Spring is in the Air

March 1st might officially have been the first day of Spring, but it certainly didn’t feel like it in Lincolnshire!  However, despite interruptions from snow, members of Louth Choral Society have been turning up for rehearsals to prepare for their forthcoming Spring concert which will be held at St James’s Church, Louth, at 7:30 pm on Sunday 22nd April.

Conducted by their musical director, Allan Smith, the choir will be joined by members of St James’ Church Choir, King Edward VI School Choir, the Lincolnshire Chamber Orchestra and Dutch baritone, Nic Beemster, to present a programme of music that is sure to delight the audience.

The concert will feature music by Gabriel Fauré.  His celebrated ‘Requiem’ was written in the late 1880s.  Although successful in both church and concert settings, it was not performed in England until 1936.  Since then however, it has become one of the most popular and most frequently performed pieces of choral music.  It will be performed in the 1893 version with French Latin pronunciation.

Composed when he was only 19 years of age, his ‘Cantique de Jean Racine’ is remarkably similar in style to the ‘Requiem’.  Though slightly less well known, some younger film lovers might recognise it from the soundtrack to the hugely successful film ‘Babe’.

World Premiere

But the highlight of the concert will be the world premiere of ‘Sing to Me’, a collection of six songs by the young British composer Owain Park whose works are achieving international acclaim and have earned him numerous awards.

Commissioned by Louth Choral Society following a generous bequest by Gill Fraser, a late member of the choir, Owain has selected poems by writers including A E Houseman, Alice Meynell, Sara Teasdale and Stella Benson.

Conducted by the composer and accompanied by David Parker at the piano, the choir is delighted to have the privilege to present the first performance of these songs, which it is hoped will soon be gaining a much wider audience following their publication by Novello.

Tickets for what promises to be a very special concert are now available from Eve & Ranshaw in the town’s Cornmarket, or on-line from www.ticketsource.co.uk/louthchoral.