Saturday 16 November 7.30 pm

Lichfield Cathedral, Lichfield

Tickets now available

Conductor : Paul Spicer

Birmingham Bach Choir

Orchestra: The Musical and Amicable Society

Soloists:

 Soprano: Anita Watson

 Alto: Samantha Price

 Tenor: Mark Wilde

 Bass: Felix Kemp

A centenary concert is a very special occasion and in the midst of all sorts of different and challenging programmes that the Birmingham Bach Choir is currently undertaking it seemed essential to go back to our core and sing Bach and Handel with a little leavening of the bread with Haydn’s extraordinary Nelson Mass.

We start the programme with the virtuoso motet by J S Bach Singet den Herrn which is a pure outburst of joy in outer movements. Normally performed just with organ continuo this is also a wonderful opportunity to explore the richer textures of orchestral accompaniment with wind for one choir and strings for the other. Handel’s Dixit Dominus is another great virtuoso work from the composer’s youthful Italian period. An exuberant, celebratory, but in places deeply tender work which has become justly popular.

The Birmingham Bach Choir is on top form and this concert given with the wonderful period instrument orchestra, the Musical and Amicable Society, together with world-class soloists will make this a truly memorable anniversary concert.

(Paul Spicer)

Programme:

J S Bach: Singet dem Herrn

Handel: Dixit Dominus

Haydn: Nelson Mass

TICKETS: Central Nave  £25 (£20 conc)

  Rear Nave/Side Aisles £15

  Children/students £5 only available on the door

      Unreserved seating

BUY TICKETS HERE

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Central Nave (£25)

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Central Nave concession (£20)

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Side Aisles & back of Nave (£15)

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Seating preference:

MORE ABOUT THE VENUE LICHFIELD CATHEDRAL

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The Choir, and Paul Spicer, have a long history with this very special cathedral having performed here on many occasions.

Our most recent performance was the first performance in The Midlands of J S Bach’s St Mark Passion in 2017.

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The Cathedral: the first cathedral on the present site was built in 700AD, when Bishop Hedda built a church to house the bones of St Chad.

The original wooden Saxon church was replaced by a Norman cathedral made from stone, 1085, and this was in turn replaced by the present Gothic cathedral begun in 1195 and completed by the building of the Lady Chapel in the 1330s.

Its vast interior spans 113 metres (370 feet) in length, and  the central spire reaches 77m (252') high.

The cathedral suffered extensive damage during the English Civil War and deteriorated in the 18th century, a golden age for the city of Lichfield but not for the cathedral. It wasn’t until the late Victorian period that some major restoration and structural work was undertaken including removing the High Altar to make one worship area of Choir and Lady Chapel, adding a massive stone screen at the entrance to the Choir, a new painted east window and restoration of the very ornate west front.

The cathedral houses some of the finest medieval Flemish painted glass in existence.The famous 'Lichfield Gospels' manuscript is on display in the Chapter House. (Also known as the Book of Chad). These gospels of Matthew and Mark, and the early part of Luke, are written mainly in Latin with some text in early Welsh dating from around 730.

   For more information about the cathedral, visiting, and travel:

www.lichfield-cathedral.org

Birmingham Workshop & Concert

28 September 2019

St Philip’s Cathedral, Birmingham

Workshop details click here

  Concert details click here

Saturday 1 February 2 - 6 pm

Led by Paul Spicer

Selly Oak Methodist Church, Birmingham B29

More details with tickets release from 1 October 2019