Czech and British music with harp and organ | Wooburn Singers (chamber choir)

Wooburn Singers are delighted to be performing some rarely heard gems.

The concert opens with Britten’s lively Choral Dances from his opera Gloriana. Written to mark the coronation of Elizabeth II, the opera had a cool reception at the gala premiere in the presence of the Queen, and was thought to be 'too modern'. But 70 years on, we hope our audience will be more appreciative!

Vicky Lester will then play Britten's beautiful Suite for solo harp.

The first half of the concert will end with Janácek’s setting of the Lord’s Prayer. The choir are very grateful to the Czech conductor and vocal coach, Lada Valesova, for her help with our pronunciation of the text.

The concert ends with another major Czech composer, Antonín Dvorák. We will sing his Mass in D, in its original setting for organ, solo voices and small choir. The work was finalized in 1892 when, in response to a request from the Novello publishers of London, Dvorák arranged his Mass for a symphony orchestra.