Image1: The Addison Singers in concert
There’s double fun for music lovers as the Addison Singers present an evening of jazz, closely followed by a classical concert featuring the world premiere of a newly commissioned work.
The choirs, founded three decades ago and drawing their talent from Hammersmith & Fulham, will host the concerts at two local churches – St Andrew’s in Fulham Fields (23 November) and St Peter’s in Chiswick (7 December).
For more details about the Addison Singers visit their website.
And all that jazz
Lifting the November temperatures is a jazz special focusing on American hits, from well-known foot-tappers to overlooked gems.
The first event is titled ‘Songs from the Great American Songbook’, a jazz concert on Saturday 23 November combining the talents of the Singers’ Jazz Ensemble, Jazz Trio and the all-female Jazz Choir.
The skills of songwriters Rogers & Hammerstein, Cole Porter and George & Ira Gershwin are on parade, with instantly recognisable classics such as Happy Days Are Here Again, Big Spender, On the Sunny Side of the Street and Nice ’n’ Easy.
With conductors Matthew Hough and Jill Jarman taking charge, the audience can also look forward to some some lesser-known songs that have never had the exposure they deserve.
The jazz concert is staged at St Andrew’s Church, Fulham Fields, in Greyhound Road at 7.30pm. Tickets (£10, £3 concs) in advance from from the Addison Singers ticketing website.
A very special commission
Two weeks later, the Singers’ Oratorio Choir and Chamber Choir will perform the world premiere of The Gravity of Kindness by local composer Howard Goodall.
The seasonally inspired work was commissioned by the Addison Singers, using money bequeathed to the group of choirs by a much-loved former member.
David Wordsworth conducts Howard Goodall’s new 15-minute work, The Gravity of Kindness, which is Christmas themed and features soprano, chorus and chamber orchestra.
“It’s a special commission for me,” explained Howard. “It came into being as a result of the relationship between me and the Addison Singers, and between the choir and the remarkable former member whose memory the piece honours, Cathy Bereznicki.
“I had wanted to write a work that addressed the Christmas story from a reflective viewpoint, and was delighted that conductor David Wordsworth agreed to my proposal for a work shaped around a poem, Kindness, by American-Palestinian poet Naomi Shihab Nye; a poem I’d long carried around in my pocket on a piece of crumpled paper.”
Although Howard has written many carols down the years, this is a more ambitious commission, framed by lullabies.
Staged at St Peter’s Church in Chiswick on Saturday 7 December, the bill also includes the ever-popular Handel’s Messiah (Part 1) and the Hallelujah Chorus, while the Chamber Choir performs more recent seasonal music by Huw Watkins, James Macmillan and Judith Weir.
Advance tickets are £15 (concs £3) from the ticketing section of the Addison Singers website.
Both concerts are being supported by independent Hammersmith estate agents Horton and Garton.
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