Sunday 25 February at 6pm, St James Priory, Bristol
Exultate Singers presents an Evening Serenade of romantic music from around the globe. The choir will be joined by the internationally-renowned guitarist Craig Ogden and the virtuoso cellist Richard May for performances of wonderfully atmospheric pieces that travel from the calm and stillness of Samuel Barber’s Sure on this shining night to the energetic samba rhythms of Brazilian folk songs. The central work of the concert is a suite of seven vivid settings of Lorca poems for choir and guitar by the Spanish composer Castelnuovo-Tedesco, described by Segovia as ‘the first composer I have met who immediately understands how to write for the guitar’. The Spanish fervour of much of the music is contrasted by reflective songs by Britten, Holst and the Latvian composer Ēriks Ešenvalds. Stars sets a poem by Sara Teasdale in which the choir not only sing but play chords on tuned wine glasses, creating a mystical, cosmic experience.
Tickets £18 / £13 / £10, available online from the Exultate Singers shop and from Opus 13 music shop on 0117 923 0164 or over the counter at the shop at 14 St Michael’s Hill.