COMING EVENTS

Compline Service

Part of Crickhowell Walking Festival

Church of St Cenau, Llangenny (nr Crickhowell) NP8 1HE - 5pm

Traditionally held at the close of day, this reflective and serene service marks the culmination of a pilgrimage day, held as part of the Crickhowell Walking Festival.

The service is free to all and provides the perfect way for all to unwind.

The Unicorn Singers are in their element here, sharing the glorious sounds of Tudor polyphony with listeners and experiencing some of the greatest music of that iconic age. This will include many miniature masterpieces by notable composers William Byrd, John Sheppard, John Taverner and Robert Parsons, plus a setting by Robert White considered by expert Peter Phillips to "rank amongst the most sublime achievements of the time".

The service starts at 5.00pm but all are welcome to enjoy refreshments beforehand with the pilgrims.
Definitely a rejuvenating and unmissable occasion!

Monteverdi: Litanies to light and love

Sacred Psalms and secular songs by Venetian maestro,  "Il divino Claudio"

Our Lady and St Michael's Church, Pen-y-pound, Abergavenny - 7.30pm

With soprano Charlotte Pawley, tenor Laurie Standish Hayes and continuo.

A thrilling sequence of Monteverdi's shimmering choral writing, interwoven between his equally stunning solo songs to star-struck lovers.

Within this exciting programme come large-scale psalm settings first performed at St Mark’s Basilica, Venice, and more intimate secular solos, bringing novelty and drama at every turn.

There is certainly much to discover here, the divine Claudio's music always surprising us by its modernity and emotional depth. Our selection is drawn from the composer’s monumental 1640 publication (Selva morale e spirituale) containing music for church services such as Vespers, but also explores his equally innovative book of Scherzi musicale (1607).

The choir is joined by the talents of two exceptional graduates from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, who will add the all-important touches of vocal display to these extraordinary pieces.
Please join us to experience the golden light and intoxicating sound world of Venice. A sensuous overload awaits!

Tickets £15 (students free).

Service of Tenebrae

Good Friday Service

St. Catwg's Church, Llangattock NP8 1PJ - 2pm

We mark Holy Week with a traditional service of Tenebrae (shadows) on Good Friday at 2pm. During this dramatic liturgy, where candles are extinguished one by one to mark the stages of Christ's passion, the choir sings a sequence of complementary motets to highlight the emotional charge of events.

Many composers' most poignant and inspired music was written for reflection during Lent and Passiontide and our sequence will feature some of these, including Lotti's Crucifixus, motets by Byrd and Poulenc and special holy week responses by Michael Haydn, the talented and often overlooked brother of the more famous Joseph.

Don't miss this evocative sound world!

Love’s Labyrinth: Venetian love letters

Sumptuous songs and madrigals by two supreme Venetian composers of their day: Barbara Strozzi and Claudio Monteverdi

St Peter's Church, Llanwenarth Citra NP7 7EP - 7.00pm

With soprano Maisie O'Shea

Writing at the turn of the C17th, Barbara Strozzi and Claudio Monteverdi were both pioneers of a new dramatic style that can still pack a punch today.

Strozzi had more works published in her lifetime than her more illustrious contemporary, Monteverdi. In modern times, her music is quite rightly becoming better known. Renowned for its arresting and emotional style, it is well suited to expressing the joys and trials of lovers.

Pieces from Monteverdi's extraordinary books of madrigals provide the complementary highlight in our programme. Their bold use of dissonance and word-painting was groundbreaking and paved the way for many important developments in music history. 
Also contributing much variety to proceedings we welcome soprano Maisie O'Shea, a specialist in this early baroque style and an avid advocate of overlooked woman composers. She brings that all-important element of vocal display and dramatic intensity that is so much a feature of this repertoire.
So do come and be transported to the delights and indulgent world of Italian romance!
Tickets £17.50 (including refreshments).