Exeter Philharmonic Choir is ending its 2024/25 season with a veritable banquet of some of the greatest English choral and organ music of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. 

‘A Feast of English Choral Music’ at Exeter Cathedral on Saturday 14 June is the Choir’s closing concert of another successful season. The concert will take the audience on a journey with music of different styles and contexts, from the highly ceremonial to the spiritual and more intimately personal.  

Graze on rich, melodious harmonies, including works by the musical giants of their time: Ralph Vaughan Williams, Hubert Parry, Arthur Sullivan and Herbert Howells. 

The 100-strong choir is looking forward to welcoming celebrated baritone Thomas Humphreys. After an opening Evening Hymn from the choir, Thomas will sing Vaughan Williams’ evocative work, Five Mystical Songs, a setting of poems by the 17th-century metaphysical poet George Herbert. The programme also includes Hubert Parry’s I Was Glad and Arthur Sullivan’s The Lost Chord. 

A special feature of this concert will be the opportunity to hear Exeter Cathedral’s famous organ played as a solo instrument. Stephen Tanner, a highly renowned keyboard player as well as the choir’s Associate Director of Music, will perform pieces by Edward Bairstow and Herbert Howells that showcase both Stephen’s talents as an organist and the special sound of the Cathedral’s organ.

EPC’s Director of Music Howard Ionascu says ”Our summer concert will be a fascinating experience of the renaissance of English Music. Whether our repertoire is familiar to you or takes you on a journey of discovery, you’re sure to enjoy the feast!” 

www.exeterphilharmonic.org.uk