Mystic Harmonies

A cappella choral music from three great eras

May 18 @ 7:30 pm – 9:00 pm

St John’s, Sharow nr Ripon HG4 5BJ

Book now
£10 Free FTE/U18 available on-line (see below) or at the door
Orange and blue light poring through a church window with the words Mystic Harmonies

Sung in the superb acoustics of St. John’s Sharow, this concert showcases some beautiful and varied a cappella choral music from three eras and spanning nearly five hundred years.

You can hear works from the Renaissance by John Sheppard, Robert Parsons, and an Italian nun called Raffaella Aleotti.

You can lose yourself in the sublime romantic harmonies of Anton Bruckner and Hubert Parry.

And you can get a taste of what brilliant choral music written today sounds like, with works by Ola Gjeilo, Caroline Shaw and our own Matthew Oglesby.

There is something here for everyone. If you’ve not yet discovered the joys of choral music, this would be a great place to start!

The concert will last about 90 minutes, including an interval during which wine and juice will be served.

Book now

St Peter’s Singers

Alexander Woodrow conductor

In PaceJohn Sheppard
The Lords PrayerJohn Sheppard
Ave MariaRobert Parsons
Vidi speciosamRaffaella Aleotti
Virga JesseAnton Bruckner
Christus factus estAnton Bruckner
Locus isteAnton Bruckner
Ave MariaAnton Bruckner
My Soul, there is a country far beyond the starsHubert Parry
I know my soul hath powerHubert Parry
Never weather-beaten sailHubert Parry
There is an old beliefHubert Parry
Picking Fruit on the Feast of the TransfigurationMatthew Oglesby
Ubi caritasOla Gjeilo
And the SwallowCaroline Shaw
Book now

St Peter’s Singers

View Organiser Website

St John’s Church, Sharow, Ripon

Berrygate Ln, Sharow
Ripon, North Yorkshire HG4 5BJ
View Venue Website

Mystic Harmonies

A cappella choral music from three great eras

May 11 @ 7:30 pm – 9:00 pm

Leeds Minster

Book now
£15 Free FTE/U18 available on-line or at the door
Golden light shining through a Church window, advertising a concert Called Mystic Harmonies

Singing in the glorious setting of Leeds Minster, St Peter’s Singers showcase some beautiful and varied a cappella choral music from three eras and spanning nearly five hundred years.

You can hear works from the Renaissance by John Sheppard, Robert Parsons, and an Italian nun called Raffaella Aleotti.

You can lose yourself in the sublime romantic harmonies of Anton Bruckner and Hubert Parry.

And you can get a taste of what brilliant choral music written today sounds like, with works by Ola Gjeilo, Caroline Shaw and our own Matthew Oglesby.

There is something here for everyone. If you’ve not yet discovered the joys of choral music, this would be a great place to start!

The concert will last about 90 minutes, including an interval during which wine and juice will be served.

Book now

St Peter’s Singers

Alexander Woodrow conductor

In PaceJohn Sheppard
The Lords PrayerJohn Sheppard
Ave MariaRobert Parsons
Vidi speciosamRaffaella Aleotti
Virga JesseAnton Bruckner
Christus factus estAnton Bruckner
Locus isteAnton Bruckner
Ave MariaAnton Bruckner
My Soul, there is a country far beyond the starsHubert Parry
I know my soul hath powerHubert Parry
Never weather-beaten sailHubert Parry
There is an old beliefHubert Parry
Picking Fruit on the Feast of the TransfigurationMatthew Oglesby
Ubi caritasOla Gjeilo
And the SwallowCaroline Shaw
Book now

Please note this programme will be repeated on May 18 at St John’s Church, Sharow nr Ripon HG4 5BJ

St Peter’s Singers

View Organiser Website

Accessibility: Leeds Minster is about 5 minutes walk from Leeds Bus Station, and about 15 minutes walk from Leeds Railway Station. There is on-street parking on the side streets nearby, as well as the NCP Markets carpark ( 5 minutes) and the John Lewis carpark (10 minutes).

There is ramp access to the main doors beneath the tower, with entrance to the grounds at the West End by the Lamb and Flag pub recommended to avoid the steps up from the street level. Once inside there there is step-free access to the nave and to the City of Leeds Room for refreshments and toilets.

Leeds Minster

Leeds Minster, 2-6 Kirkgate
Leeds, W. Yorks LS2 7DJ United Kingdom + Google Map
View Venue Website

Elizabethan Jewels

24 June 2023 @ 7:30 pm – 9:00 pm

£12 Free FTE/U18; available on-line (see below) or at the door

Choral Masterpieces from the Renaissance and the Modern Day

Leeds Minster June 24 7.30 pm

Please note this programme will be repeated on July 1 at St John’s Church, Sharow nr Ripon. For tickets and details of that event, please click here.

