On Wednesday 1 April, Petersfield’s a cappella singers, The Free Radicals, will once again perform a wide-ranging set of music for Passiontide – the final days of Holy Week, before the Crucifixion.
This has been a firm favourite in the choir’s repertoire for nearly 20 years because of the high-quality music which this season has inspired composers through the centuries to write.
This year’s offering includes works written between 1611 and 2024 by composers as diverse as Gesualdo, Part, Byrd, Messaien, Morley, Joanna Forbes L’Estrange, Stainer, Lotti, Michael Haydn and Karensa Briggs…along with some composers you’ve never heard of. All this is interspersed with a handful of readings of short poems by modern (but not whacky) writers.
That’s all very well, but what will it actually be like? Let’s start with what it’s not. It’s not a concert and it’s not a church service. You don’t have to be a believer to enjoy the top quality music from all ages…but you might miss out on the agony, and the hope. Because although it’s deep, emotional, penitential and full of sin, there’s also hope, forgiveness and quite a bit of wonder towards the end. There’s no noisy applause to ruin the atmosphere after each song, but plenty at the end. There’s no admission charge, but an opportunity to donate to charity as you leave. How long? One hour in total, but we recommend that you bring a cushion because the chairs are almost as penitential as some of the music.
Prepare to be moved – and uplifted.
Steve Sargent
