A Musical Manifesto
Welcome to Crickhowell Choral Society’s 27th Music Festival and another feast of magnificent music! This year’s pieces held great expectations for their composers - a musical manifesto of their talent.*
Friday 28th April: Joining us for our opening Welsh Folk Night are Patrick Rimes and Angharad Jenkins of Calan fame, as fans of Welsh folk music will know. Their violin virtuosity, vocal lyricism and imaginative flare are breathtaking, bringing new life into traditional Welsh tunes. If you haven’t already embraced Welsh folk music this is the perfect opportunity.
Saturday 29th April: Mozart’s Mass in C, the ‘Great Mass’, is his most ambitious choral work, a Missa Solemnis conceived on a scale comparable with those of Bach and Beethoven.The choir will be accompanied by the Festival Orchestra, led by Marianna Szücs whom we are delighted to welcome back, and soloists of the extraordinary sort that we are so honoured to welcome every year.A special treat is that Áine Smith, one of the Choral Society’s former scholars and now flourishing as a professional singer, will join them.
Sunday 30th April: In the morning is the Festival Service at St Catwg’s Church and as usual this will include a Bach Cantata, plus a setting of Psalm 23 by Heinrich Schütz, Bach’s great predecessor.
At St Edmund’s in the evening will be the young Handel’s powerful setting of Dixit Dominus, written during his Italian apprenticeship.The scale and vision of this piece are unlike any other and declared Handel’s creative genius. Luckily for us, soloists will be on hand to tackle the exceptional technical and emotional demands of the music.
Sunday will also showcase hidden gems by Baroque composers deserving to be better known. Flagship pieces like Vivaldi’s masterpiece Confitebor, alongside three Vesper Psalm settings by the little known but prolific Czech composer, Zelenka.
Monday 1st May: The Festival’s closing event is a joyous opportunity to hear our talented choral scholars in an informal recital of songs and arias.And there’ll be tea and cakes - so don’t miss it.
*Full details at www.crickhowellchoralsociety.org