The Choral Pilgrimage 2022: Tewkesbury

Songs of Farewell: IV. There is an Old Belief

Overview

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Access Information

There is level access to the Abbey via the main gates and the North Path. There are ramps around the Abbey allowing access for wheelchair users to the majority of areas.

Unfortunately, some parts of the Abbey are inaccessible to those with mobility problems; these include the Tower and the Upper Room. A wheelchair is available in the Abbey for loan.

Important Information

Our performance at Tewkesbury Abbey will go ahead as scheduled and will be dedicated to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

A powerful programme of English choral music centred around Parry's emotional Songs of Farewell.

Hubert Parry’s Songs of Farewell must surely rank among some of the finest choral works ever written. Deeply affected by the First World War, Parry sought poetry that would reflect not only peace and unity and the search for a better world, but also an escape from the horrors of war.

The poems Parry chose to set are sublime, be they metaphysical poetry by John Donne and Henry Vaughan or the aching beauty of Thomas Campion’s verse. Perfectly complementing the rich sonority of Parry’s Songs are three short pieces by Campion, a selection of medieval carols and a new work by Cecilia McDowall.