Wonderful choral music in a beautiful setting

For Newbury Chamber Choir’s next concert at St John’s Church, Newbury on Saturday (7.30pm), musical director Ben de Souza has chosen works by Franz Schubert (1797-1828) and the Spanish Renaissance composer Tomás de Luis Victoria (1548-1611).

Victoria’s Requiem Mass for six voices was written for the funeral of the Empress Maria of Austria in 1603 and is one of the most significant and profound compositions of the Renaissance period.

Madeleine Pickering will be the soloist in Schubert's Rondo in A major. It is a delightful and virtuosic piece written for solo violin and string orchestra which follows a rondo form characterized by the recurrence of a main theme interspersed with contrasting sections.

The Mass in G, composed by the young Schubert in less than a week in early March 1815, showcases his gift for melody and his ability to create expressive and emotionally rich music.

Soloists Ellie Hargreaves and Greg Bannan will join the choir for this work which, despite its musical brilliance, was not performed during Schubert's lifetime and only published in the 1870s. Don’t miss the opportunity to hear this wonderful music in the beautiful setting of St John’s Church.

Tickets £15, Under 18’s free, from www.newburychoir.org or on the door.