O Earth, Return! - Jervaulx Singers

Jervaulx Singers present a thrilling selection of music for the new year on a theme of the passage of time. Bach’s Der Geist hilft opens with a sparkling dance to illustrate the ‘spirit’ (geist), with fizzing lines passed between two choirs. American composer Morton Lauridsen sets five French poems with beautiful intimacy in Les chansons des roses. Will Todd is one of the UK’s most popular choral composers, and his peacefully simple anthem for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee implores the listener to place their trust in a faithful God. The concluding work, Dove’s sparkling The passing of the year, is a song cycle for double choir and piano, full of vibrant rhythms and charged with intensity.