All Saints Church, All Saints St, Hastings

Hastings Philharmonic Choir’s next concert Songs of Light promises two “sublime” choral works, Schubert’s Mass in G and Saint-Saëns’s Oratorio de Noël (Christmas Oratorio).

The choir will be joined by soloists Beth Yates and Helen May (sopranos), Kerry Gentleman (contralto), John Twitchen (tenor), and Geoff Williams (baritone), accompanied by the strings of Hastings Philharmonic Orchestra, and conducted by Marcio da Silva.

The concert takes place at All Saints Church, All Saints St, Hastings, TN34 3BP on Saturday November 7 starting at 7pm. Tickets are on sale via the choir’s website at www.hastingsphilchoir.org.uk/autumnconcert2026 or at The Bookkeeper, 1A Kings Road, St Leonards, or Book Buster, 39 Queens Road, Hastings, prices ranging from £0-£22.50.

Spokesman Gareth Simpson said: “Franz Schubert (1797-1828) and Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921) were both young men – 18 and 23 respectively – when they wrote the works in this programme.

“Schubert composed the Mass in G, the second of his six masses, in a mere six days in early March 1815, for church use in Vienna. It is a compact, lyrical and delightfully melodic setting for soprano, tenor and bass soloists, choir, strings and organ.

“Saint-Saëns’ Oratorio de Noël was also completed at speed, in less than a fortnight, ahead of its first performance at La Madeleine in Paris, where he was organist, on December 24 1858. “Its ten movements draw on a range of Biblical texts to narrate the traditional Christmas story and to reflect upon its meaning and significance. It is a work of high contrasts, in which grandly declamatory and turbulent passages add drama to its otherwise subdued and lyrical mood; and organ and harp feature prominently in the accompaniment.

“To complete an enticingly varied programme, HPO’s principal clarinettist, Boyan Ivanov and harpist Elin Samuel will join the orchestra as soloists. Boyan will play Copland’s wonderfully dreamy and jazzy Clarinet Concerto, and Elin will perform Debussy’s evocative Danses Sacrée et Profane (Sacred and Profane Dances).”

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.

“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.

“So 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.”