This event is held at St Oswald’s Church, Macclesfield SK10 5EG.
Bollington Festival Choir will be joined for this concert by Kerry Firth, soprano, John Bush, trumpet, and strings led by Nicola Bright.
The Choir has been resident at the Arts Centre since the days when the building was still a Sunday School. Founded in 1964, the choir’s conductor for 37 years was Dr John Coope. Donald Judge succeeded him in 2002, and with the committee has continued John’s adventurous and unique planning, as well as writing a number of pieces for the Choir to perform. One of these will be revived in a revised version to open this concert.
The Donkey is a colourful setting of G K Chesterton’s poem inspired by Palm Sunday. The work that follows is a tribute to the cantatas of J S Bach by Felix Mendelssohn, who reintroduced Bach’s music to Britain and Europe in the 1840s. Two magnificent choruses that use the famous Passion Chorale frame a lyrical bass aria.
The Interval will include refreshments and a chance to buy tickets for the choir’s spectacular raffle that helps keep ticket prices the same as from long before Covid, despite rising costs. Please note that only cash can be taken at the church.
The second half features music by Georg Frideric Handel, a sequence that includes some of the best known arias and choruses from Messiah, interspersed with a suite Handel made from his own music for trumpet and strings.
Kerry Firth sang in the Choir’s Messiah for All 2022, when violinist Nicola Bright and friends accompanied, having played in the Advent concert a few days earlier. Here, Kerry adds Let the Bright Seraphim to the mix. John Bush was the solo trumpeter in Messiah for All 2021.
Tickets £12, £3 for anyone aged 18 or under. Tickets can be reserved on 01625 575554 and paid for on the door. Cash only please!
