Skylarks Song

Don't Stop Singing

When we were planning our Summer concert we found ourselves with an interesting dilemma.

The Summer concert is usually a lighthearted affair with part songs followed by a buffet or cream tea.

And 2014 is no different. However, this year sees the centenary of the start of WW1 and we wanted to acknowledge this without spoiling the mood of the concert.

WW1 was, as we all know, a catastrophic event in human terms. War poets described their experiences in a range of ways; how to find a theme that incorporated hope as well as a realisation of the magnitude of war?

We were very fortunate to stumble upon a setting of "In  Flanders Fields" by Lt John MacCrae. The setting is by Andrew Bunbury, a contemporary composer and is part of a larger work. Fittingly, the piece received its first airing in Amiens Cathedral in October 2013.

Amiens Cathedral Nave & Choir

Cantilena is proud to be giving the UK premier performance at its Summer concert.

The poem describes how the larks continued to sing throughout the fighting and we have taken birdsong as our theme, including Stanford's "Blue Bird" in our programme and other settings of other poetry written during the 2nd decade of the 20th Century.

Here are the details:

Date:      Sunday 6 July

Place:     The Abbey House, Glastonbury

Time:      3.30 pm

Price:      £10.00 to include cream tea

We will also be welcoming the Pilton Wind Group under the direction of Janet Witteridge.

More on this very soon. In the meantime, put the date in your diary!