Sea Pictures

The sea has long been an inspiration for both sacred and secular music and is the backdrop to the Durham Singers concert on Saturday 21 November at St Oswald’s Church, Durham DH1 3DQ at 7.30pm. The performance of sublime choral music promises to take you on an evocative journey, acclaiming one of our most vital life-sources.

The concert showcases the work of twentieth and twenty-first century British composers on this theme. At the heart of the programme is Donald Fraser’s choral arrangement of Edward Elgar’s Sea Pictures, a five-movement work of stunning miniatures.

In addition, we will sing Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s little-known cantata Meg Blane, a dramatic setting of Robert Buchanan’s poem about a shipwreck and a woman leading a rescue mission. The choir also celebrate the 75th birthday of one of Britain’s most prominent choral composers, Cecilia McDowall, performing her haunting Ave Maris Stella. As a complementary twist, soprano soloist Katy Thomson will present songs with nauticalthemes, including Rebecca Clarke’s extraordinary The Seal Man, accompanied by Ana Manistireanu.

Join us for this special concert, as we also say thank you and bid farewell to Tom Edney as music director of The Durham Singers after four and a half years of inspiring leadership, exciting and innovative programming and generous-spirited sharing of his love of music with singers and audiences alike.