Durban Chamber Choir in concert

THE Durban Chamber Choir under the musical direction of Christopher Cockburn will perform an hour-long programme of English choral music at St Thomas’s Church in Musgrave on Sunday 17 May, starting at 3pm.

Their programme, covering music from the Renaissance and Romantic periods, is devoted to two important British composers, William Byrd (1540-1623) and Charles Villiers Stanford (1852-1924).

Byrd and Stanford will each be represented in the Chamber Choir programme by a varied selection of works, sacred and secular, unaccompanied and with organ, including settings by both composers of the Latin text ‘Justorum animae’ (The souls of the just) and of the Anglican Evening Canticles.

In addition to the stylistic differences between the composers, the programme includes strong contrasts of mood: from Byrd’s joyful ‘Deo gratias’ and sorrowful ‘Wounded I am’ to Stanford’s light-hearted ‘Shall we go dance?’ and serene ‘Blue Bird’, this last being as exquisite a miniature as any in the choral repertoire.

The two halves of the programme will be linked by an attractive rarity from the period between these two composers, the Duet for Organ by Samuel Wesley, which will be played by Cockburn and Jacques Heyns.

Tickets available at the door are R50 and R30 for students and pensioners. Tea and cake will be served after the performance.