St Mary the Virgin Church, Witney
OX28 4AW

22nd February 2025, 7.30pm

Conductor: George Parris
Cello: Nicola Tait Baxter

The North Cotswold Chamber Choir explores works by composers who have responded to conflict in the world by seeking to express peace, light and hope through their music.

An immersive, emotive sequence of Eastern Orthodox music, with music by Tavener, Tchaikovsky, and the Estonian composer Galina Grigorjeva, whose Molitva (a word meaning ‘prayer’ in both Russian and Ukrainian) powerfully brings ongoing conflicts into focus. The concert also includes a rare performance of a work by Frederic Rzewski, one of the most important American composers of his time, and a heartfelt prayer by Valentin Silvestrov, a Ukrainian composer who is currently seeking refuge in Berlin.

John Tavener, O do not move
John Tavener, Svyati ‘O Holy One’
John Tavener, Threnos for solo cello
Pyotr IIyich Tchaikovsky, Hymn of the Cherubim
Galina Grigorjeva, Molitva ‘Prayer’
Galina Grigorjeva, There will come soft rains
Frederic Rzewski, I will not serve
Valentin Silvestrov, Prayer to Ukraine

For information on access to the venue, please contact hello@nc3.org.uk

Details of our programmes for recent concerts can be found here.

Repertoire

Examples of the wide-ranging repertoire the choir sings can be found here.