The Addison Singers performing at St Andrew's
A choral gala featuring more than 100 local singers will bring the sounds of Italian, Ukrainian and British composers to H&F this month.
The Addison Singers will perform an evening of classical music entertainment spanning two centuries in their spring concert on Saturday 26 March.
Featuring music from Mykola Lysenko, Pietro Mascagni, Gavin Bryars and Gioachino Rossini, the event is set to be a "feast of good tunes", said the choral group.
The concert – which is being held at St. Peter's Church, in Southfield Road, Chiswick W4 – celebrates the spiritual compositions created by the composers in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Kicking off at 7.30pm, the two-hour concert will launch with a moving performance of Prayer for Ukraine, which was composed by Mykola Lysenko in 1885, with lyrics by poet and civil activist Oleksandr Konysky.
The spiritual anthem of Ukraine during the Ukrainian War of Independence in 1917-1920, the piece will be followed by Mascagni's Easter Hymn.
The Italian composer's stirring chorus from his 1890 opera Cavalleria Rusticana will be performed by the Addison Singers' Oratorio Choir – a 90-strong group of music lovers from across west London.
Meanwhile, the group's Chamber Choir of 35 singers will perform a work by the English composer Gavin Bryars, who will feature in the performance playing the harmonium.
Originally written in 1983, On Photography combines song in Latin with the modern subject matter of photography.
"It will be a feast of good tunes, filled with the wit, excitement and drama that many might not associate with sacred music," says Claire Dines, from the Addison Singers.
The concert will climax with a thrilling performance of Rossini's Petite Messe Solemnelle, accompanied by pianist Matthew Hough.
"The piece is a joyful affirmation of the composer's faith, but also looks back to some of his most successful work for the stage, with its combination of decidedly operatic arias, duets, ensembles and energetic choruses," explains Claire.
Tickets are £15 (adults) and £3 for under 16s from We Got Tickets or £18/£3 on the door.
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