Seaton Choral Society presents Alleluia!

Musical director Ian Crew. Picture: Contributed (Image: Archant)

Seaton Choral Society, under the direction of Ian Crew, will be presenting ‘Alleluia!’ in May.

The piece offers a programme of choral and instrumental music from a wide range of eras and in many forms, both small and large-scale.

Accompanied by an intimate ensemble of strings and organ, the programme encompasses Gibbons’ verse anthem, ‘This is the record of John’, the coronation anthem ‘Let thy hand be strengthened’ by Handel, Schubert’s setting of the Lord’s Prayer and two motets by Bruckner.

Soprano Nicola Wilkes will feature in two of the longer works: the evergreen ‘Exsultate, jubilate’ by Mozart and the remarkable ‘Benedictus’ movement of Haydn’s ‘Little Organ Mass’.

Nicola Wilkes. (Image: Archant)

In between the choral items, the instrumental ensemble will perform some of Mozart’s short ‘Epistle Sonatas’ and Purcell’s ‘Fantasia upon One Note’.

The works in the concert were written either for use in the liturgy or for concert performance, but all share common ground in that they were inspired by the Christian faith in some way or other.

Even the instrumental Purcell fantasia can trace its origins back to the tradition of transcription of sacred vocal polyphony for instrumental consorts.

Some of the pieces are short and sweet, others of a much grander scale.

Leslie Baker (Image: Archant)

All of the music is interesting in that, to varying degrees, each piece straddles the worlds of church and concert hall and raises questions as to how we might experience it.

As worship? As entertainment? Or maybe somewhere in between?

The concert is at the Gateway, Fore Street, Seaton on Saturday, May 12, at 7.30pm.