At their forthcoming concert at St John’s Church on Saturday 5 March at 7:30pm, the Cecilia Consort will be singing a celebration of contemporary American music. The Consort love to perform choral works from all over the world and this concert will be no exception, enabling them to showcase music from well-loved composers from across the Atlantic.
As the Consort’s Musical Director, local music teacher and professional soprano Jan Coxwell, says: “Having reached our 30th anniversary, I have found myself reflecting a great deal on all the music we have sung in that time. This year I have been delving into our archives and we have been performing and recoding works that have featured heavily in those 30 years.
“Our concert in March will be the last of these reflections and will feature contemporary American music that has more recently been added to our repertoire and includes works by Muhly, Lauridsen and Whitacre, as well as Barber’s famous choral version of his Adagio and Herbert Howell’s haunting Take him earth for cherishing, written for the memorial service of J F Kennedy. I hope there will be something for everyone to enjoy.”
Following their delayed 30th Anniversary Concert at Douai Abbey last November, the Consort have recently been reprising the works from that performance to record a celebratory CD. Produced by Jan’s Tallis Scholars colleague, countertenor Patrick Craig, the recording should be available via their website – and at future concerts – later this year.
The Consort will, as usual, be accompanied at the concert by their long-term accompanist and well-known local organist, Steve Bowey.