Past Performances

13 events to display

Evensong at Chester Cathedral

Thu, 6 Aug 2026

This summer saw a new venture for the choir, as we journeyed to the wonderful city of
Chester to sing Choral Evensong at the majestic red sandstone Cathedral. For some of us, it
was the first encounter with the service, providing a new opportunity to learn about psalm
settings and responses; for others, the chance to revisit evensong, bringing back memories
of university. For everyone, the experience of singing in such wonderful surroundings,
amidst the carved choir stalls, was a joy, and we rose to the occasion.

In keeping with our focus on early music, the preces and responses were by William Smith
(1603 - 1645) and the Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis were by Orlando Gibbons (1583 - 1625).
Thomas Tallis (c.1505 - 1585) wrote the anthem O Nata Lux, which the choir had performed
in their November 2025 concert, and which complemented the rest of the service.

Following the service, the choir retired to the nearby Chez Jules restaurant for a well-
earned meal and the chance to socialise outside the usual rehearsal setting. Everyone
agreed that it was an excellent day, and that we would like to repeat the experience.

A recording of the service can be found here:

Chadkirk Well Dressing

Sun, 26 Jul 2026

As part of the round up to our Summer 2026 season we were invited to sing at Chadkirk Chapel in Chadkirk Estate, Romiley on Sunday 26th July. We were part of the Chadkirk Well Dressing festivities which took the theme of Healing Wells and Medieval Herbs and we hoped our singing would add to and complement the theme of healing. Our Early Music repertoire aptly suited the building we were in. Legend had it that St Chad founded a monastic cell of worship on the site in the 7th century but the first written record of the location doesn't appear until 1374 under the name Chaddkykre.

In true professional style we rehearsed in a field by the Chapel, just managing to avoid the rain, and we were warmly greeted by our hosts with a welcome cup of tea and a good audience.

We sang a selection of songs:
Sumer is Icumen in, Anon (c1250) written in Middle English, rejoicing in the return of the warm weather and the awakening of nature,
La,la,la, Je n'ose le dire Pierre Certon (c 1572) a humorous song in French about a village man who is excessively jealous of his wife,
Never weather-beaten sail, Thomas Campion (1567-1620), a song expressing a deep longing for eternal rest in heaven,
Come again sweet love, John Dowland (1563-1626) an Elizabethan lute song about unrequited love and
Fair Phyllis I saw sitting all alone John Farmer (published 1599) about a young man looking for his love and after many ups and downs they finally meet and kiss.

So a happy ending for the lovers and a happy ending for us too. We received a very warm round of applause and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Thank you Chadkirk Chapel.