Oriana - "Mass for Troubled Times"

Oriana Choir are thrilled to be working with Seasonal Music Director Kim Kirkman to present Faure's Requiem and Haydn's Nelson Mass.

Originally called the 'Mass for Troubled Times'. Haydn’s mighty choral work is now forever associated with Admiral Horatio Nelson’s victory over Napoleon. The Nelson Mass has been called the composer’s greatest single composition. It is a work that was written at a time of intense fear for the future of Austria, whose citizens were not in the best of spirits. In 1797-1798 Napoleon Bonaparte had defeated the Austrian army in four major battles, even crossing the Alps and threatening Vienna itself.

It seems fitting then, when the world is once again feeling the sting of war as we hear of the crisis in Ukraine and experiencing our own 'troubled times' that the choir is presenting this magnificent work, along with the stunning Faure Requiem.

The choir will be accompanied by Sinfonia of St Andrew's and four incredible soloists, Soprano Elisabeth Wallis Gaedtke, Alto Anne Fulton, Tenor Tobias Merz and Bass Jason Barry-Smith. The concert series is dedicated to the Ukrainian people and the choir will also sing a very special 'Prayer for Ukraine' written by John Rutter, currently being performed by choirs all around the world.