Joint Schools Choral Society and Orchestra Concert 2024

St Albans High School for Girls & St Albans School

Emma Price Conductor

Joint Schools Orchestra

Tickets: £20, £18, £16, £14

No view seats will only be released when seats with views have sold out.

Concessions: Children under 18 £5, Students with ID £5.

Seats marked with a K are only to be booked by people accompanying the adjacent wheelchair user. Only one companion ticket is permitted per transaction.

Doors will open 30 minutes before concert starts. There is an interval of 20 minutes during this performance.    

 

The Joint Schools’ Choral Society & Orchestra has been running for 54 years and encompasses pupils, parents, staff and friends from St Albans School and St Albans High School for Girls. The choir are delighted to be returning to St Albans Cathedral, under the direction of conductor Emma Price, to perform two epic works from the choral canon: John Rutter's Magnificat and Gabriel Faure's Requiem in D minor.

The first half of the concert begins with John Rutter's joyful Magnificat which is taken from the canticle of the Virgin Mary, found in Luke's Gospel. The Magnificat showcases the catchy melodies that Rutter's choral works are widely known for, as well as demonstrating his excellent skills in orchestration. The Magnificat will be performed in its reduced orchestrated version with organ, a fitting tribute as its original recording was performed here at St Albans Cathedral by the cathedral choirs under Andrew Lucas.

The second half of the concert features one of the most beloved choral works: Faure's Requiem. Famous for its hauntingly beautiful melody in the soprano solo Pie Jesu; its sublime and evocative chorus In Paradisum; and impassioned choral plea for redemption in the Libera Me, this work is a masterclass in depicting light and shade in compositional form. The version that will be performed is the 1893 version, edited by John Rutter, featuring organ and chamber orchestra to align with the composer's original intention that the piece should be intended as a liturgical requiem.