Light Eternal Christmas choir concert

THE Christmas concert season is in swing around the region, with an ethereal recital by the Vox Caldera Chamber Choir lighting the way in Ballina.

The Music Estuary presents the choir’s Light Eternal Christmas Concert at St Mary’s on Sunday afternoon, December 15.

Light Eternal translates as Lux Aeterna, a transformative work by Edward Elgar for eight voices. Audiences will be familiar with the work as Nimrod, the 9th of 14 of Elgar’s 1899 Enigma Variations.

French composer and pianist Francis Poulenc’s Hodie Christus Natus Est (Today Christ is Born) is an energetic, vibrant item with metric changes and deep, crunchy chords.

In balance with Poulenc, Nunc Dimittis (Lord, let your servant depart in peace) by Arvo Pärt moves the program to a calmer and more meditative place.

One of Johann Sebastian Bach’s most famous motets, Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied (Sing the Lord a New Song) from Psalm 149, is the program highlight. This work, too, is written for a double (8-part) choir.

Together with these highlights, the concert program includes works by Handel, Bruckner, Gjeilo and Lauridsen.

A selection of Christmas carols is also featured.

For tickets to the 3pm concert at St Mary’s, head to trybooking.com/events/landing/1292267