Cathedral choir to sing rare work

Nottingham Cathedral Choir is to give the first contemporary performance of a forgotten World War II choral work by John Carol Case.

Renowned as a baritone soloist, Case wrote Requiem for an Unknown Soldier during World War Two but its 1944 premiere in Salisbury has remained its only performance until a recent rediscovery of the manuscript.

The performance takes place on Sunday at 3.45pm.

Tickets cost £8 (concessions, £7, students £5) and are available at the door.

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Tea and cakes will be served following the hour long concert in Cathedral Hall.

The Requiem will be the focal point in a concert at Nottingham Cathedral taking place on Remembrance Sunday. The programme features music by composers with whom Case enjoyed a musical association - Edward Elgar, Gerald Finzi and Ralph Vaughan Williams.

The concert inaugurates the new performing edition of the Requiem produced by Banks Music Publications.

The publishers, David and Rosemary Goodwin, write: “What struck us immediately about John’s Requiem was the work’s undeniable sincerity. There is an unexpected maturity in the interpretation of Happold’s text and John’s blossoming compositional skill is clearly evident in his beautiful word painting.

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“At a time when both World Wars are in the forefront of the collective consciousness, a performance in Nottingham Cathedral on Remembrance Sunday could not be more fitting.”

Robert Gower, organist of Nottingham Cathedral, has edited the work and will accompany the performance by the Nottingham Cathedral Choir conducted by Director of Music, Alex Patterson.

Canon Geoffrey Hunton, Cathedral Dean, added: “We are thrilled to host this concert at the Cathedral, for it pays a poignant tribute both to the composer and to those who have died during the World Wars and in other more recent conflicts.”

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