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St Albans Chamber Choir presents Good Vibrations, a summer programme celebrating American music from Tin Pan Alley and Broadway to the San Juan Islands and California. The choir will be joined by a jazz band to perform arrangements of popular songs from the Great American Songbook and beyond, and works by Eric Whitacre, Morten Lauridsen and George Shearing.

Arrangements of popular American songs will include Cole Porter’s Miss Otis Regrets, Jerome Kern’s The Way You Look Tonight, in arrangements by John Rutter, the choir’s own Nicholas Hare, and others. The choir will also perform a medley of hits by The Beach Boys.

Pieces by Eric Whitacre will include Seal Lullaby, composed in 2000, a setting of a poem by Rudyard Kipling. A beautiful piece, it is a gentle, serene flowing depiction of a mother seal singing a lullaby to her pup, and its lush texture is characteristic of Whitacre’s style.

Morten Lauridsen’s Les Chansons des roses was completed in 1993, and is a setting of the poems, ‘Les Roses’, by Rainer Maria Rilke. Structured in five movements, the work’s rich harmonies and lyrical melodies enhance the light and playful French poems creating a sense of serenity and transcendence.

Songs and Sonnets was composed by George Shearing and premiered in Illinois in 1999. It is a collection of settings of Shakespeare songs and sonnets, which merges the composer’s English musical roots with his American jazz influence to delightful effect.

Please join us for a toe-tapping afternoon.

The programme may vary as we work to bring you the best experience:

– Interval –

Please join us at the back of the church for nibbles and drinks post concert.

A full programme booklet will be available on the door.

The Bass and beyond
This concert will split the choir into 40 parts and showcase the bass line as the fundamental anchor to the harmony. Thomas Tallis’s Spem in alium was written around 450 years ago for eight choirs, each of five voices, and is a unique musical monolith that fascinates both listeners and choirs to this day. The bass line contributes significantly to the structure and harmony of this angelically beautiful piece.

Commissioned in 2019 as a companion piece to the Tallis, we also have James MacMillan’s Vidi aquam in this programme. Another 40-part piece, it begins in the shadows of the 16th century sounds of Tallis but gradually shifts to different, more modern sounds reflective of the 21st century and is an amazing piece in its own right.

Josef Rheinberger similarly makes the most of the bass parts within the choir in Cantus Missae. This Double Choir Mass, written in 1878, reflects his new-found flexibility in style and from the first note displays Rheinberger’s own musical language.

We are delighted to be showcasing our very own Jennifer Wigram on the violin in Richard Barnard’s Grasmere.

Interval

Please join us at the back of the church for nibbles and drinks post concert.

A full programme booklet will be available on the door.

This concert is about embracing the cosiness of the Danish concept of ‘Hygge’ and starting the New Year with time to reflect on our well-being  and connect with great music.   There are many notable Scandinavian composers, with each country having a rich musical tradition. and we are highlighting just some.

As one of the best places to see the awe-inspiring Aurora Borealis, we couldn’t leave them out and Ēriks Ešenvalds piece Northern Lights captures their beauty through its musical textures and harmonies.  Ola Gjeilo draws inspiration from his Norwegian heritage and the natural landscapes of his homeland in Unicornis Captivatur and a sense of serenity surrounds his Sanctus.  Evoking calm and introspection Edvard Grieg, also Norwegian, combines lyrical beauty with rich expressive harmony in Hvad est du dog skjøn while Swedish composer Otto Olson invites a sense of peace and reflection with his setting of Ave Maris Stella. From the Danish Composer Carl Nielsen, Dominus Regit Me guides and comforts listeners with the words of Psalm 23.

Come and join us for a cosy evening of great music, hot drinks and appreciating the moment.

Programme:

• O Salutaris hostia – Eric Ešenvalds – Latvia
• Ave Maris Stella – Otto Olsson – Sweden
• Motet; Dominus regit me – Carl Nielsen – Denmark
• Piano Duet – Norwegian Dance – Grieg – Norway
• Es ist ein ros entsprungen – Praetorius / Sandstrom – Sweden
• The Gift to Sing – Kim André Arnesen – Norway
• Piano Duet – Peer Gynt – Grieg
• How fair is thy Face – Edvard Grieg – Norway
• Psalm 120 – Otto Olsson – Sweden

Intermission

• Northern Lights (glasses, chimes) – Eric Ešenvalds – Latvia
• Ave Maris Stella – Edvard Grieg – Norway
• Immortal Bach – Knut Nystedt after JSB
• Ehtoohymni (Evening Hymn) – Einojuhani Rautavaara – Finland
• Sanctus – Ola Gjeilo – Norway
• Piano duet – 3 Latvian folksongs – Harry Ore
• My flame the song + piano – Kim André Arnesen – Norway
• Unicornis Captivatur – Ola Gjello – Norway

Book through a choir member or email: tickets@stalbanschamberchoir.org.uk

Quiz & Supper Evening

7pm for 7:30 start
Teams of up to 8,
or book in smaller groups and we’ll organise tables with new friends…

Prize for the winning team.

Ticket £15, includes Pizza

Bar available with drinks and snacks

A fun night out and proceeds to help us stage the amazing Wormser Kantorei concert.
Registered charity no. 280876