Ensemble's celebrations

Jun 16 2009 By The Journal

THE Avison Ensemble celebrates a triple anniversary at 7.30pm on July 9 with a special concert at St Mary's RC Cathedral, Newcastle.

All year the ensemble has been celebrating the 300th anniversary of the birth in the city of composer Charles Avison.

But the cathedral concert will also mark the 250th anniversary of the death of Handel and the 350th anniversary of the birth of Purcell.

Counter tenor James Bowman and Dr Andrew Gant, organist, choirmaster and composer at Her Majesty’s Chapel Royal – along with other members of the Chapel Royal Choir – will join the Avison Ensemble to perform anthems by Handel and Purcell written specially for the Chapel Royal.

Also on the programme will be an anthem by Charles Avison which hasn’t been performed in modern times because of a missing part.

The gap has now been filled by Dr Gant, making the piece a sympathetic blend of old and new.

The Chapel Royal dates back to before the Norman Conquest. In its early years it used to follow the monarch around the country – and even accompanied Henry V to Agincourt.

It had a unique role in the development of English church music, partly because its proximity to the monarch gave it immunity to restrictions imposed at various times due to religious reforms.

Tickets are £12 from JG Windows, Central Arcade, Newcastle. Tel. (0191) 232-1356 or email info@jgwindows.com

The concert will also be performed on July 7 at The Queen’s Chapel in London. Tel. 0207 399 1953.