Cherwell Choral Society:   Summer Moods in Shakespeare
Saturday 6 th July 2024, 7.30pm, Deddington Church
Come and join us this summer for a fun, jazzy concert!

• Chilcott Ophelia, Caliban & Miranda
• Rutter Birthday Madrigals
• Stroman Shakespeare Songs

These are contemporary settings of Shakespeare-inspired words and themes, and the choir will be accompanied by the excellent Adam’s Apple jazz quartet. Dr Paul Hedley is the choir’s musical director.

Bob Chilcott has become one of the world’s most widely performed composers and arrangers of choral music. Ophelia, Caliban, and Miranda puts a jazzy twist on three Shakespearean characters. The three pieces are entitled “River Bride” (Ophelia), “Ariel taught me how to play” (Caliban), and “All good things come to an end” (Miranda).

Rutter’s Birthday Madrigals was written in 1995 to celebrate the 75th birthday of the great jazz pianist George Shearing. The texts of the five poems come from the era of the Elizabethan madrigal, and two are by Shakespeare. The style of the music is influenced by jazz but is fundamentally derived from the tradition of the English madrigal itself and its descendant, the part-song.

Stroman composed Eight Shakespeare Songs in 2008. He was commissioned to write them by Robert Cecil, the Earl of Salisbury, to mark the 450th anniversary of the coronation of
Elizabeth I. The songs include settings of Under The Greenwood Tree, and It Was A Lover And His Lass.

Elsa Williams, Chair of the choral society, said: “We are really looking forward to this summer concert. It says something about the versatility of our choral society that we can tackle light-hearted modern jazz songs after a concert of virtuosic French liturgical music.And our next concert is a Bach oratorio!”

Date: Sat 6th July 2024, 7.30pm, at Deddington Church.
Tickets are £16 (children under 16 free), and are available from Hamptons, Deddington, online at www.cherwellchoral.org, or call 01295 367441. Tickets will also be available on the door.