17th June 2023 in St Mary’s Church, Wigton

Our next concert is to be held at 7.30pm on Saturday, 17th June 2023.

Flyer Summer 2023

Programme

The programme features three works by Johannes Brahms.

  • Ein deutsches Requiem (A German Requiem)
  • Schicksalslied (Song of Destiny)
  • Begräbnisgesang (Song of Interment)

Concert details

Our conductor will be our Music Director, Ian Wright. The choir will be accompanied by a small orchestra – the Throstle Ensemble. They will be using a new orchestration of the Requiem which is more suitable for smaller choirs and recently published by Carus-Verlag.

Each piece will be sung in its original German version (rather than using an English translation – which is a more common choice for UK choirs).

In celebrating Brahms, we are also paying tribute to one of our former musical directors and her family. The late Bernice Joachim directed Wigton Choral Society for a number of years until the early 1970s. Her husband Joseph taught English at the Friends’ School (Brookfield) in Wigton. Known locally as ‘Joe Joachim’, he was the grandson of the famous Hungarian violinist Joseph Joachim (1831-1907) who was a great friend of Brahms. The relationship between Brahms and Joachim is well documented, with Brahms regularly seeking the violinist’s advice when composing his Violin Concerto and other works for string instruments. The Joachims continue to be remembered and respected in Wigton. A number of current Wigton Choral Society members can recall having piano lessons with Bernice, who is known to have been a gifted and inspirational teacher.

In addition to the Requiem, the Begräbnisgesang (Burial Song op. 13) is a rarely-heard work written when the composer was still in his twenties. It has been specially arranged for performance by Ian Wright. The third item in the programme is the Schicksalslied (Song of Destiny op. 54), written a few years after the Requiem.

Support

We thank all those who have contributed to the fund-raising efforts to enable us to put on this concert. Again, we owe particular thanks for the generous support provided by Aspatria and District Community Charity Association.

Tickets

Tickets can be ordered for £13 from catservante7@gmail.com, tel 016973 51934. Admission on the door is also available, at £15. Entry is free for under-16s.

A pdf copy of the flyer can be downloaded here.