Summer Concert

Rochester Choral Society

Our Summer Concert combines two choral masterpieces in the awe-inspiring setting of Rochester’s ancient Cathedral.  The Magnificat composed by Carl Philip Emanuel Bach in 1749, the final year of his famous father’s life, owes  much to J.S Bach’s better known setting of this text but also displays his own richly expressive style, which was much admired by later classical composers including Mozart and Haydn.  Each movement evokes a different mood and beautiful arias showcase the talents of our vocal soloists.

Joseph Haydn’s Missa in Tempore Belli (Mass in Time of War) is also filled with emotional contrasts, reflecting its composition in 1796, when the threat of Napoleonic invasion was very real.  It was written to celebrate the name-day of Haydn’s princely patron’s wife, but the exuberance of its lighter movements is offset by an underlying unease and the threatening drum-rolls referred to by its nickname Paukenmesse (Timpani Mass) which lend urgency to its final plea for peace.

Rochester Choral Society will be joined by the Rochester Sinfonietta, conducted by Scott Farrell. 

Soloists in this concert will be:

Soprano:                      Alexandra Stevenson

Mezzo-soprano:          Janet Shell

Tenor:                          Clifford Lister

Bass:                           Stephen Alder

Further information and tickets available from http://www.rochesterchoral.co.uk/concerts

email: tickets@rochesterchoral.co.uk or telephone 01634 401049