THE choir of New College, Oxford, will be coming to Edington Priory Church on Friday 1st December 1st to perform a concert of music for Advent and Christmas, starting at 7pm.
Beautiful music sung by one of the most respected choirs in the world, plus mulled wine and mince pies during the interval, will make this a superb start to the Christmas season.
The choir of around 30 singers, (men and boys) is universally celebrated and admired, and has been around since the 14th century, when William of Wykeham set up a choral foundation within his ‘New’ College to sing daily services in the college chapel.
Since then of course, its performances have embraced the much wider world, through tours and concerts – the USA, France, Germany, Spain, Italy and Cyprus within the last two years alone – and through recordings which now number well over 100 CDs. The breadth and depth of the choir’s repertoire, as well as its defining tone and style, especially of its trebles, have made it one of the pre-eminent choirs in the world.
The programme includes music written over the centuries for Advent and Christmas, from plainchant and traditional folk tunes, to more recent and contemporary compositions from well-known sacred music composers such as Matthew Martin and Kenneth Leighton. New College’s two organ scholars, Josef Laming and Charles Maxtone-Smith (assistant organist at the Edington Music Festival) will play Bach and Daquin, and the choir will be conducted by Tim Wakerell.
Tickets for this concert are £20 front nave, £15 rear nave, and £10 sides, plus £2 per ticket if you buy on the door on the night; 18 and under come free. Advanced booking is recommended as tickets are already selling strongly; please either phone Chrissy on 01380 831256 or email sue@ edingtonarts.org.
Full information visit www. edingtonarts.org.uk
