This  concert is a wonderful mix of music from composers from northern lands (in which we include Scotland) – ranging from the fiercely patriotic Sibelius Finlandia to the deeply spiritual Tormis Kord me tuleme tagasi.

Many of the pieces have scales and chord progressions we are not used to hearing in more traditional church-based choral music. All are coloured in some way by the sounds and musical traditions of the far north.

The mixed bill also provides an opportunity to sing works by contemporary composers as well as singing in unfamiliar languages such as Estonian, Finnish and ‘Church Slavonic’.

As part of the programme, Graham Andrew, who has sung with Ealing Choral Society as a bass for many years, was commissioned to write a choral piece Aurora Borealis which will be premiered at this concert.

There is also a medley of ABBA songs specially arranged for the event by Jonathan Williams, and kindly sponsored by a member of the choir!

We are delighted to be joined by Norwegian mezzo soprano Eira Huse who will be sharing some of the songs of her native land.