Hastings Philharmonic Choir’s carol concert in 2019 at the now closed St Mary in the Castle (photo: Peter Mould).

Carols at Christ Church with Hastings Philharmonic Choir

Hastings Philharmonic Choir will hold their annual carol concert on Saturday 17 December  at Christ Church in St Leonards. Chairman John Rycroft describes the pleasures in store and the background to some of our best-loved carols.

Hastings Philharmonic Choir will give their annual carol concert on Saturday 17^th  December at the beautiful Victorian Christ Church in St Leonards, with musical director Marcio da Silva conducting, accompanied by the renowned Cromwell Brass ensemble and with Francis Rayner on piano.

The choir will perform a range of carols including O Holy Night, Sussex Carol and In Dulci Jubilo, as well as leading the audience in several well-known favourites, including O Come, All Ye Faithful, Away in a Manger and Hark! the Herald-Angels Sing. So come along and start Christmas on a high note!

Carols evolved from midwinter songs, sung to keep up everyone’s spirits, along with dancing and feasting. But by the 15^th century they were well established as Christmas carols. Many of those sung today were made popular by the Victorians, such as O Come, All Ye Faithful, based on the Latin version Adeste Fideles, which was first translated into English in 1841.

Not all carols are British. Away in a Manger first appeared in the USA in the 1880s, though its origins are hazy.

The lyrics for Hark! the Herald-Angels Sing were originally written by Charles Wesley (1707–88) who, with his brother John, founded the Christian denomination of Methodism. However, the carol didn’t get the tune we know today until the composer Felix Mendelssohn wrote it in 1840.

Centenary approaching

Hastings Philharmonic Choir is approaching its centenary – its history goes back to 1928 when the organist at the Wellington Square Baptist Church merged his choir, the Wellington Square Choral Society, with the St Mary in the Castle Choir to celebrate the centenary of St Mary in the Castle with a performance of Handel’s Messiah.

The concert was so successful that it was repeated the following year and there began a highly successful ‘Town Choir’, that Hastings Borough Council was pleased to promote alongside the prestigious Hastings Municipal Orchestra for the traditional Good Friday performances of Messiah at its newly built White Rock Pavilion.

Nearly 100 years later, under its musical director Marcio da Silva, the Hastings Philharmonic Choir has established itself as one of the foremost choirs in the area, thrilling audiences and critics alike with performances to rival those of many professional ensembles. Revolving around the major choral works of the baroque to romantic periods, the Choir’s wide-ranging repertoire also extends to classics of the twentieth century. Concerts in recent years have included works by Bach, Handel, Mozart, Beethoven, Rossini, Brahms, Verdi, Orff, Britten and Lauridsen.

Through his work with the Hastings Philharmonic Choir since 2012 and as artistic director of Hastings Philharmonic Orchestra and the HPO Singers (both founded under the umbrella of Hastings Philharmonic Choir in 2016 but now operating separately), Marcio has made a huge contribution to the musical life of the whole town, offering an impressive range of high-quality choral, orchestral and chamber music performances each year.

Cromwell Brass was formed in 2018 from graduates of both the Royal College of Music and the Royal Academy of Music. Individually, the members of Cromwell Brass have performed with the London Symphony, Philharmonia, London Philharmonic and BBC Symphony Orchestras. As a quintet, they split their performances between chamber concerts and functions, educational workshops and family-oriented performances.

Francis Rayner has a long-standing relationship with the Hastings Philharmonic Choir, having been its accompanist since 2005 and played under three different musical directors. Francis has performed as soloist in works such as Rachmaninov’s Second Piano Concerto. He is well known as a performer in Hastings, frequently appearing with HPO Singers (previously Hastings Philharmonic Chamber Choir) chamber concerts.

Hastings Philharmonic Choir is always happy to welcome new members who enjoy singing and who can follow written-down music. The best way of finding out if Hastings Philharmonic Choir is for you is to visit one or more of our weekly rehearsals. Send us an email and we will be delighted to see you.

Carols For All Hastings Philharmonic Choir, conducted by Marcio Da Silva and accompanied by the Cromwell Brass and Francis Rayner on piano. Saturday 17 December, 5pm. Christ Church, Silchester Rd, Saint Leonards-on-sea TN37 6GL. Admission £20, £15, £12.50, 12 to 18-year-olds £5, plus booking fee. Under 12s free. Tickets available from the choir’s website or from 01424 437554.

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