From 1610 to 2013, and from Italy to Britain via France and Norway, A Handful of Singers' first concert of the year provides a programme full of sumptuous textures and colours. Monteverdi's Mass for 6 voices 'In illo tempore', dating from the same year as his Vespers but, surprisingly, not nearly as well known, makes ingenious use of harmony and melodic imitation to create a unique, rich sound-world.
The ethereal quality of Allegri's famous Miserere, his sublime nine-voice setting of Psalm 51 written 20 years later, gives way to James MacMillan's spine-tingling and exquisite setting of the same psalm (also called Miserere), which at times clearly aludes to the Allegri.
Eric Whitacre's stunningly effective Sainte-Chapelle portrays the 'many-coloured light' shining through the jewel-like stained-glass windows in that remarkable chapel in Paris, while Ola Gjeilo's Northern Lights evokes the powerful beauty of the aurora borealis. Paul Mealor's atmospheric setting of Ubi Caritas, written for the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton, completes the programme.
A Handful of Singers, Bath's highly acclaimed chamber choir of 24 voices, is directed by its award-winning conductor Christopher Finch.