Magnificat

Danesborough Chorus and Alina Orchestra are performing at Christ the Cornerstone on Sunday 22 November, starting at 7:00 pm. The evening is conducted by Ian Smith, with soprano soloist Isabella Hulbert leading the vocal parts. It's part of the chorus's 52nd season, and it's a bit of a milestone for Smith, too: this concert marks his 50th year as their musical director.

The main piece is John Rutter's Magnificat, which was an immediate success when it premiered at Carnegie Hall in May 1990. It runs from the joyful opening setting of the word 'Magnificat' through the calm, reflective setting of the English poem 'Of a Rose' to a triumphant final 'Gloria'. Beside it, the chorus will perform Ralph Vaughan Williams' Benedicite, one of three works he wrote for the Leith Hill Musical Competition — now the Leith Hill Musical Festival — which first went out in Dorking in 1930. The orchestral side of the bill is Edvard Grieg's Holberg Suite, completed in 1884 to mark the 200th birthday of the Danish-Norwegian writer Ludvig Holberg.

Between the three, it's a fair bit of ground to cover in one night: Rutter's modern choral writing, Vaughan Williams' English tradition, and Grieg's late-Romantic suite. The Magnificat takes centre stage, though, with the chorus and orchestra working together across the whole programme. It's a full evening of choral and orchestral music, and since it's part of a season that's been running for over half a century, it's a good chance to see the chorus in their element.

Tickets are all unreserved, so you can just turn up and take whatever seat is free. They're £25 for the ground floor, £15 for the balcony — with some restricted views there — and £5 for students. You can buy them online or over the phone, and the concert starts at 7:00 pm at Christ the Cornerstone in Milton Keynes.