Oxford Harmonic Choir concerts are held in major central Oxford venues:
- Oxford Town Hall
- Sheldonian Theatre
All concerts start at 7.30pm. Doors and venue box office open at 7.00pm. Join our Mailing List to hear about future concerts. See recent performances on our Previous Concerts page. .
Bruch
Odysseus
Saturday 30 November 2019
Oxford Town Hall
Soloists
Helen Massey – Soprano
Angela Simkin – Mezzo-Soprano
William Johnston Davies – Tenor
Alan Fairs – Bass-Baritone
Daniel D’Souza – Baritone
Bruch’s oratorio Odysseus is full of richly melodic and dramatic music. Written in 1872 and inspired by the composer’s veneration for Homer’s epic, it consists of a series of contrasting scenes taken from the Odyssey, including ‘Odysseus on Calypso’s Island’, ‘Odysseus in the Underworld’, ‘The Tempest at Sea’, ‘Penelope’s Lament’, ‘Nausicaa’, ‘The Banquet with the Phaeacians’ and ‘The Return’. The chorus is given a major part, playing many different roles in the story. ‘Of all joys, home is the loveliest in the world’ sings Odysseus in the opening scene, and love of the homeland permeates the work. Don’t miss the opportunity to hear this deeply romantic piece.
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Mozart
Coronation Mass K317
Solemn Vespers K339
Saturday 21 March 2020
Oxford Town Hall
Soloists
Details coming soon.
Two lively and fast-moving choral works, both popular pieces of the repertoire, are featured in our Spring concert. With his mastery of ensemble singing, Mozart expertly weaves contrasting passages for choir and soloists together with sparkling orchestration, and summons up all his magic for two beautiful soprano solos in the Agnus Dei in the Mass and the well-known and much-loved Laudate Dominum in the Vespers. Both works were written for the Archbishop of Salzburg for performance in the cathedral, and employ the forces of his orchestra. Trumpets, trombones and drums add to the celebratory and affirmative effect of these two delightful pieces of music.
Handel
Solomon
Saturday 27 June 2020
Sheldonian Theatre
Soloists
Details coming soon.
One of Handel’s greatest oratorios, with stunning choruses, Solomon is a wonderful combination of the contemplative, the dramatic and the lyrical. Handel brings to life a picture of the Golden Age where religion, justice, nature and art are all in harmony, and, as ever, he gives expression to a wide range of human emotions. Highlights include the paean to married love in the first part, with the nightingale chorus; the dramatic music for the quarrel over the baby in part two; and in the final part the justly celebrated overture ‘The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba’, the choral masque in praise of music, and the queen’s exquisite final aria, ‘When the Sun Forgets to Streak’.
