Great sounds at Great St Mary's
Early evening music showcases singers and wind players
The perfect end to a Saturday in town
The Cambridge Philharmonic Society is offering an early evening concert at 6pm on November 27 in Great St Mary's Church, Market Square, Cambridge. The concert includes two great works of religious fervour from composers who are often better known for their other blazing successes.
At first sight there seems little to connect the revolutionary Russian Stravinsky (best known for his ballets Petrushka, the Firebird and the Rite of Spring) with the shyer more devout Anton Bruckner, an organist and choir master who worshipped the music of Wagner and wrote nine monumental symphonies. But they were both masters in the clarity of sound they engineered, and in the two pieces which the Cambridge Philharmonic Society are offering, their ability to create serene joy with a breathtaking technical mastery will entrance anyone who hears the two pieces on offer.
Stravinksy's Symphonies for Winds is strikingly original, based in the Russian Orthodox Church's service for the dead. With its chorales, popular melodies and colourful chanting winds it is both pleasing and arousing. Just the kind of thing to restore a sense of spiritual wonder after a busy day's shopping.
Bruckner's E Minor Mass (completed in 1866) was his first recognised masterpiece. With its expressive harmonies and eight-part mixed chorus it has always charmed all who hear it with its simplicity, poignancy and bold development. The choir is joined by a wind band of oboes, clarinets, bassoons, horns, trumpets and trombones, a combination which, with the beauty of the singing, is perfect for St Mary's wonderful sonorities.
Tickets for the concert (£8) are available at the Cambridge Arts Box office (01223 503333) or on the door.
Notes for editors
For further information including biographies please see our web site,
www.cam-phil.org.uk.
If you would like any interviews for your publication please contact
publicity@cam-phil.org.uk,
giving as much notice as possible.