Baroque and beyond | Felicitas (chamber choir)

Felicitas will be performing a superb set of substantial choral masterpieces. The first part will include contrasting items from the baroque era. We open with a rarely-heard and very fine double choir Kyrie. If you believe all Vivaldi sounds the same be prepared for a surprise.

Purcell’s anthem My Heart is Inditing was written for the coronation of King James II in 1685 and blends the eight voice choir in a rich tapestry of joyous sound.

Bach’s motet Der Geist hilft unser Schwachheit brings another surprise. Despite having been composed for a funeral, the music is definitely not funereal and is positively lively in places.

For the second half of our concert we move forward 300 years. Rutter’s Requiem was written in memory of his father, and is full of the kind of tunes that have given him his deserved reputation for instant appeal. Like Britten and Howells, Rutter goes beyond the traditional text of the Requiem Mass, incorporating beautiful settings of Psalms 130 and 23 and the motet Pie Jesu. The Rutter Requiem also gives Felicitas an opportunity to perform accompanied by a chamber orchestra.