Press Release

Cantate focus on Fauré and the Romantics

Cantate Choir's forthcoming concert at St Mary's Church, Platt on 13 March, 2004

Following the success of their Christmas festivities, the Cantate Choir will return to St Mary's Church, Platt for their Fauré and the Romantics concert on 13 March, 2004. The centrepiece of the evening will be a performance of Fauré's sublime Requiem, with its lush and sensual harmonies providing a fine basis for the strong melodic themes that emerge. The powerful and evocative solo baritone movement (Libera Me) will be sung by David Milner-Pearce and the peaceful yet intense solo soprano movement (Pie Jesu) by Eve Borsey, a member of the Cantate Choir.

David Milner-Pearce was born in Yorkshire and educated at Ampleforth Abbey and College. In 1998, he won an entrance scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music where he studied with Edward Brooks and Audrey Highland. He is now pursuing his professional career with his main passions being in Opera and English Song. In addition to appearing in master classes with Noelle Barker OBE, Paul Hamburger, Robert Tear and John Carol Case, David's solo performances include the Fauré, Mozart and Duruflé Requiems, Stainer's Crucifixion, Bach's St. Matthew Passion and R. Vaughan Williams' Songs of Travel.

Beside his Requiem, the Cantate will also perform Fauré's Cantique de Jean Racine. With its long legato lines interweaving and building stunning harmonies, the piece never fails to appeal to listeners.

Complementing the Fauré, the choir will sing a number of short Bruckner Motets and Vaughan Williams' Five Mystical Songs which set the words of George Herbert to thought-provoking music. Here again the baritone solo will be sung by David Milner-Pearce.

In contrast to the full choir items, the concert will give a number of individual Cantate members the opportunity to display their impressive vocal abilities through smaller ensemble pieces. These will include Schubert's setting of Psalm 23 for double ladies choir, together with Elgar's As Torrents in Summer and Stanford's The Blue Bird, which are both set as quartets.

The choir will be accompanied by the organist, Michael Bacon. Michael studied music at Liverpool University, followed by organ studies with Thomas Trotter and Anne Marsden Thomas. He currently works as a Senior Sound Engineer for BBC Radio 3.

All in all, the Cantate's March concert is set to be a popular evening with a programme of memorable music-making.

Fauré and the Romantics, 13 March 2004, St Mary's Platt, Nr Sevenoaks, 7.30pm. Tickets £8 from Sevenoaks Bookshop or from Susan Reid (01959 523234). www.cantate-choir.info