When David heard - Five centuries of Sacred music at the Grosvenor Chapel

Pressbox (Press Release) - On Thursday 25th March at 7.30pm at the Grosvenor Chapel, South Audley Street, Mayfair, London W1K 2PA, London Concord Singers and conductor Malcolm Cottle present their Easter programme of sacred music from 5 centuries, with music by composers from England, Scotland, Germany, Poland, Hungary and the USA. Composers include Thomas Weelkes, Thomas Tomkins, Robert Ramsey, Giacomo Meyerbeer, Zoltan Kodaly, Romuald Twardowski, Cecilia MacDowell and Eric Whitacre. Tickets price £10 (concessions £6) include a glass of wine, and are available on the door or in advance from Islington Music, telephone 020 7354 3195. Online ticket sales are available at http://oclassical/6688

The centrepiece of the concert is 4 settings of the moving Biblical text, When David heard that Absalom was dead. Settings by three 16th century English composers, Thomas Weelkes, Thomas Tomkins and Robert Ramsey, use false relations and dense chromatic harmony to bring out the meaning of the text, whereas contemporary American composer Eric Whitacre's setting makes a profound use of silence. Accompanying these will be a rare sacred piece by the 19th century opera composer Giacomo Meyerbeer. German born but with a career spanning Italian and French opera houses, Meyerbeer' grand setting of Psalm 91 in German for double choir was written late in his life for Berlin Cathedral. Also in the concert are motets by the contemporary English composer Cecilia McDowall and by the contemporary Polish composer Romuald Twardowski.