Our Spring Concert this year included the serene and beautiful Requiem by Gabriel Fauré and the energetic dance rhythms of Leonard Bernstein's Chichester Psalms.  We were accompanied by David Gibbs at the organ, Rohan Platts on the harp and Keith Crompton on percussion.

Watch out, too, all you Sing Now! fans.  We have another event planned for the weekend after the Royal Wedding, when we will be learning some Royal music of our own, including Handel's joyous Zadok the Priest, performed at every coronation since 1727!

Make a date to Come and Sing on 7th May - and watch out for our next Newsletter (available for registered users).  You can book tickets online or find out more about the event on 7th May here.

Requiem

For his Requiem, Fauré wrote the most hauntingly beautiful music, including the touching Pie Jesu,  sung by Lewis Mobbs, from the award-winning Kettering Masquerade Choir. Fauré wrote this enchanting setting of the Requiem in Paris during 1888 and it has been a firm favourite of audiences and singers ever since.   Its mood is peaceful and serene, and it is written on a much smaller and more intimate scale than many grand operatic contemporary settings of his day, such as those by Verdi, Brahms and Berlioz.  Camerata also welcomed our former member, baritone Barry Smith, as our guest to sing the memorable Libera Me solo.

Chichester Psalms

For many people the Chichester Psalms are some of the finest of all psalm settings, inspired with authentic yet contemporary Hebrew life and colour. Bernstein, probably best known as the composer of the musical West Side Story, was not only a prolific composer but a world class conductor, lecturer and pianist.  Commissioned in 1965 for Chichester Cathedral, the work's first performance was in New York, performed by another group called the Camerata Singers!