400 Years of Choral Music by Candlelight

2012 has been a year of jubilation, and Ely Consort’s next concert, 400 Years of Choral Music, keeps the celebratory spirit alive with this tour through some of our favourite choral pieces from five different centuries. This year marks the 400th anniversary of the death of the great Venetian choral composer Giovanni Gabrieli in 1612, and his fabulous 8-part setting of Jubilate Deo is our starting point for this concert, which will be performed by candlelight, adding to the already stunning atmosphere of Ely Cathedral’s Lady Chapel. From the other end of our time-scale, we include a piece which received its premiere in 2012: written for the Queen’s Golden Jubilee service in St Paul’s Cathedral, Will Todd’s The Call of Wisdom was an instant favourite, and will sound captivating in the splendid acoustic of the Lady Chapel. The rest of the programme will include a wide variety of music, some very familiar, such as Mozart’s Ave Verum and Fauré’s Cantique de Jean Racine; and some splendid modern pieces including Morten Lauridsen’s Nocturnes. Ely Consort will be accompanied on the chamber organ and piano by Ely Cathedral Assistant Organist Jonathan Lilley.