A Saturday evening concert in Sunderland Minster, starting at 7.30 p.m., conducted by David Murray.

Requiem – Gabriel Fauré

Cantique de Jean Racine – Gabriel Fauré

Panis Angelicus – César Franck

Originally composed in five movements, between 1887 and 1890, Fauré’s Requiem is more contemplative and lyrical than others. It has been described asa ‘lullaby of death’. Even the ‘dies irae’, the day of wrath, subsumed within the ‘libera me’, quickly gives way to an appeal to grant eternal rest. Indeed the texts of the libera me and in paradisum are taken from the book of burial rather than the liturgy of the requiem mass. Other, more subtle, changes to the texts include seeking deliverance for ‘all souls departed’ rather than the original ‘all faithful souls departed’.

The Cantique de Jean Racine was written for a competition when Fauré was just 19. It won first prize! The composition was dedicated to César Franck, the composer of ‘Panis Angelicus’ which completes our choral offering.

‘Panis Angelicus’ is a verse from the hymn ‘Sacris solemniis’, which was written by Saint Thomas Aquinas for the Feast of Corpus Christi in the 13th century. Franck composed a Mass (Messe ä trois voix) dating from 1861 that incorporates the text but it is more often, as here, performed as a separate piece.

Tickets – £15.00 for Nave (£8.00 concessions for full-time students and on income related benefits) or Gallery (limited view) £8.00. Accompanied under 16s free. Tickets will be available from members of the Society, at the door (cash or card), or on-line from www.wegottickets.com/BCS – who also have a direct link on the home page of this website.

Doors open from 6.45 p.m. Apart from seats marked for Patrons, there are no allocated seats.

A Saturday evening concert in Sunderland Minster at 7.30 p.m. conducted by David Murray

Content to be confirmed

A Saturday evening concert in Sunderland Minster, starting at 7.30 p.m., conducted by David Murray.

Content to be confirmed.

A Saturday evening concert in Sunderland Minster, starting at 7.30 p.m., conducted by David Murray.

Content to be confirmed.

We seek to plan the proposed programme of concerts for the future as far ahead as is feasible. This may mean that the arrangements and contents of concerts listed here may need to be varied later, but each will be confirmed later by posts on this website

All dates are 7.30 p.m. on Saturdays in Sunderland Minster, unless otherwise noted.

June 14th 2025 – Fauré ‘Requiem’ & ‘Cantique de Jean Racine’, and César Franck ‘Panis Angelicus’

December 13th 2025 – Brahms ‘Requiem’

March 28th 2026 – Britten ‘St. Nicolas’

June 13th 2026 – Operatic Chorus

December 12th 2026 – Content to be confirmed

A Saturday evening concert in Sunderland Minster, starting at 7.30 p.m., conducted by David Murray.

Soloists : Ana Fernandez Guerra – soprano, Daniel Joy – tenor, Andre Bjorn Robertsson – bass baritone

The Creation is an oratorio written by Joseph Haydn in 1797 and 1798. It is considered by many to be one of his masterpieces. The oratorio depicts and celebrates the creation of the world as described in the Book of Genesis. The Creation is structured in three parts, with the first part dealing with the creation of light, heaven and earth, the sun and moon, the land and water, and plants, and the second part concerning the creation of the animals, man and woman.

Haydn was inspired to create The Creation following his trips to the UK, where he heard the oratorios of Handel still being performed with massive choirs.

Tickets – £15.00 for Nave (£8.00 concessions for full-time students and on income related benefits) or Gallery (limited view) £8.00. Accompanied under 16s free. Tickets will be available from members of the Society, at the door (cash or card), or on-line from www.wegottickets.com/BCS – who also have a direct link on the home page of this website.

Doors open from 6.45 p.m. Apart from seats marked for Patrons, there are no allocated seats.

A Saturday evening concert in Sunderland Minster, starting at 7.30 p.m., conducted by David Murray.

The concert will consist of the Christmas section of Handel’s Messiah and a mix of lovely Chilcott and Rutter favourites. A feature of the concert will be a newly composed item by Lucy Walker commissioned by Bishopwearmouth Choral Society

Soloists : Alexandra Lee – soprano, Davina Halford-McLeod – mezzo soprano, Archie Inns – tenor & Patrick Owston – bass.

Tickets – £15.00 for Nave (£8.00 concessions for full-time students and on income related benefits) or Gallery (limited view) £8.00. Accompanied under 16s free. Tickets will be available from members of the Society, at the door (cash or card), or on-line from www.wegottickets.com/BCS – who also have a direct link on the home page of this website.

Doors open from 6.45 p.m. Apart from seats marked for Patrons, there are no allocated seats.

Sunderland Minster – 10.30 a.m. till 4.30 p.m. Cost £10.00 – vocal scores available on the day free of charge, but if you have your own copy (old version of Novello score) please bring it with you.

You are invited to join us in our exploration of this great work at a session led by David Lawrence, who is one of the UK’s most versatile conductors, working with orchestra, symphony choruses and national youth choirs. He has conducted in more than 25 countries including Canada, Colombia, India, Singapore, the USA, and has worked regularly in Australia since 2005.

Full details are available via this link :

A Saturday evening concert in Sunderland Minster, starting at 7.30 p.m., conducted by David Murray.

This concert will be the second in our 75th Anniversary season and will feature Edward Elgar’s ‘The Music Makers‘ and ‘Sea Pictures’ with Hubert Parry’s ‘I was glad‘

Tickets – £15.00 for Nave (£8.00 concessions for full-time students and on income related benefits) or Gallery (limited view) £8.00. Accompanied under 16s free. Tickets will be available from members of the Society, at the door (cash only), or on-line from www.wegottickets.com/BCS – who also have a direct link on the home page of this website.

Doors open from 6.45 p.m. Apart from seats marked for Patrons, there are no allocated seats.

To celebrate the 75th anniversary of the foundation of the choral society, David Murray will conduct the choir, world recognised mezzo-soprano Sarah Pring, and the orchestra in Elgar’s iconic cantata.

The libretto is the ode by Arthur O’Shaunessy. Elgar identified himself as the ‘dreamer of dreams’ in the opening lines of the poem and the work as being semi-autobiographical. In doing so he referenced a number of his earlier works – the Enigma Variations, Land of Hope and Glory to mention just two.