Oh Sing Joyfully!
Yateley Choral Society with guests Surrey Brass

Conductor James Casselton Organist Ben Giddens

7:45pm Saturday 25th March 2023

St Swithun's Church,
Firgrove Road, Yateley GU46 6NH

TICKETS

Tickets £15, Students £5, Under 16s free

In advance from 01276 31850 and from Yateley Town Council Offices; St Swithun’s Church parish office; Discoveries, The Green, Yateley GU46 7LS

Also available on the door

Yateley Choral Society is a friendly and inclusive choir of 40+ singers from the Hampshire/ Surrey/Berkshire borders, aiming to perform to our highest potential. We are fortunate to have been led by some extremely talented Musical Directors, and are currently under the direction of James Casselton. We perform four or five concerts a year, at least one with orchestral accompaniment.

Our Spring concert this year presents a rich kaleidoscope of pieces which bring to life the timeless words of joy, hope, comfort and encouragement that can be found in the psalms. From Howard Goodall’s familiar setting of The Lord is my shepherd, best known as the theme tune for the BBC comedy series The Vicar of Dibley, to Benjamin Britten’s Jubilate Deo, composed in 1961 at the request of the late Duke of Edinburgh and performed at his funeral in 2021, the texts of the Psalms have inspired generations of musicians.

Alongside music making, our mission is to foster musical interest in the local community, particularly in children, and to support local charities wherever possible. In addition to our own concerts, we occasionally join with other choirs to perform larger works in beautiful venues such as the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, and Guildford Cathedral.

The choir are delighted to be welcoming back Ben Giddens at the organ and are thrilled to be joined, for the first time, by members of Surrey Brass. By joining forces, they will provide the resplendent accompaniment for John Rutter’s energetic and life-affirming Gloria – a work that has become a staple of modern choral repertoire and a firm favourite with singers and audiences alike. Leonard Salzedo’s Divertimento for brass ensemble adds a further dimension to an exciting and varied programme.

Musical Programme

Brass and Choir

• Gloria - John Rutter

Yateley Choral Society

• O taste and see - Vaughan Williams
• O sing joyfully - Adrian Batten
• Beati quorum via - Stanford
• The Lord is my shepherd - Howard Goodall
• Jubilate Deo - Britten
• I will lift up mine eyes - John Rutter
• Psalm 150 - Cesar Frank

Surrey Brass

• Divertimento - Leonard Salzedo

The Divertimento for Three Trumpets and Three Trombones was written in 1959 for the world-famous Philip Jones Brass Ensemble (upon which Surrey Brass is modelled), the piece contains echoes of Salzedo’s Spanish/Jewish ancestry. They subsequently recorded the work and the BBC chose the opening five bars of the Prelude as the signature for the Open University TV and Radio programmes. The second movement (Scherzo) has also been used by the BBC as the theme music for a children’s serial on BBC 1 and for a serialised story on Radio 4. The four movements provide a delightful miniature which packs in a surprisingly wide range of musical moods, some featuring Prokoviev-like key changes together with occasional crunchy chords to make you smile.