and continuing through her role as a director of the University’s Baroque Ensemble. Since 1995, she has been a core member of the world-renowned Fitzwilliam String Quartet, serving as the ensemble's leader since 2011. Additionally, Lucy maintains a close collaboration with Yorkshire Baroque Soloists, frequently leading the ensemble. She is among the most distinguished of international violinists who have achieved eminence on both historical instruments and their ‘modern’ counterparts, performing and recording music from Monteverdi to the present day with equal distinction and authority.
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