This beautiful programme of choral masterpieces mixes and matches exquisite music from the times of the two Queens Elizabeth, two golden eras of British choral music.

You will be able to hear works by the great William Byrd – who died 400 years ago this July – his friend Thomas Tallis, and their Spanish counterparts Victoria, Guerrero and Lobo.

And you can compare and contrast them with some of the most recent and stunning additions to our amazing British choral tradition – works by living composers Judith Weir, Cecilia McDowall and James MacMillan.

Or you can just sit, soak it up and revel in its sheer beauty!

The concert will last about 1.5 hours including an interval, during which refreshments will be served.

Set in the stunning surroundings of Leeds Minster, this concert is not to be missed!

Programme

To include:

Sing joyfullyWilliam Byrd
Gloria from Mass for 5 voicesWilliam Byrd
Laudate DominumFrancisco Guerrero
O Lord, make thy servant ElizabethWilliam Byrd
I love all beauteous thingsJudith Weir
Who shall separate usJames MacMillan
Sanctus and Benedictus
 from Mass for 5 voices		William Byrd
O nata luxThomas Tallis
Interval
O Radiant DawnJames MacMillan
Vidi speciosamTomas Luis de Victoria
There is no rose of such vertuCecilia McDowall
Versa est in luctumAlonso Lobo
Agnus Dei from Mass for 5 voicesWilliam Byrd
Emendemus in meliusWilliam Byrd
Faire is the heavenWilliam Harris

There will be an interval during which refreshments will be served

St Peter’s Singers

Alexander Woodrow conductor

Please note this programme will be repeated on July 1 at St John’s Church, Sharow nr Ripon HG4 5BJ

St Peter’s Singers

View Organiser Website

Leeds Minster

Leeds Minster, 2-6 Kirkgate
Leeds, W. Yorks LS2 7DJ United Kingdom + Google Map
View Venue Website

Music for Good Friday: Penthos

7 April 2023 @ 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm

Book now

A new Requiem

The second performance of this visionary new work

created and first performed in Leeds in 2018

Penthos is a work for Choir, Orchestra, Organ and Soloists that combines high-quality music and poetry, and lasts nearly an hour.

It takes the form of the traditional Requiem Mass, but with new words exploring themes of reconciliation and forgiveness, and music that reaches beyond the words to speak to – and affirm – our deepest human longings.

“Put quite simply, it is a work of depth, maturity, power, beauty and sheer brilliance, whose qualities are revealing themselves week by week in rehearsal.”

Alex Woodrow, Conductor, St Peter’s Singers

“So it is locally written and locally performed, but trust me it will sound to you as if it has existed as a core of choral music for centuries. It is that good.”

Richard Pascoe, Member of St Peter’s Singers
Hannah Stone and Matthew Oglesby, creators of Penthos, set against a background of St Peter's Singers in concert

“A striking quality of the auspicious premiere … was the communicative power of the Penthos Requiem to connect with the listener”

Geoffrey Mogridge on Penthos in The Wharfedale Observer

For those who were present, the first performance of Penthos in October 2018 was something they are unlikely to forget: Matthew Oglesby’s powerful music adding further imaginative and emotional depth to Hannah Stone’s visionary poetry.

The pandemic forced the postponement of the second performance, planned for April 2020, but we were determined that there should be another opportunity to hear this superb work.

If you couldn’t get to that first performance in 2018, or you would like to hear it again… this is your chance, not to be missed!

Hannah Stone and Matthew Oglesby live in or around Leeds. They are members of St Peter’s Singers and highly active in Leeds’ cultural life.

Find out more about Penthos…

Programme

Penthos

Hannah Stone and Matthew Oglesby

St Peter’s Singers

Lucy Appleyard contralto

Quentin Brown bass

William Campbell organ

National Festival Orchestra

Sally Robinson leader

Alexander Woodrow conductor

St Peter’s Singers gratefully acknowledge the generous support of

The Liz and Terry Bramall Foundation

The Friends of the Music of Leeds Minster

St Peter’s Singers’ presentation of Music for Good Friday is an annual event, given by kind permission of Leeds Minster. It provides an opportunity to hear one of the great works of the sacred oratorio repertoire in a context than a concert hall performance on a Saturday evening cannot provide, and at a price that more people can afford.

Past works receiving performance include:

  • Bach’s St John Passion
  • Bach’s B Minor Mass
  • Handel’s Messiah
  • Brahms’ German Requiem
  • Dvorak’s Stabat Mater
  • Haydn’s Stabat Mater
  • Scarlatti’s Stabat Mater
£15 Free FTE/U18 available on-line (see below) or at the door

St Peter’s Singers

View Organiser Website

Leeds Minster

Leeds Minster, 2-6 Kirkgate
Leeds, W. Yorks LS2 7DJ United Kingdom + Google Map
View Venue Website

Hear The Angels Sing

Posted on by St Peters Singers of Leeds

Christmas Greetings from St Peter’s Singers!

