East Sussex Bach Choir in concert

Spokeswoman Val Davies said: “Under the baton of our musical director John Hancorn, we will be performing the Act 3 Masque from Solomon, which opens with the famous Arrival of the Queen of Sheba, in addition to excerpts from Theodora, the Coronation Anthem The King Shall Rejoice and the Concerto Grosso Opus 3 Number 2, played by The Baroque Collective led by Alison Bury. We will joined by two exciting soloists, Sofia Ticciati (soprano) and Bethany Horak-Hallett (mezzo soprano).”

Tickets for this concert are priced at £25, £20 and £15 with accompanied under-16s free available from the website eastsuusexbachchoir.org

“This is a busy time for the choir, as we performed Choral Classics for Advent in St Andrew’s Church, Alfriston on December 10. This concert included Marc-Antoine Charpentier’s Messe de Minuit de Noel and JS Bach’s Wachet Auf. The choir will also be performing Bach’s St John Passion in Lewes Town Hall on March 9. East Sussex Bach Choir future planning includes a further visit of our friends Kantorei Hochrhrein from Waldshut for a combined concert in Lewes in 2025.”

Val added: “The East Sussex Bach Choir is mainly based in Lewes. The choir was formed in 1986 and since then has performed well over 100 concerts in Lewes, Brighton and East Sussex and occasionally further afield. We perform with leading professional soloists and are regularly accompanied by The Baroque Collective, led by Alison Bury, an ensemble of period instrument players who provide an incomparable part of our performances. The choir’s aim is to perform a varied repertoire to a very high standard, and professional soloists and orchestral players bring experience and excellence to our performances. The ESBC usually follows the practice of historically-informed performance, getting as close as possible to the composer’s original intention. While the choir’s repertoire certainly includes the works of JS Bach, it is by no means limited to these. The list of recent concerts listed in the archive gives an idea of the kind of music we like to perform.”