Our choral programme is based, loosely, and with much poetico-musical licence, on the idea of ‘the seven ages of man’ presented by Shakespeare in As You Like It. Spoken by the character Jacques, this famous passages is often described as a poem or monologue, but is, in fact, a response in dialogue with an un-named exiled Duke. The speech is a model of cyicism, fashioned by the playwright to suit the character of its speaker. The music chosen for our fantasia is wide-ranging in style, purpose and period, and is not intended as a commentary on Shakespeare’s words, which after all, speak for themselves.

…All the world’s a stage,

And all the men and women merely players,

They have their exits and entrances,

And one man in his time plays many parts,

His acts being seven ages.

This concert is free with unreserved seating. Doors open at 11am and seats will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.

Magnificat Regale—Robert Fayrfax
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star—Stephen McNeff
maggie and milly and molly and may—Stephen McNeff
Rise up my love—Howard Skempton
Alla Battaglia—Heinrich Isaac
Lamentations—Alfonso Ferrabosco
Hashima Refrain—David Fennessy
Galgenlieder—Erik Bergman

Paul Hillier - Conductor