The Fourth Choir presents a concert inspired by the Order of St John and its long history of nursing the sick and wounded. The concert will start with “O gloriosissimi lux”, an incandescent choral masterpiece written by Hildegard of Bingen in the 12th century just after the Order was founded, and will finish with “Standing as I do before God” by Cecilia McDowall, an intensely moving setting of the words of Edith Cavell, the WWI nurse executed by the Germans despite having tended both German and British wounded.
The concert will also include Renaissance choral works by Morley, Weelkes, Schütz and Purcell as well as more modern pieces including a performance of “Memorial Ground” by Oscar-nominated composer, David Lang, written to commemorate the centenary of the Battle of the Somme. “Memorial Ground” was premiered on 2 July 2016 and choirs are performing it all over the country in the period up to Remembrance Sunday. Every performance will be unique as David Lang has composed a large body of musical material from which each choir will select melodies to sing to texts of their own choosing.
Priory Church of the Order of St John, St John’s Square, London, EC1V 4JJ
Tickets online £12 (£9 concessions) + fee, and on the door £15 (£12 concessions)
To book tickets and for more information please click here
“The Fourth Choir is an audaciously ambitious ensemble… who are not especially well-known as yet. But being sharp, smart and resourceful, they deserve to be.”
Michael White, Music Correspondent for The Telegraph and New York Times
