THE GENIUS of a young Mozart is to be brought out by a concert in Petersfield by acclaimed The Renaissance Choir.
Entitled Sanctus, the concert at St Peter’s Church on Saturday, April 8 at 7.30pm – with ticket bookings now being taken – will feature the composer’s Trinitatis Mass and movements from his Requiem and Bach’s B minor Mass.
Trinitatis is one of Mozart’s finest works, full of youthful enthusiasm and humour, with the occasional darker passages quickly given a dusting of joie-de-vivre.
The choir will also be singing Renaissance works by Palestrina, Lassus, Victoria and Byrd.
Palestrina has been included partly because the choir sant, to enormous plaudits, in Palestrina cathedral last year.
Lassus is based on a song from the Middle Ages which was rather salacious.
Victoria’s Missa Ave Regina Caelorum has vigorous antiphonal exchanges between two choirs.
The concert comes in musical director Peter Gambie’s 25th year with the choir, and he describes it as a “marriage made in heaven”.
He’s chosen many of his favourite works, including Santus movements from the finest Renaissance Masses.
The choir has embarked on a year of themed programmes –?concerts where the title is Sanctus, Gloria or Agnus Dei.
This approach, it says, allows works from many different periods to share the same programme, so that Bach and Beethoven, and Palestrina and Poulenc can “nestle together in the same sumptuous feast”.
The choir has a considerable reputation, delighting audiences across Europe with the blend and beauty of its sound.
Besides performing around five times a year in the Portsmouth area, it has been on tour to Budapest, Lisbon, Krakow, Santiago de Compostela, and most recently, Rome.
Tickets are £12, with £10 for concessions, and £2 for students.
These are available by calling 023 9247 5259 or by visiting www.renaissancechoir.org.uk
They can also be bought on the door.