Hastings Philharmonic Choir offer Carols For All

Spokesman Gareth Simpson said: “With Marcio da Silva conducting, accompanied by the renowned Cromwell Brass ensemble and with Francis Rayner on piano, the choir will perform a range of carols including A Babe is Born, The Boars Head Carol and I Wonder as I Wander as well as leading the audience in some well-known favourites such as O Come All Ye Faithful, O Little Town of Bethlehem and God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen among others. So come along and get into the festive mood.”

Adults £22, £17.50, £13, under 18s, students, universal credit/JSA recipients £5/free – available from https://www.hastingsphilchoir.org.uk/carolsforall2023, by phone 01424 437554 or from the Bookkeeper, 1a Kings Road, St Leonards on Sea, TN37 6EA (open Thursday-Saturday)

“Carols evolved from midwinter songs, sung to keep up everyone’s spirits along with dancing and feasting. But by the 15th century they were well established as Christmas carols. Many of the carols sung today were made popular by the Victorians including O Come All Ye Faithful based on the Latin version Adeste Fideles which was first translated into English in 1841

“And not all carols are British. Away in a Manger first appeared in the USA in the 1880s though its origins are hazy. The lyrics for Hark the Herald Angels Sing were originally written by Charles Wesley (1707-88) who, with his brother John, founded the Christian denomination of Methodism. However, the carol didn’t get the tune we know today until the composer Felix Mendelssohn wrote it in 1840”

Gareth added: “Hastings Philharmonic Choir can trace its history 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 in 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.

“So nearly 100 years later, under its musical director , Marcio da Silva, the HPC 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 20th century.

"Concerts in recent years have included works by Bach, Handel, Mozart, Beethoven, Rossini, Brahms, Verdi, Orff, Britten and Lauridsen.”