SOLOISTS SET TO SHINE DURING SPECIAL CHESTER PERFORMANCE OF HANDEL'S MESSIAH

Members of one of Chester's top choirs are set to take centre stage at a special fundraising concert in Chester which organisers hope will help to make classical music more accessible for all.

The concert, a performance of the iconic Handel's 'Messiah', set to be staged by Chester Bach Singers at St Werburgh's Church in Chester on Saturday 20^th April at 7.30pm, will feature 13 members of the choir who have been specially chosen to each perform solos during the performance. The choir will be joined by renowned  Organist Graham Eccles who will accompany the choir on the Church's magnificent pipe organ.

Featuring the well known "Hallelujah Chorus", 'Messiah' was written by George Frideric Handel in 1741 and was first performed in Dublin in April 1742 although Handel famously stopped off in Chester en-route to Dublin in November 1741 when bad weather delayed his sailing from Parkgate. A hastily arranged rehearsal of 'Messiah' using choristers from Chester Cathedral was held at The Golden Falcon Inn on Northgate Street, where Centurion House now stands.

As part of their mission to make classical music accessible to all, Chester Bach Singers are offering tickets for the concert on a "Pay What You Can" basis, with ticket prices ranging from £30  to just £5.

Speaking about the special performance of 'Messiah', Martin Bussey, Musical Director of Chester Bach Singers said:

"Handel's 'Messiah' outlines the story of Christ’s life on earth, his death, and resurrection. The structure of 'Messiah', skillfully created by Handel and Charles Jennens, his regular partner in writing oratorios, enables the work to be sung in many different combinations of choruses and arias for solo voice. The soloists for this performance are drawn from the ranks of CBS – often referred to now as ‘step-out solos’! This is testament to the many talented singers who make up the choir. We look forward to welcoming everyone to St Werburgh's Church for this very special performance."

Speaking about the choir's special ticket offer, Helen Crich, the chair of Chester Bach Singers said:

"Chester Bach Singers recently took part in an amazing performance of Elgar’s 'Dream of Gerontius' with Chester Philharmonic Orchestra and Cantiones, directed by Martin Bussey our MD. Our soloists were excellent and we were pleased to see so much support for the choirs and orchestra at Chester Cathedral. We are approaching this concert, Handel's 'Messiah' a little differently and hoping to attract a large audience by experimenting with ticket prices which we have pitched from £30 to £5 . We hope this will encourage people who may not usually attend or cannot afford to attend choral concerts to come along. This concert is also to help us raise funds for the choir to enable us to continue to put on quality choral music experiences in Chester. If you can support the choir by buying a higher priced ticket, we would be very grateful for your support."

Full details of Chester Bach Singers upcoming performance of Handel's 'Messiah' can be found at: 

www.chesterbachsingers.org.uk 

...where tickets can be booked online.

Pictured - 13 members of Chester Bach Singers have been chosen to sing 'step out solos' during a special performance of Handel's Messiah.