Some of the best-loved choral music ever written will be performed in Hereford Choral Society’s autumn concert, which takes place in Hereford Cathedral at 7.30 pm on Saturday, November 17.

The programme of popular classics for choir and orchestra marks the centenary of the death of C H H Parry and features some of his most famous works, such as the stirring hymn ‘Jerusalem’, the majestic anthem ‘I was Glad’, written for the coronation of King Edward VII and performed at every coronation since; and the beautiful ‘Blest pair of Sirens’, a setting of an ode by John Milton which celebrates the joy of singing.

The evening also offers a very rare chance to hear Parry’s ‘Magnificat’, written for the Hereford Three Choirs Festival in 1897 and rarely performed since.

More familiar works include Mozart’s tender ‘Ave verum’, Fauré’s ‘Pavane’ and the beautiful ‘Panis angelicus’ by Franck., together with an older Coronation anthem, the highly dramatic ‘Zadok the Priest’ by Handel.

The Hereford Choral Society concert also commemorates this year’s centenary of the legislation that began the process of enabling universal suffrage, with a performance by the sopranos and altos of the choral society of ‘The March of the Women’ by Dame Ethel Smyth, a vociferous campaigner for Votes for Women, who was imprisoned for her role in the suffrage movement.

The evening will have a ‘Last Night of the Proms’ atmosphere, with opportunities for the audience to join in with well-loved classics such as ‘Land of Hope and Glory’, the climax to Sir Edward Elgar’s ‘Pomp and Circumstance March No 1’.

The soprano soloist for the concert is Rebecca Hardwick. Hereford Choral Society and the Hereford Sinfonia will be conducted by Geraint Bowen.

Tickets are available from the box office at The Courtyard on 01432 340555 or visit courtyard.org.uk