In more than 130 years and 300 concerts, Newbury Choral Society has never put on a purely jazz programme, but that's all going to change on Saturday 1 July. In a double bill of musical delights, we present English musician Will Todd's jazz mass, Mass in Blue, with the composer himself at the piano. Mass in Blue, which established Todd as a leading contemporary composer, has been performed hundreds of times around the world since its premiere in 2003.
Todd's affinity with jazz, his skills as an improviser at the piano and his life-long love of choral music are all evident in his works, which feature a strong rhythmic element, rich harmonic textures and exquisitely lyrical vocal lines. Todd says of Mass in Blue: 'For me this is a real watershed work, in which I feel I became myself, the real Will Todd.'
To complement this sacred jazz piece, we present a selection of numbers from the Great American Songbook, a loose term for the songs written and recorded for musical theatre and films in the early twentieth century. Characterised by supremely memorable tunes with witty lyrics and creative rhyming, these songs have been made famous by the likes of 'Fats' Waller, Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra and Judy Garland.
As always, we will approach this music with the high standards we require of ourselves for all our performances, but allow ourselves to swing a little! Conductor Cathal Garvey is as at home with show tunes as he is with Schubert. There will be a fabulous soprano soloist, and the Will Todd Trio to accompany us. We've got rhythm, we've got music, who could ask for anything more?