Name: 5 from 500: Tree of Life Choral Day
Start: 2025-02-22T10:00:00+00:00
End: 2025-02-22T17:00:00+00:00
Location: St Marks Church, S10 2SE

'5 from 500' 6th Choral Day with Martin Lightowler
Text Martin on 07948 407209 to join.
Or email [email protected]
Sometimes 500 years worth of music is not enough! To complete our second season of Choral Days we are going way back, roughly another 400 years earlier, to the wonderful O Frondens Virga by Hildegard von Bingen. And we're also squeezing in a cheeky 6th piece.
The challenge though, how to make plainchant interesting for SATB? We found the answer on YouTube in the form of a beautiful arrangement by Chris Foss of Cantus in the USA. Cantus recorded their performance under COVID restrictions suitably spaced apart in the great acoustics of an underground car park! Chris' score is not published, but he kindly provided it to us for use in our choral day. Not only that, he provided an SATB version especially for our use (the rendition on YouTube is TTBB).
So this really is a unique chance to perform this sumptuous work. And it truly fits with the "5 from 500" ethos of mixing really old music with the brand new. Chris Foss' arrangement adds glorious harmonies and shifting chords that Hildegard could never have imagined.
As always we have more wonderful music from the last 500 years, including Lassus, Palestrina, Gesualdo, Grieg and Lindberg.
Spend the day working hard and perform these wonderful pieces in the lovely acoustics of St Mark's Broomhill at 4:30pm - please invite your friends. Oh - and enjoy some excellent refreshments!