WARM ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOR RETURN OF CITY CHOIR

BIRMINGHAM Bach Choir are set to return for their first full concert in nearly two years next week.

Taking its title from the uplifting work of the same name by Vaughan Williams, O Clap Your Hands was originally scheduled to follow the Choir’s Centenary Gala Concert (which look place at Lichfield Cathedral towards the end of 2019), but was understandably postponed due to the pandemic.

Alongside works by Williams, Britten (Rejoice In The Lamb), Leighton (Give Me The Wings Of Faith) and Dvořák (Mass in D Major op.86), the concert programme also features The Dear Bargain (Charitas Nimia), a new work from leading choral composer David Bednall which was commissioned by the choir as part of their centenary celebrations.

“The poem is one which I have had in mind for a number of years, and the opportunity to write an extended choral work seemed to be the natural time to realise this ambition,” explains Bednall, whose work has been shaped by a deep love of late-romantic and 20th music.

“My musical language owes much of its inspiration to composers such as Gerald Finzi, Herbert Howells, and Ralph Vaughan Williams,” he continues. “And whilst never attempting to copy them I am sure that echoes may be felt in this piece.”

Discussing the process of penning the composition, the composer adds: “As ever when writing choral music, the text is the primary inspiration – many have said it, but it is always important to remember that the words came first and therefore must be respected and given crucial importance. There are many approaches to this of course, but for me this means a careful attention to not only the broad and specific meanings and mood, but also the stress and emphasis of different words.”

With sections of both joy and darkness, The Dear Bargain concludes with “... a final extended ‘Amen’ which brings the work to a peaceful conclusion.”

Birmingham Bach Choir: O Clap Your Hands is at St.

Philip’s Cathedral Birmingham on Saturday, December 4. For tickets and more details, see: www.birmingham.bachchoir.com