2024
Saturday 16th March Lenten Reflections
|
Saturday 13th July A Sprig of Thyme
|
Saturday 23rd November Todd & Chilcott
|
 |
 |
 |
2023
Saturday 25th March Haydn: The Creation
|
Sunday 25th June "Gloria"- music for choir and brass
|
Saturday 25th November 2023 Britten: St Nicolas
|
 |
 |
 |
2022
Saturday 26th March Brahms: A German Requiem
|
Saturday 25th June Most Heavenly Music
|
Saturday 10th December In the Stillness
|
 |
 |
 |
2021
Saturday 27th March Haydn: Creation Concert cancelled
|
Saturday 26th June Summer Shakespeare Concert cancelled
|
Saturday 27th November Haydn: Little Organ Mass & Vivaldi: Gloria
|
 |
 |
 |
|
|
2020
Saturday 28th March Brahms: A German Requiem Concert cancelled
|
Saturday 27th June Most Heavenly Music! Shakespearean Songs and Sonnets Concert cancelled
|
Saturday 28th November Haydn: Little Organ Mass & Vivaldi: Gloria
Concert cancelled
| |
|
 |
 |
 |
|
|
2019
Saturday 23rd March Lenten Reflections at Wesley Church, Reading
|
Saturday 22nd June Verdi: Requiem at Great Hall, Reading
|
Saturday 30th November A Spotless Rose at Douai Abbey,
|
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
Click here to read the reports on the performance in Düsseldorf |
|
2018
Saturday 24th March A Shining Light at Wesley Church, Reading
|
Saturday 14th July Dixit at St Luke's Church, Reading
|
Saturday 17th November In Flanders Fields at Greyfriars Church, Reading
| |
|
 |
 |
 |
|
|
2017
Saturday 8th April Handel: Judas Maccabaeus at St Luke's Church, Reading
|
Saturday 1st July Rutter: Requiem and Harry: Mass of the Martyrs at Wesley Church, Reading
|
Saturday 9th December Saint-Saëns: Oratorio de Noël and Bach: Christmas Oratorio (Parts 1 and 3) at Wesley Church, Reading
|
|
 |
 |
 |
|
|
Click here to read the full story of this event. |
|
|
2016
Saturday 19th March Crucifixus: Easter Music at Wesley Church, Reading
|
Tuesday 19th July Haydn: The Seasons at Wesley Church, Reading
|
Saturday 3rd December Mozart at Doual Abbey, Upper Woolhampton
|
Monday 12th December Come and Sing Carols at Wesley Church, Reading
|
The music included Stainer: Crucifixion Lotti: Crucifixus Mozart: Ave Verum Corpus Victoria: Tenebrae Responsories Finzi: Lo the Full Final Sacrifice |
 |
 |
A collection was taken for Singing for the Brain.
A very enjoyable evening which raised a wonderful contribution to the work of this local charity. |
EARLIER EVENTS
Thursday 31st December 2015 Handel: Messiah Joint concert with the Johanneskantorei Düsseldorf in Düsseldorf, Germany
"Düsseldorf singing success for Reading Festival Chorus" - read the GetReading article here.
Saturday 17th October 2015 Handel: Messiah Joint concert with the Johanneskantorei Düsseldorf
"That was a most wonderful performance of the Messiah. Everyone (conductor, soloists, orchestra, and especially the choir) was magnificent".
Saturday 7th December 2013 A Winter Warmer - Music to Kindle the Heart Vivaldi: Gloria, Haydn: Little Organ Mass, Purcell: O Come Ye Sons Of Art
The concert was really splendid; the Chorus sang extremely well; the soloists were well matched,both when singing solo or when duetting with each other or the chorus; the organist was first class and our Welsh Dragon led from the front with his usual style and vigour. Finally, I thought the ladies looked splendid, with their sparkling buttonholes. Well done to you all!
Saturday 23rd March 2013 Karl Jenkins: Stabat Mater
After a full day of intensive rehearsals, held as a Come and Sing event, the Reading Festival Chorus teamed up with members of the Reading Symphony Orchestra to perform Karl Jenkins' Stabat Mater. It is the name given to a 13th-century prayer (Stabat Mater dolorosa - The sorrowful mother was standing) written as a reflection on the suffering of Mary, mother of Jesus, at the crucifixion.
For this performance, there was a mixture of full choral works and solo moments, with young soloist Harriet Kirk having a very warm tone to her verse. She also sang in Aramaic and Arabic.
The alternating choir and solo pieces helped the flow and gave the choir a break, especially considering it had only been rehearsed in a day.
The hour-long suite is a timeless classic and it will be sung hundreds of years into the future; it covers all the emotions and makes an ancient text relevant.
The Festival Chorus is conducted by Edward-Rhys Harry, who has performed all over the world. Tonight, his singers were following him keenly.
Alongside the orchestra, an unnamed organist provided the crucial swell for this 'come and sing' performance.
The warm sounds and beautiful setting of the Concert Hall helped brighten up a very cold Spring evening.
Xn magazine, April 2013. Author : Laura Blackburn Finlay.
Saturday 21st April 2012 Rossini: Petite Messe Solenelle
Reading Festival Chorus treated their audience to a lovely performance of Rossini's Petite Messe Solenelle at Greyfriars Church in Reading. Members of the audience expecting a solemn mass were surprised and delighted to hear a joyful piece, full of memorable melodies, showing much more in common with Rossini's operatic works than sacred music.
This setting of the mass, accompanied only by two pianos and an organ, allowed the audience to hear the choir at its best. Under the new baton of Edward-Rhys Harry, the singers produced a polished performance, with clear tones and beautifully controlled dynamics. The choir navigated the tricky fugue passages with confidence and sang with evident enjoyment throughout.
The four soloists, Rhiannon Llewellyn (soprano), Helen Bruce (mezzo-soprano), David Webb (tenor) and Ed Ballard (bass), each entertained the audience in the extensive solo passages and united to make a beautifully-blended sound in the Gloria. Jane Seymour and Annabel Thwaite provided a spirited piano accompaniment, further enhanced by Simon Dinsdale on the organ.
Greyfriars Church provided a comfortable and intimate venue for this very enjoyable performance.
|