Tongues of Fire

Concert to commemorate the 350th anniversary of the Great Fire of London

7.30 pm Tuesday 12 July 2016
St Mary at Hill Church, Lovat Lane, Eastcheap, London EC3R 8EE

Wilson Where London Stood (world premiere)
Lauridsen Madrigali  Six Fire Songs (extracts)
McDowall Missa Brevis (Tongues of Fire)
Weelkes Thule the period of cosmography
With music familiar to Londoners in the 1660s by Tallis, Tomkins, Parsons, Gibbons, Child, Blow, Purcell and Byrd.

The concert features music that would have been heard in London around 1666 as well as more modern works on the subject of fire, including the world premiere of a piece commissioned by the choir specifically for this concert. Where London Stood by Samuel Wilson, sets words from a contemporary ballad that graphically describe the damage and devastation caused by the inferno that blazed for four days in the heart of the capital.  There are also readings, using words written at the time to explore how the fire was seen and experienced and the impact that it had on London’s inhabitants. So come along to hear music and words sung and spoken in the heart of the City of London, with a choir firmly rooted in the City of London, in a concert inspired by an event that changed the City of London forever.

Stephen Jones conductor
James Norrey organ
David Kemp reader