City couples inspire new choral work

The world premier of a new work for choir and organ will take place at Peterborough Cathedral in February.
Lucy and BettinaLucy and Bettina
Lucy and Bettina

The choral, titled Even You Song, will reflect the format of Evensong and will be performed by members of the cathedral choir as well as 120 local school children.

This unique choral has been based on the candid responses from a series of interviews that took place with 12 Peterborough couples. The couples were all asked whether they could travel on an extended trip to the moon together. The answers they provided have been reworked into a libretto that echoes and responds to the Evensong words.

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The show has been put together by poet Lucy Sheerman and artist Bettina Furnee who were both artists in residence at the arts organisation Metal throughout 2016. Celebrated composer Cheryl Frances-Hoad has integrated these diverse elements into this new composition for choir and organ. The project has been influenced by the cathedral’s invocation of a heavenly sphere through its soaring pillars, its beautiful otherworldly evensong service and the sheer force and power of the organ, which figures as a kind of ‘lift off’.

Peterborough Cathedral’s Director of Music Steven Grahl and Assistant Director of Music, David Humphreys have been rehearsing the piece with the choir and the school children from four city schools including: St. Augustines C of E Junior School, Bishop Creighton Academy, West Town Primary Academy and William Law CE Primary School.

The production will incorporate digital projections of domestic images captured during the interviews as well as a printed libretto. It all adds up to what promises to be a spectacular and thought-provoking experience.

The performance will take place on February 16 , at 6.30pm, at Peterborough Cathedral. Tickets are available at www.metalculture.com/event/even-you-song or by calling 01832 274734. Tickets cost £10 (£8 for concession). The price includes a printed copy of this unique libretto.