The Feast of St Nicholas falls on December 6 and Joseph Haydn’s St Nicholas Mass is thought to have had its first performance at around this date in 1772, in honour of the composer’s patron, Prince Nicholas Esterhazy, at Eisenstadt Castle in Hungary.
Just a few weeks before the saint’s feast day this year, on Saturday, November 16, the mass will be performed in the Priory in Leominster, as part of Leominster Choral Society’s autumn concert, along with Haydn’s Te Deum and the Missa Brevis in D major by his friend Mozart. Two much-loved short pieces by Mozart will also feature in the concert, Laudate Dominum, from Vesperae solenne de confessore, and the motet Ave verum corpus.
Elizabeth Adams (soprano), Olivia Gomez (alto), Ashley Turnell (tenor) and Jonathan Brown (bass) will be the soloists; the choir will be accompanied by Hilary Norris on Chamber Organ and the Corelli Orchestra; and the conductor will be James Atherton.
Tickets available from Fletchers Newsagents, Broad Street, Leominster, Leominster Tourist Information Centre, Corn Square, Leominster, and online via ticketsource.co.uk, from Choir Members and on the door.
Hear Leominster Choral Society sing Joseph Haydn's St Nicholas Mass on Saturday, November 16 at 7pm.
The Priory, Church Street, Leominster, HR6 8NH, Saturday 16th November
2019 7.00pm
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