The Holst Singers, conducted by Stephen Layton, mark the centenary of French composer Pierre Villette with his motets, a UK premiere and works by Franck, Fauré and Lili Boulanger.
The Holst Singers are coming to St Peter's Church on Saturday 31 October, their programme built around the centenary of French composer Pierre Villette. The evening is an all-French choral set, and Villette takes centre stage with a selection of his motets. They're known for combining flowing melodies with sumptuous harmonies, and the music is often described as warm and intimate — the kind of thing that sits well in a church.
It's not all centenary tributes, though. The night doubles as a platform for new work, with the UK premiere of David Briggs's Mass for men's voices and organ. That's a substantial piece of new writing to hear for the first time, and it shares the bill with some of the more familiar names in French choral music: Franck's Panis Angelicus, Fauré's Cantique de Jean Racine, and Lili Boulanger's Hymne au soleil. Between the Villette motets and the Briggs premiere, the programme covers a fair bit of ground across the French tradition.
Leading the choir is Musical Director Stephen Layton MBE, with Edward Picton-Turbervill on organ and piano. The Holst Singers are one of Britain's foremost chamber choirs, and the BBC has called them a leading chorus on the international stage, so this is a proper professional outfit coming to St Albans rather than a local amateur group. They're a chamber choir, which usually means a smaller, more focused sound than a full cathedral chorus, and that fits the intimate feel they're aiming for with the Villette.
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The concert runs from 19:00 to 20:30 at St Peter's Church on St Peter's Street, AL1 3HG. Tickets are £25 for general admission and £35 for premium seating.
