Poetry in Song : Ledbury Choral Society
06 July 2024
In the centenary year of his death, the choir will perform C.V Stanford’s Songs of the Fleet, a cycle of five poems by Henry Newbolt for choir and baritone soloist, alongside his settings of two poems by Mary Coleridge, The Bluebird and Farewell, My Joy.
The programme also includes works by Ralph Vaughan Williams, Five Mystical Songs, also for choir and baritone soloist, with text by the 17th Century priest and poet, George Herbert, and Three Elizabethan Songs for a cappella choir, where Vaughan Williams sets text from both Herbert and William Shakespeare.
The concert’s opening composer will be Herbert Howells with his musical settings of A Hymn for Saint Cecelia, words by Ursula Vaughan Williams, and Like as the Hart, taken from psalm 42.
The choir is delighted to include a new work, specially composed for the occasion, as a collaboration between local musician and accompanist of Ledbury Choral Society, Simon Peberdy, and Tim Keyes, a member of the choir’s bass section, whose poem Dawn forms the text for the composition. Tim’s marvel and wonder at the birdsong in the woods around Ledbury was the inspiration for the poem, portraying the dawn chorus as a daily multi-lingual manifestation of God’s blessing in creation. His depiction of the colours and sounds of dawn provide a rich panoply for Simon’s creative musical setting.
The guest baritone soloist for the event will be Robert Pritchard.
The concert ON Saturday 6th July will be in Saint Michael and All Angels Church at 7.30pm.
Tickets are £15 and available from the festival’s box office in The Poetry House, (the Barrett-Browning clock tower building) in the middle of Ledbury.