Choral concert with the St Albans Choral Society and London Orchestra da Camera performing Brahms' 'A German Requiem', with soprano Georgie Malcolm and baritone Andy McTaggart.
St Albans Choral Society are performing Brahms' A German Requiem at St Albans Cathedral on Saturday 17 April 2027, with the concert starting at 7:00pm. It's a big night for the society, and they're bringing in the London Orchestra da Camera to provide the orchestral backing, with Charlie Perry conducting.
The evening centres on Johannes Brahms' A German Requiem (Op. 45), a work the composer would have called A Human Requiem — it was written with the living in mind rather than the dead, and it opens with the words 'blessed are those who mourn'. It's a substantial piece, and it takes up the bulk of the programme. On the solo parts, soprano Georgie Malcolm and baritone Andy McTaggart lead the choral and orchestral forces.
Around that, there are a few other pieces that build a bit of a story. J S Bach's Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring is on the bill, and the programme acknowledges Bach's influence on Brahms by opening with Gareth Treseder's modern reflection, Jesu, Joy of Our Desiring. There's also Edgar Bainton's And I Saw a New Heaven, which is described as one of the most beautiful reflections on loss written in English. Between the two, the whole evening stays on that theme of mourning and comfort.
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The venue has its own history to bring to it. St Albans Cathedral is the oldest site of continuous Christian worship in Britain and a shrine to the country's first saint, Alban. It's got an 11th-century tower whose bells ring across the city and a pioneering organ built in 1962. Its choirs, including the St Albans Choral Society and the St Albans Bach Choir, have long been part of its musical life, so this is very much home turf for the society.
Tickets are £35, £30, £25, £18, and £12, with children under 18 and full-time students with ID both £10 (though the student rate isn't available for premium seats). Carers and companions go free. The concert is on Saturday 17 April 2027 at 7:00pm at St Albans Cathedral, AL1 1BY.
