Into Spring: East Meets West
6 March 2025, 19:30
Holy Trinity Sloane Square
On sale 22 October 2024
Rachmaninov – Vespers (movements 1, 3, 6, 14)
Kodaly – Missa Brevis
Tavener – As one who has slept; Mother of God
McDowall – Gaude et Laetare; Easter Light; Candlemas
St Matthew Passion
6 April 2025, 11:00
Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall
On sale 22 October 2024
Bach – St Matthew Passion
Belshazzar’s Feast
8 May 2025, 19:30
Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall
On-sale 22 October 2024
Blackford – La Sagrada Familia Symphony (world premiere)
Delius – The Song of the High Hills
Walton – Belshazzar’s Feast
Carol season might be over, but there’s a huge range of other wonderful choral music out there! In the rest of our 2024/25 season we’re exploring a diverse range of choral works which celebrates musical giants from around the world. Here’s what we’ve got planned…
In March, we’ll be returning to Holy Trinity Sloane Square to resume our concert series Into Spring which celebrates the hallowed connection between choir and organ.
In this year’s edition, East Meets West, movements from Rachmaninov’s All-night Vigil (Vespers) are juxtaposed with Kodály’s Missa Brevis, showcasing the work of two European choral greats. Works from Tavener and McDowall also feature in a concert which represents a wonderful opportunity to get closer than ever to a choir usually famed for performing with some of the world’s leading orchestras.
The gorgeous acoustic of Holy Trinity Sloane Square completes the picture – this intimate venue will frame this delicate and intricate programme of music perfectly.
Our St Matthew Passion is now a fixture in the classical calendar. We’ve been performing the work in English annually since 1930 – performances have even continued through wartime, only halting for COVID-19 in 2020 and 2021.
Ed Lyon will return to his role as Evangelist after winning consistently favourable reviews, Simon Shibambu will return as Christ and Elizabeth Watts, Helen Charlston, Guy Cutting and Neal Davies will join the cast for what is guaranteed to be an emotional performance. You can find out more about this fabulous cast here.
Our second concert at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall in 2025 will happen in May, where we’ll be joined by our ‘partners in electrifying… original music making’ (BachTrack), the Philharmonia Orchestra.
An evening of British music full of gripping stories and stunning landscapes awaits, with influences spanning the globe. The world premiere of Richard Blackford’s La Sagrada Familia Symphony will open the evening, accompanied by a film highlighting the ornate details of the famous cathedral. Delius’ A Song of the High Hills will follow, where we’ll traverse Norway’s gorgeous mountains in a piece with a delicate and ethereal feel – Delius regarded the country as his spiritual home, having spent 20 summers there. Finally, Walton’s Belshazzar’s Feast invokes a huge ensemble to transport us not only across borders but back in time to the fabulously wealthy and decadent city of Babylon.
A special talk prior to this concert will feature podcaster, author and Delius expert Andrew J Boyle who’ll tell the fascinating story behind Delius’ The Song of the High Hills and composer Richard Blackford discussing his world premiere, La Sagrada Familia Symphony, with David Hill.
Outside of the concert hall, we’ll continue to spread the joy of singing through our London community in our Vocalise! Programme. In this programme, our members will sing with children in three London schools during term-time and in a dementia care home over the summer of 2025.
Speaking on the diversity of the programme this year, The Bach Choir’s Musical Director David Hill said:
“As The Bach Choir approaches its 150th anniversary in 2026, I am delighted to present a programme of choral masterworks which celebrates musical giants from across the world such as Bach and Rachmaninov, as well as British composers Walton and Britten, and some of our brightest and best living composers including Cecilia McDowall and Richard Blackford.”
Whether you’re looking for an evening of epic, cinematic or a more intimate and tranquil one, there’s something for everyone this season. Find out more about these concerts and book your tickets here.
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