Wimbledon Choral Society – Music of the Stars – 7:30pm
This concert draws from the rich talent of English composers, two of whom are Wimbledon Choral favourites - Cecilia McDowall and Michael Higgins. McDowall's Ave Maris Stella (Hail, Star of the Sea) was the first work of hers published by OUP. Its seven short sections merge into a single powerful wave with elements of peace and tranquility mixed in with a turbulent yet joyful mid-section. Music of the Stars was published in 2023 and the text used demonstrates the power of music as a means of consoling and uplifting in challenging times. In the two YouYube clips below, the composer explains her approach to these two works. At the time writing, it is believed ours will be the UK concert performance premiere of this work in its original orchestration.
Ralph Vaughan Williams (President WCS 1946-1958) often used English folk songs as the source and inspiration for some of his works. He adapted the old song Dives and Lazarus to become the hymn tune known as Kingsfold, named after the village located a few miles south of where he lived in Leith Hill, West Sussex. The text associated with the tune is usually I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say and the choir will sing this prior to the players performing the composer’s Five Variants of Dives and Lazarus.
The concert opens with Elgar’s delightful Serenade for Strings and, towards the end, includes Michael Higgins’ beautiful O Salutaris Hostia, his arrangement of Elgar’s Nimrod (from the Enigma Variations).
Concert Programme
Elgar : Serenade for Strings
McDowall : Ave Maris Stella
Vaughan Williams : I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say [hymn Kingsfold]
Vaughan Williams : Five Variants of Dives & Lazarus [same theme as Kingsfold]
Higgins : O Salutaris Hostia
McDowall : Music of the Stars (UK premiere)
We are delighted to be working with members of the City of London Sinfonia again in this concert.
Upcoming Events
SSCS – Messa di Gloria – Giacomo Puccini – 6pm
SSCS is delighted to invite you to our Summer Concert 2026 on Sunday 5 July at 6pm, directed by Oliver Lallemant. The programme is Giacomo Puccini's Messa di Gloria and tickets are available here or on the door. You can download the flyer here. SSCS is always looking for even more members to be a part of our wonderfully fun and engaging choir. There's no audition; we welcome everyone. Email Olly for details admin@sloanesquarechoralsociety.com
Canticum – Gloria in Excelsis – 7.30pm
Canticum’s joyful summer concert focuses on Austrian sacred music of the 18th and 19th centuries, accompanied by two violins, cello, bass and chamber organ.
A work of the composer’s maturity, Haydn’s Little Organ Mass is remarkably succinct, while Mozart’s Missa Brevis in F is more festive and an astonishing achievement for an 18 year-old in its handling of motifs and counterpoint.
Canticum will also perform Mozart’s deeply moving Ave verum corpus, composed less than six monthsbefore his death.
Interspersed with these Classical masterpieces are five of Bruckner’s Motets. These beautiful a cappella choruses, composed over nearly a quarter of a century, hark back to Gregorian chant and Palestrina, the liturgical prince of the Counter-Reformation.
Crouch End Festival Chorus – Reimagined: Monteverdi to MacMillan – 7.30pm
Reimagined: Monteverdi to MacMillan
A captivating evening of sacred and reimagined choral works, blending Renaissance masters with modern voices. Featuring Crouch End Festival Chorus and the Ferio Saxophone Quartet.
David Temple MBE, Music Director of Crouch End Festival Chorus says
When I first heard the Ferio Saxophone Quartet perform last summer, I immediately got in touch and asked if they would like to work with CEFC and me. What is extraordinary is the amazing variety of musical colours produced by this excellent quartet.
This palette of colours works brilliantly for early music, as they could easily pass for cornetts and sackbuts - hence our collaboration performing works by Monteverdi and Schütz.
They are equally at home with contemporary works by James MacMillan, Roderick Williams and Sarah Rimkus. Our concert will be a delicious mixture of ‘reimagined’ works from Monteverdi to MacMillan.