Heaven and Earth

The centrepiece of this early evening candlelight concert will be William Byrd's monumental six movement Mass for Four Voices. Written in the 1590s during the reign of Elizabeth I, it is one of the high points of the English Renaissance, both in terms of the emotional journey it takes the listener on, and the level of technical virtuosity it achieves in its musical writing.
Alongside William Byrd, there are works by contemporary composers Arvo Part, Anna Lapwood, and another rising star of the English classical music world, Lucy Walker represented by her setting for Candlemas of the ancient Latin text O nata lux de lumine, O Light born of Light. There are pieces to mark the end of autumn and the beginning of winter, notably Eric Whitacre's iconic setting of Robert Frost's poem Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening. There will also be musical grandeur, most especially Tchaikovsky's sublime Cherubic Hymn, as well as Giovanni Gabrieli's exultant motet O magnum Mysterium, O great mystery, written for two choirs.