Hertfordshire Chorus - Magnificat!

Bach's glorious Magnificat is intimate, achingly tender, melodic, startlingly powerful - and unlike anything else he wrote. Its twelve movements are tiny musical gems. From the brilliant sound of the orchestral introduction and the joyous, light and tender first choral movement to the final exultant cadence it is packed with intense musical imagery. A masterpiece in miniature.

Pergolesi was a contemporary of JS Bach. His reputation as a composer was largely gained posthumously. This Magnificat is divided into 6 movements. Elegant, playful, witty and ornate, Pergolesi’s polyphonic Magnificat is a delight.

Notable for the ‘fireworks’ demanded of the soprano soloist, Haydn's Nelson Mass is one of most well loved choral works in the repertoire. His reputation was at its peak when he wrote the work in 1798, but his world was in turmoil. Napoleon had won four major battles with Austria and his armies had crossed the Alps and threatened Vienna. The summer of 1798 was a terrifying time for Austria, and when Haydn finished this Mass, his own title for the piece was Missa in Angustiis (Mass for Troubled Times).