Singing for the first time at Ely Cathedral, Ipswich Choral Society, joined by The Cantate Choir, will perform Tchaikovsky's Liturgy of St John Chrysostom. Ipswich Choral Society Music Director, Robin Walker, also conducts The Cantate Choir from Kent.
Sung unaccompanied, Tchaikovsky composed The Liturgy of St John Chrysostom in 1878. The first performance took place in the Kyiv University Church in June 1879, followed by the first public performance in Moscow in December 1880.
John Chrysostom, appointed archbishop of Constantinople in 397, was one of the most prolific authors in the early Christian church and an excellent preacher. He revised the Divine Liturgy or celebration of the Holy Eucharist and to this day, Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches of the Byzantine Rite celebrate the Divine Liturgy of St John Chrysostom. There are several feast days dedicated to St John, one of which is the 27 January.
Prayer for Ukraine is a patriotic hymn which has become the spiritual anthem of Ukraine. First published in 1885, it gained national significance during the Ukrainian war of independence in 1917-1920.
There will be a retiring collection in aid of DEC Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal.