Bach Mass in B minor - Crouch End Festival Chorus

Following an extraordinary 22 concerts (including the First Night of the Proms) and ten recording sessions last year, Crouch End Festival Chorus is gearing up for its first musical outing of 2023, with a concert at its ‘home’ venue, Alexandra Palace Theatre.

The concert will feature J.S. Bach’s Mass in B minor alongside a short piece by the acclaimed Icelandic composer, Anna Thorvaldsdottir - Heyr þú oss himnum á.

Bach’s Mass in B minor is an inspired reworking of compositions from different periods of his life, drawn together in his final years. The result is a choral masterpiece that uses the full range of musical styles Bach explored in the course of his career, and one that stretches the stamina and technique of singers and players alike. As such, the Mass could be seen as the ultimate Bach showcase: a unified expression of his genius as a composer.

For this performance, CEFC is delighted to collaborate with The Hanover Band, one of the UK’s finest period instrument orchestras, as well as four outstanding soloists, conducted by David Temple.

Writing in The Guardian in December 2022, Andrew Clements commented on the distinctiveness and the “beautifully crafted detail” of Anna Thorvaldsdottir’s music.  She wrote Heyr þú oss himnum á -  Hear Us in Heaven - for the Skálholt Summer Concert Series in 2005.  Using the verses of an old Icelandic psalm by Olafur á Söndum (1560–1627), this haunting multi-layered a capella piece will introduce the concert.