Eastbourne Choral Society celebrates The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee

Spokeswoman Alison Sprigg explains: “Eastbourne Choral Society was delighted to be invited to take part in the town’s civic thanksgiving service, held during the Jubilee weekend itself, and the choir is now equally delighted to announce its own concert to honour Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee.

“This concert will take place on Saturday, July 9 at 7.30pm in All Saints’ Church, Grange Road. Everyone is invited to join the choir for an evening of joyful music and anthems, all of which are traditionally associated with royal and national celebrations.

“Handel’s much-loved and gloriously stirring Hallelujah Chorus from The Messiah will be featured, along with his four Coronation Anthems.

“Each of these anthems is uplifting in its own right, though the most generally well-known is Zadok the Priest. This anthem has been performed on many successive r oyal occasions, but perhaps most memorably when the televising of t he Queen’s Coronation was a breath-taking novelty – in all its black and white glory!

“Similarly, Parry’s I Was Glad retains an enduring r oyal association in most people’s minds as the anthem which was sung when Catherine Middleton walked down the aisle of Westminster Abbey to marry Prince William in April 2011; again, to national rejoicing. The concert will also feature John Rutter’s vibrant Gloria, first performed in 1974 and now a cornerstone of modern choral repertoire. The piece is structured in three movements, all of which are both devotional and jubilant.

“No royal celebration would be complete without a rendition of the National Anthem, and the choir will perform the setting by Benjamin Britten. This builds gradually and powerfully from a quiet, gentle opening via a single crescendo to a resoundingly triumphant close.

“Eastbourne Choral Society’s musical director John Hancorn and accompanist Nicholas Houghton are both well-known and highly-experienced professional musicians. John Hancorn is music director of the BREMF Singers, Baroque Collective Singers and East Bach Choir as well as Eastbourne Choral Society and co-director of The Baroque Collective and Lewes Baroquefest. He leads vocal workshops and baroque masterclasses and Sing & Discover days with Richard Wigmore.

“Nicholas Houghton is a full-time freelance player, accompanist and choral director. He is currently music director of the Lewes Singers, the Lewes Chamber Choir, the East Sussex Community Choir and the Brighton Singers. Until recently he was head of the East Sussex Academy of Music in Lewes and is a fellow of the Royal College of Organists.”

Tickets for this concert, price £10, are available on the door, from the Tourist Visitor Centre or at www.wegottickets.com.