Britain's What's On Event Guide
A Feast for Saint Cecilia
Sunday 17 November, 7.30 pm, St Dunstan's Church, Mayfield
Programme
Lotti: Missa Sancti Christophori
Handel: Ode for St Cecilia’s Day
Performers
Mayfield Festival Choir
Conductor: Jeremy Summerly
Orchestra: Mayfield Baroque
Soloists: Sofia Kirwan-Baez (Soprano), Dee Benians (Alto) Francis Melville (Tenor)
The combination of Dryden’s poetry and Handel’s music is a winning one. Handel’s Ode for St Cecilia’s Day delighted audiences at its première in 1739, showcasing, as it does, Soprano and Tenor soloists, and a virtuosic orchestra. Mayfield Baroque returns to St Dunstan’s, as do the glittering young singers Sofía Kirwan-Baez and Francis Melville. Dryden’s text cites trumpet, flute, organ, and violins, and Handel responds with a dazzling composition in praise of the patron saint of music. Never mind that Cecilia’s martyrdom in a steam room has been wrongly appropriated (steam is fed through pipes and organs have pipes): music needs a patron saint, and since the medieval period that role has fallen to St Cecilia.
This concert pairs Handel’s Cecilian Ode with a Mass setting by the Venetian Baroque composer Antonio Lotti. The St Christopher Mass has become famous because of its outstanding ‘Crucifixus’ section at its centre. The instruments drop out and the choir branches out into eight parts to sing one of the most sublime few minutes of choral music from any era. This performance places Lotti’s Crucifixus within the whole Mass setting – a rare event. Join us for this unmissable musical feast on the Sunday before St Cecilia’s Day.
Programme
Lotti: Missa Sancti Christophori
Handel: Ode for St Cecilia’s Day
Performers
Mayfield Festival Choir
Conductor: Jeremy Summerly
Orchestra: Mayfield Baroque
Soloists: Sofia Kirwan-Baez (Soprano), Dee Benians (Alto) Francis Melville (Tenor)
The combination of Dryden’s poetry and Handel’s music is a winning one. Handel’s Ode for St Cecilia’s Day delighted audiences at its première in 1739, showcasing, as it does, Soprano and Tenor soloists, and a virtuosic orchestra. Mayfield Baroque returns to St Dunstan’s, as do the glittering young singers Sofía Kirwan-Baez and Francis Melville. Dryden’s text cites trumpet, flute, organ, and violins, and Handel responds with a dazzling composition in praise of the patron saint of music. Never mind that Cecilia’s martyrdom in a steam room has been wrongly appropriated (steam is fed through pipes and organs have pipes): music needs a patron saint, and since the medieval period that role has fallen to St Cecilia.
This concert pairs Handel’s Cecilian Ode with a Mass setting by the Venetian Baroque composer Antonio Lotti. The St Christopher Mass has become famous because of its outstanding ‘Crucifixus’ section at its centre. The instruments drop out and the choir branches out into eight parts to sing one of the most sublime few minutes of choral music from any era. This performance places Lotti’s Crucifixus within the whole Mass setting – a rare event. Join us for this unmissable musical feast on the Sunday before St Cecilia’s Day.
Tickets cost £30 (centre), £15 (south side), £8 (north side). Free for under 25s, are available: a/ online at www.ticketsource.co.uk/mayfieldfestivalchoir b/ in person from Sew Inspired, Mayfield and Lambert & Foster, Wadhurst; c/ by phone from 0333 666 3366 (This is a general booking line operated by TicketSource. Please be sure to say that you are booking tickets for Mayfield Festival Choir –Handel's Ode for Saint Cecilia's Day. A postage fee of £1.80 will be applied to each order.
St Dunstans Church, Mayfield, East Sussex TN20 6AB
Sun 17 November
Website:
www.mayfieldfestivalchoir.org