Bingham and District Choral Society will be performing Songs and Sonnets from Shakespeare by George Shearing and Birthday Madrigals by John Rutter in Southwell Minster on Friday 23rd June 2023, as part of the Minster’s series of free lunchtime concerts. The performance will begin at 1.30pm and will last for about 45 minutes. Tea, coffee and biscuits will be available from 1 pm prior to the concert.
The two pieces have an intriguing link. The great jazz pianist George Shearing and the composer John Rutter were personal friends until Shearing’s death in 2011. Shearing’s Songs and Sonnets consist of seven short vocal works, interpreting various texts of Shakespeare in a contemporary jazz style. To honour his friend’s 75th birthday in 1995, John Rutter composed the Birthday Madrigals, using the texts of five poems from the era of the Elizabethan madrigal, including two from Shakespeare. As with Shearing’s own composition, the style of the music has a strong jazz feel but is fundamentally derived from the tradition of the English madrigal itself and its descendant, the part song.
Admission to this concert, which lasts approximately 45 minutes, is FREE. There will be a retiring collection, the proceeds of which help to fund the Minster’s Organ Scholarship. Please pick up a free programme upon your arrival. The concert will be preceded by tea, coffee and biscuits – available from 1pm onwards.