So that as many people as possible can enjoy 'Carols at Arundel' we have decided to give two concerts this year. If you cannot manage Sunday 6th December 1998 you may be free to come on Sunday 13th , or vice versa. As ever, we will be joined by children from local schools who really make these occasions concerts to cherish.  The schools and the carols they will sing will be different for the two concerts, otherwise the programme will be the same for both, with plenty of opportunities for audience participation. Alistair Warwick will be at the organ.

Our spring concert will take place in St. Nicholas Church, Arundel.  We will fittingly bid farewell to the twentieth century by presenting two works from composers whose lives together span the last one hundred years and who are both noted for the melodic quality of their writing.  Durufl_ s Requiem is cast in the mould of those Requiems which emphasise the bliss of heaven rather than the wrath of hell.  Like Faur_ s popular work it was influenced by the legacy of Gregorian chant but it is not just a re-working of the pattern set by Faur_ but a marvellous creation full of rhythmic interest and melodies that stay in the mind. We are linking this work with John Rutter s setting of the Magnificat.  Following in the footsteps of J S Bach the text is extended to underline the ascription to the Virgin Mary of this poetic outpouring of praise. The whole work is lyrical and joyous, echoing the spirit and enthusiasm of the outdoor celebrations in honour of the Virgin in Latin countries. But it is not all bright with brass. There are more reflective passages which, as in Durufl_'s Requiem, draw upon the traditions of Gregorian chant. If you haven t heard this setting then come and be captivated by its sensitive beauty.

We are joined for this concert by the Sinfonia of Arun and soloists Susannah Spicer (mezzo-soprano) and Christopher Foster (bass-baritone). The conductor will be John Henville,  the date is Sunday 21st March, 1999, the time 7.30 pm and the venue, as mentioned will be St. Nicholas Church, Arundel.

On Saturday 8th May 1999 we will be returning to the Assembly Hall at Worthing for our annual charity concert. We are delighted that once again we shall be sharing the platform with the Band of the Grenadier Guards. The programme will be varied and an exhilarating evening is promised ! The concert is in aid of St. Barnabas Hospice at Worthing; it starts at 7.30 pm and tickets for this concert will only be available from the Pavilion Theatre Box Office (tel: 01903 820500).

In the autumn we are presenting a classical concert which will continue our theme for the year of presenting vibrant and exciting music. Mozart s Vesperae Solennes de Confessore is a festive setting of the office of Vespers which reflects both the  German and Italian traditions found in Mozart s music. It is also a wonderful example of how Mozart could operate within the constraints of a strict liturgical framework yet still produce brilliant music. It rises above tradition in terms of its imaginative treatment of the text, its compact inventiveness, which gives it an almost gem like richness, and the introduction of coloratura passages. If delighted by such passages in the Vespers then enjoy them to the full in the very popular motet for soprano solo, Exsultate, jubilate. Written in Milan in 1773, when Mozart was imbibing Italian influences, it treats a religious subject in a wholly secular musical manner. Be that as it may the result is a joyful and scintillating piece. It is thought that a melodic phrase towards the end influenced Haydn s composition of the Hymn to the Emperor, better known to most of us as the hymn tune  Austria . I wonder whether you will spot it. We complete this concert with a Haydn composition written late in his life in 1799. Each year as Kapellmeister to Prince Nicholas II at Esterhazy he was required to write a mass to celebrate the name-day of the Prince s wife Maria (not to be confused with her more famous namesake Maria-Theresa, wife of the Emperor Franz Joseph II). The  mass which we are singing, which is known as the  Maria Theresa  Mass, was the fourth of six that he wrote for this purpose. As with Mozart and the Vespers, what might have been a musical pot boiler is instead a work of genius. Symphonic in character it is both  tender and powerful, ending with some particularly telling trumpet and drum effects.