This message comes with our warmest wishes of goodwill, comfort and joy to you as Christmas approaches. We hope most sincerely that you are able to celebrate it this year as you would wish.

For many of us, Christmas would not be Christmas without hearing a choir singing carols and other beautiful seasonal music. This important chance to remind ourselves what really matters was denied us all last year. Like many other aspects of the pandemic, we have no wish to repeat that grim experience.

Angels sing promo 1024x768 - Hear The Angels Sing

So St Peter’s Singers will be giving a festive concert of carols and other heavenly music at Leeds Minster on Friday 17 December at 7.30pm.

A glass of wine or juice will be served in the interval.

Why not take this opportunity leave behind the noise for a short while and hear the angels sing!

The concert will finish by 9pm

The programme

Happily, touching base with this Christmas tradition is not an exercise in pure nostalgia. Composers of today continually find new and often captivating things to say. And so this treasure trove, liberally stocked with music from a rich and ancient tradition, is continually being renewed. Our programme will feature some of the better works composed in recent times mixed with traditional carols and well-known arrangements.

This will be a feast. Popular arrangements of traditional English carols such The Holly and the Ivy, The Sussex Carol, and We wish you a Merry Christmas, will join with with Edgar Pettman’s deceptively simple arrangements of two traditional Basque carols.

These will be complemented by John Rutter’s Dormi Jesu, John Tavener’s The Lamb, Will Todd’s My Lord has come, James MacMillan’s O Radiant Dawn, and Morten Lauridsen’s O Magnum Mysterium, all recent works by contemporary composers and stunningly beautiful in their different ways. There will be carols for everyone to sing, and more besides. Alex Woodrow directs, with David Houlder at the organ.

Covid precautions

From a Covid security perspective, Leeds Minster is a large, airy and well-ventilated building with plenty of seating in which you can space out, while the choir will be singing at the far (East) end of the church. It is now Government policy to require the wearing of masks indoors. And to make the event as safe as possible for everybody, we would also suggest taking a lateral flow test before coming if you can.

We look forward very much to welcoming you.

Please note: should Government advice on Covid-19 force us to cancel the concert, we will fully refund the price of purchased tickets.

Music for Good Friday 2020 – Penthos Requiem

Music for Good Friday 2020

Our presentation of Music for Good Friday 2020 offers a second opportunity to hear Matthew Oglesby’s superb new Requiem Penthos.

Composed to a text by fellow St Peter’s Singer Hannah Stone, this assured and diverse work received its first performance to great acclaim in October 2018. Find out more!

The programme also includes Allegri’s famous Miserere and music by Bruckner and Mauersberger.

Good Friday 10 April 2020 7.00 pm at Leeds Minster.

 
 
 
Penthos
Music for Good Friday – Penthos

Programme

Christus factus est pro nobis

 Anton Bruckner

Miserere

 Gregorio Allegri

Wie liegt die Stadt so wust

 Rudolf Mauersberger

Penthos

 Matthew Oglesby
Lucy Appleyard mezzo
Quentin Brown bass

St Peter’s Singers

National Festival Orchestra

Alasdair Jamieson

conductor

St Peter’s Singers’ presentation of Music for Good Friday is an annual event, given by kind permission of Leeds Minster. It provides an opportunity to hear one of the great works of the sacred oratorio repertoire in a context than a concert hall performance on a Saturday evening cannot provide, and at a price that more people can afford.

Past works receiving performance include:

  • Bach’s St John Passion
  • Bach’s B Minor Mass
  • Handel’s Messiah
  • Brahms’ German Requiem
  • Dvorak’s Stabat Mater
  • Haydn’s Stabat Mater

For more insights and opinion, read our blog!

Public parking is available on the street and in the car park opposite the Palace Hotel at the eastern end of Leeds Minster. This may be free of charge on Good Friday, but you are advised to check this with the City authorities. There is also a large NCP car park next to Leeds Markets on the other side of the railway.

A century of English Church Music

A century of English Church Music

This programme traces a line through more than a century of English Church Music, from Edward Elgar through Benjamin Britten to Philip Moore.

Outstanding works and deeply moving music, beginning with Philip Moore’s brilliant and exciting Tu es Petrus, commissioned by St Peter’s Singers to celebrate our 40th anniversary and first performed in 2018.

This concert is part of Leeds International Concert Season.

 

Programme

Tu es Petrus Philip Moore
All wisdom cometh from the Lord Philip Moore
Ecce sacerdos magnus Edward Elgar
Great is the Lord (Psalm 48) Edward Elgar
Ave verum corpus Edward Elgar
Give unto the Lord (Psalm 29) Edward Elgar
Rejoice in the Lamb Benjamin Britten

St Peter’s Singers

David Houlder organ

Alasdair Jamieson

conductor

More concerts

For news and views, follow our blog !