St George's Singers

A concert for choral and organ music lovers alike!

Vierne – Messe Solennelle
Widor – Mass for Two Choirs
Widor – Toccata from Symphony No. 5
Saint-Saëns – Quam Dilecta
Boulanger – Hymn to the Sun
Boulanger – Psalm 24
and other works

The 19th century saw a great revival in French organ music, at the forefront of which were Charles-Marie Widor and his pupil Louis Vierne. In addition to their grandiose symphonies and virtuosic organ solos, they also composed masses and sacred motets for choir and organ illustrating the limitless range of sounds the organ is capable of creating, from the loud and brash to the mysterious and ethereal.

This concert brings together two great organ masses – Widor’s majestic Mass for double choir, and Vierne’s Messe Solennelle – alongside well-known solo organ works and sacred motets from other great French composers.

Following the great success at our April concert, there will be a free pre-concert talk at 6:45pm by Neil Taylor and Rosemary Broadbent, who will explain more about the background to the works to be performed. Entrance is included in the ticket price and there is no need to book separately for the talk, which will take place in the side chapel in the Church.