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Saturday 3 March 2018

7.30pm

(concert ends 9.30pm approximately) 

St Edmundsbury Cathedral, Bury St Edmunds

Mozart: Overture to Lucio Silla (K135)

Mozart: Vesperae solennes de confessore (K339)

Mozart: Mass in C minor (K427)

Sarah Fox soprano

Rachel Dyson soprano

Valerie Reid mezzo-soprano

Austin Gunn tenor

Graeme Danby bass

Prometheus Orchestra

Aldeburgh Music Club

Bury Bach Choir

Edmond Fivet & Philip Reed conductors

Composed by Mozart in 1782/83 as a thanks offering for his marriage to Constanze Weber, the Mass in C minor remains the most grandiose, dramatic and demanding of Mozart’s choral works. In this single piece Mozart juxtaposes the antique, ‘learned’ style of Handel and Bach with florid Italianate arias and ensembles that would not be out of place in one of his own operas. Despite remaining unfinished, the C minor Mass is considered, with the Requiem (another incomplete work), to represent the pinnacle of Mozart’s sacred music. Moving from the solemnity of the opening Kyrie to the exuberance of the final ‘Hosanna in excelsis’, Mozart’s C minor Mass follows a journey that explores the deepest levels of human feeling.

The concert opens with Mozart’s overture to his opera Lucio Silva, followed by his Vesperae solennes de confessore. Composed for the court of Salzburg’s Prince-Archbishop in 1780, this setting comprises the appointed psalms for vespers and concludes with the Magnificat. Like the C minor Mass, the Vesperae solennes de confessore explores a wide variety of musical styles, from austere fugal writing to the radiant setting of the ‘Laudate Dominum’ for solo soprano with chorus.

Five outstanding soloists join us for this concert, including international opera stars Sarah Fox and our co-presidents Graeme Danby and Valerie Reid. We are delighted to welcome the members of the Aldeburgh Music Club and their conductor Edmond Fivet, who will be directing Mozart’s Vespers this evening, for this joint venture. 

Booking opens 4 September 2017

Tickets £25 (reserved), £20 and £15 (unreserved)

Early booking discount £1 off all tickets booked by 3 February 2018

Bury Bach Choir is joining Aldeburgh Music Club at Snape Maltings on Saturday 17 March.  Full details are here.