On Saturday 22nd March at 7:30pm
the London Pro Arte Choir present
works by Puccini, Verdi and Rossini
Church music with an operatic demeanour:
- Puccini – Messa di Gloria
- Verdi – Stabat Mater
- further works by these two composers
and Rossini
Puccini started his career as a church musician
but it was a performance of Verdi’s Aida that
inspired him to turn instead to composing opera.
The Messa di Gloria was his graduation composition,
which was well received but not published at the time,
perhaps because he wanted to be recognised for his operatic music.
The mass is composed of a variety of styles, with simple, melodic,
dance-like and dramatic sections for soloists and choir.
Verdi’s Stabat Mater is a dramatic setting of the poem, describing the Virgin Mary standing by the cross.
Among the shorter works to be performed is the Requiem, commissioned from Puccini
for the fourth anniversary of Verdi’s death as well as Verdi’s setting of the Lord’s Prayer
and a setting of the Ave Maria by Rossini.
Loved by many people is the Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves from Verdi’s Nabucco – actually opera in this case.
The choir will be joined by soloists, accompanied by Phoebe Tak Man Chow on the organ and conducted by Tom Winpenny.
Tickets £20; under 18 years - free
from www.lpac.org.uk Kilworth Audio Visual, 91 The Broadway, London NW7 3TG
phone 020 8420 7238 or on the door.