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J.S.Bach ‘Christmas Oratorio’

On Sunday 8th December 2024 at 7pm the choir performed J.S. Bach’s magnificent ‘Christmas Oratorio’ (in English) in the R.D.S. Concert Hall, Dublin, with a professional orchestra and soloists Anna Devin, Soprano; Leanne Fitzgerald, Alto; Christopher Bowen, Tenor and Eoghan Desmond, Bass.  

Written towards the end of J. S. Bach’s career, around 1734 and 1735, J. S. Bach’s popular Christmas work is one of the choral masterpieces of the Baroque era. The Christmas Oratorio was composed in six parts, each of them being intended for performance on one of the major feast days of the Christmas period. Bach cleverly integrated music he had already composed, adapting it for a new purpose. The majority of the choruses and arias are from earlier secular works and each section combines choruses, chorales and, from the soloists, recitatives, ariosos and arias.

Bach’s Christmas Oratorio was composed as a celebration of the Nativity, unfolding the joyous events of Christ’s birth across six magnificent cantatas. The Choir and our wonderful ensemble of soloists and instrumentalists, performing 4 of these cantatas, will guide you took our audience through the rich emotional landscapes so masterfully painted by Bach, from the humble reverence of the shepherds to the exultation of angels, all united in awe before the new born King.

This sold out performance brought us into the wonder and mystery of Christmas through a blend of exquisite solo arias, vibrant choruses, and profound recitatives all under the direction of Ciarán Kelly.

C.V. Stanford Centenary Concert

On Saturday 11^th May 2024 The Guinness Choir and Orchestra performed Charles Villiers Stanford’s ‘Mass in G’ at St. Andrew’s Church, Westland Row, Dublin 2. This concert celebrated a great Dublin-born composer – Charles Villiers Stanford and included short pieces from acclaimed contemporary composers, Judith Ring and Jake Runestad.

For this special performance of the Mass in G, The Guinness Choir and its professional Orchestra was joined by our wonderful soloists Caroline Behan, Soprano; Sarah Luttrell, Alto; William Pearson, Tenor; and Matthew Mannion, Bass. As well as performing as part of the orchestra, The Weaver and Cello Songs featured the brilliant cellist Rosalie Curlett and the exciting Scottish pianist Connor Wilcox.

2024 is the centenary of the death of the Irish composer Charles Villiers Stanford (1852-1924). He was born in Dublin to a very musical family and as a child he quickly became an accomplished young musician. After graduating from University of Cambridge, he undertook further studies in Leipzig and Berlin. Perhaps best known as the teacher of such great English composers as Vaughan Williams, Gustav Holst, Samuel Taylor-Coleridge and Herbert Howells, Stanford is increasingly recognised as a fine composer in his own right. Throughout his career Stanford displayed a keen pride in his Irish nationality, as evidenced in the many Irish referenced compositions. Nonetheless he was a fervent unionist and British patriot.

‘The Weaver’, by Irish composer Judith Ring, on a poem by Diane Tierney, was commissioned by The Guinness Choir who performed its world premiere in May 2022. This was its second ever performance.

The concert concluded with the Irish Premiere of ‘Cello Songs’ by the highly acclaimed US composer Jake Runestad.

‘Dreamweaver’ Christmas Concert

Our ‘Dreamweaver’ Christmas 2023 concert featured the Irish Premiere of two wonderful seasonal pieces – ‘Dreamweaver’ by Ola Gjeilo and ‘Winter’ by Jake Runestad. We were accompanied by the Leinster String Quartet; Anthony Byrne, Piano; and Mairéad Buicke, Soprano.

Summer of Vivaldi, Friday 2^nd June 2023

The Guinness Choir completed its 2022-23 Season with a joyful programme of sacred and secular music by Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741). The Guinness choir was particularly delighted to feature soloists from the Music Conservatoire of TUDublin, some of Ireland’s very best young emerging vocal talent.

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Mozart Requiem and Mass in C Minor

On Saturday 1st April 2023 The Guinness Choir and Orchestra performed Mozart’s Requiem and his Mass in C Minor in St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin 2 at 7.30p.m. Conducted by Ciarán Kelly with soloists Kelli-Ann Masterson, Soprano, Megan O’Neill, Soprano, Leanne Fitzgerald, Alto, Andrew Gavin, Tenor, and Rory Dunne, Bass. Speaking about the concert Ciarán Kelly, Music Director of The Guinness Choir, said: “The Requiem was one of the first large-scale pieces I ever learned and performed, and it remains my favourite choral work to this day. The mystery around these works only adds to the excitement we feel when we hear and perform them. The ways in which Mozart takes us on a journey, musically, spiritually and dramatically are, in my opinion, unique to this masterful composer.” 

‘Christmas Joy’

The Guinness Choir performed our ‘Christmas Joy’ concert at on Sunday 11^th December 2022 in St. Andrew’s Church, Westland Row, Dublin 2. The concert included a selection of works from some of the outstanding living composers from across Europe, UK and USA, balanced by pieces from the renaissance and baroque eras. With additional contributions from our wonderful guest accompanists Anthony Byrne, Piano and Sokol Koka, Cello, together with soloist Jade Phoenix, Soprano, and a helping of ‘old favourites’ from the seasonal repertoire, this was a Christmas feast of choral sound! We were delighted to see so many people brave the very cold weather to attend and we were doubly delighted at the warmth of the audience reaction to the programme.

Soloists: Sokol Koka,                     Anthony Byrne,                           Jade Phoenix

           

A record of all our concerts performed to date can be found in our Archives.