Hastings Philharmonic Choir offers Antonin Dvořák’s Stabat Mater

The concert takes place at Christ Church, Silchester Road, St Leonards on Saturday, April 5 starting at 7pm. Tickets are on sale via the choir’s website (www.hastingsphilchoir.org.uk) or at The Bookkeeper, 1A Kings Road, St Leonards, priced at £22.50/£18/£13.50. Students, under 18s, jobseekers and universal credit £5, or pay what you can.

Spokesman Gareth Simpson said: “The soloists are Helen May (soprano), Julia Piñon (contralto), Leonel Pinheiro (tenor) and Robert Winslade Anderson (bass).

“The Stabat Mater, a thirteenth-century Christian hymn to the Virgin Mary, portrays her suffering as a mother during the crucifixion of her son, Jesus Christ. The text has been frequently set to music over the centuries. Dvořák (1841-1904) completed his poignantly beautiful setting in 1877. It is a deeply personal work, being intimately bound up with the tragic deaths of his own young children. Despite its sorrowful and sometimes anguished mood, Dvořák’s music ends in hope, with a radiant and stirring vision of paradise. Premiered in Prague in 1880, it was an English performance of the work four years later in the Royal Albert Hall that played a crucial role in Dvořák’s international recognition as a composer. It continues to be Dvořák’s best known and most often performed sacred work.”

Gareth added: “Hastings Philharmonic Choir has been growing strongly in the past year or so and now has over 90 singing members. It performs three times a year plus a carol concert and the last concert in November 2024 was a sell out and acclaimed success.

“This friendly choir is always happy to welcome new members, who enjoy singing and who can follow written-down music, and the best way of finding out if Hastings Philharmonic Choir is for you is to visit one or more of our weekly rehearsals. If you would like to do this, send us an email and we will be delighted to see you – [email protected].”

The HPC can trace its beginnings back to 1928 when the organist at the Wellington Square Baptist Church merged his choir, the Wellington Square Choral Society, with the St Mary in the Castle Centenary church to celebrate the centenary of St Mary in the Castle with a performance of the Messiah. The concert was so successful that it was repeated the following year and there began a highly successful ‘Town Choir’ that Hastings Borough Council was pleased to promote, alongside the prestigious Hastings Municipal Orchestra for the traditional Good Friday performances of the Messiah at its newly built White Rock Pavilion.

“Nearly 100 years later, under its musical director, Marcio da Silva, the Hastings Philharmonic Choir has established itself as one of the foremost choirs in the area, thrilling audiences and critics alike with performances to rival those of many professional ensembles. “Revolving around the major choral works of the baroque to romantic periods, the choir’s wide-ranging repertoire extends also to classics of the twentieth century. Concerts in recent years have included works by Handel, Mozart, Beethoven, Rossini, Brahms, Verdi, Orff, Britten and Lauridsen.

“Through his work with our choir since 2012 and as artistic director of Hastings Philharmonic Orchestra and the HPO Singers (both founded under the umbrella of Hastings Philharmonic Choir in 2016 but now operating separately), Marcio da Silva has made a huge contribution to the musical life of the whole town, offering an impressive range of high-quality choral, orchestral and chamber music performances each year.

“Marcio has wide-ranging international experience as an orchestral conductor, having worked with orchestras in Germany, Italy, the Czech Republic, Brazil, Poland, Turkey and Kosovo. He also has considerable experience of oratorio, having conducted most of the mainstream romantic and baroque oratorio repertoire. As well as conducting Hastings Philharmonic Choir, Marcio is the Music Director of the Billingshurst Choral Society.”