Littlehampton choir's act of remembrance

A Poppy is to Remember is the title of the next Edwin James Festival Choir concert.
Edwin James Festival ChoirEdwin James Festival Choir
Edwin James Festival Choir

Spokeswoman Madeleine Wadley said: “Rehearsals have been intensive over the past two months for this poignant remembrance evening. The night will pay tribute to heroes from all conflicts. This year the popular Littlehampton community choir will be performing Requiem by Gabriel Faure in the first half of the evening, followed by Requiem for a Soldier by Michael Kamen which is from the television series Band of Brothers. During the second part of the concert the choir will perform Every Purpose Under the Heaven by Howard Goodall.”

Musical director James Rushman said: “As always, the choir and orchestra members performing this concert have given a hundred and ten percent in rehearsals. The Faure work is particularly challenging since it is sung in Latin except for the Kyrie which is Koine Greek. Some of our newer members have not previously participated in choral works so they have had to put in additional homework this time. We have two soloists performing during, David Bathurst (tenor) and Lorna Moore (soprano).”

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Madeleine added: “Gabriel Faure composed his Requiem in D Minor, Op 48 between 1887 and 1890. It is the best known of Faure’s larger works and focuses on eternal rest and consolation.

“Every Purpose Under the Heaven or The King James Bible Oratorio is based on the bible of 1611, being one of the cultural revelations in Western civilisation. The narrative, phraseology, ethical dilemmas and spirituality permeate the English language like no other document in history. It was intended to reflect the themes of both Old and New Testaments, and when composing the work Goodall selected what he believed were the ten most memorable and powerful passages to base the work’s ten movements on moving through from Genesis to Revelation.”

The Edwin James Festival Choir will be performing their remembrance concert at St James Church, East Ham Road, Littlehampton on Saturday, November 12. Doors open at 6.45pm for 7.30pm with tickets priced at £8. Tickets available from the box office on 01243 582330 or at the door.

The choir are continuing their support of local charities, and donations from the concert will go to CancerWise who aim to be an enabling and compassionate community for those with cancer and their carers. Their drop-in support centre in Chichester and offers support and information to anyone in West Sussex and East Hampshire.

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Choir rehearsals are on Wednesday evenings in St James’s Church Hall from 7.30pm, and prospective new members are welcome.

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