Dear Friends,
In 1982 a small number of Oswestry Choral Society members joined
together under the guidance of the then organist of St Oswald`s church,
Michael Smith, to attempt some more challenging music. So the original
“Cantiones Sacrae” was born.
Here we are now in our 25th season, numbering 34
voices, good musicians all, with a reputation for being one of the
better chamber choirs within a large area. A different Musical Director
and a more secular name (having dropped the “Sacrae” many
years ago) but still singing more challenging works.
And to celebrate those 25 years Cantiones has put
together a bigger-than-usual package of events which we hope you will
be able to share with us over the coming months.
At this, the start of our year we are rehearsing for
our Spring Jubilee Concert. It will take place in Holy Trinity Church,
Oswestry on Saturday March 15th 2008. Together with our guest
orchestra, led by Huw Lloyd, we will be performing GF Handel`s
“Four Coronation Anthems,” John Rutter`s
“Requiem”, Gabriel Fauré`s “Cantique de Jean
Racine,” and one of FJ Haydn`s wonderfully joyous “Te
Deum”s.
Before that, however, is Christmas. Our out-of-town
Carols by Candlelight evening is to be held in Llanyblodwel by kind
invitation of the church of St Michael and All Angels. That will be on
Tuesday 18th December 2007.
It will be followed by the same programme at Holy
Trinity Church, Roft Street, Oswestry, on Saturday 22nd December 2007.
The central work of the evening, set amidst our usual mix of choir and
audience carols and Christmas music, will be Charpentier`s “Messe
de Minuit,” and we are delighted to welcome Anthony Dowlen as our
organ accompanist for the evening.
Following hot on the heels of the Jubilee Concert we
meet up with Oswestry Sinfonia for its concert on Saturday 12th April
2008. The orchestra is playing a programme of opera music and in the
company of the Guilsfield Singers, Cantiones will form the chorus for
some great compositions by Verdi, Puccini and others. This is something
of a departure for us and we are looking forward to getting our teeth
into these big and well-known works!
Our Summer Soirée at Rhydycroesau last year
was such a huge success that, unusually, we have decided to repeat our
visit on Saturday 14th June 2008. In order to avoid attempting to feed
the five thousand again, however, we do ask that tickets are bought
beforehand. It was a bit of shock on the night when we had sold just
seven tickets in advance and catered for 30 only to discover sixty
friends were joining us! Of course, we hope that just as many will
enjoy the evening in 2008.
The final invitation of the season for July 2008 is still in the
planning stages at the time of writing but it is to be hoped that an
announcement will be made about this later both in the press and on our
website.
Much of the programme from the summer soiree will be sung again in the
autumn of 2008 when we plan a mini-tour “off our patch”. We
are hoping to visit Lancaster for a long weekend, performing a secular
concert on the Saturday, and singing the Sunday services at Lancaster
Priory before returning home – or spending a few more days in a
lovely area.
As always, you can keep up-to-date by visiting our website
www.cantiones.org.uk or by contacting me directly, and our new
brochures will be available at various outlets in the area. All
concerts start at 7.30 pm and tickets can be bought from members of the
choir, the Heritage Centre, the Mile End T.I.C., and very often on the
door of our main venue, Holy Trinity.
We do look forward to welcoming you to our concerts this year. It is always a joy for us to sing to a big audience!
With best wishes.
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