The Handful Chamber Choir: An Evening with Dame Emma Kirkby 

‘Sweet Love Doth Now Invite’ is an exploration of British poetry and song with one of Bath’s leading chamber choirs, and acclaimed soprano Dame Emma Kirkby

PROGRAMME TO INCLUDE:

DOWLAND Come again, sweet love doth now invite; Can she excuse my wrongs
MacMILLAN The Gallant Weaver
PURCELL Evening Hymn
TRADITIONAL ARR. BOB CHILCOTT The Skye Boat Song
SARAH RIMKUS O my Luve

This imaginative concert features British music from both the seventeenth century and the present day. It is an exploration of British poetry and song involving love and loss, shepherds and sorcerers, kings and…cats. Yes, cats.

The programme features music by John Dowland, William Lawes, Simon Ives, and Henry Purcell alongside contemporary works by Sir James MacMillan, Sarah Rimkus, and Nancy Kerr, among others. The Handful Chamber Choir are thrilled to be joined by acclaimed soprano and early English music specialist Dame Emma Kirkby for this concert, alongside lutenist Sam Brown and gambist Sarah Small as it makes its Wiltshire Music Centre début!

About Dame Emma Kirkby 

Emma Kirkby’s singing career came as a surprise. While a student of Classics, she seized any chance to sing, especially Renaissance polyphony. Starting briefly as a schoolteacher, she was lucky to meet pioneer groups, with the voices and period instruments she has loved ever since, singing with them in beautiful, historic acoustics. In recent years, at summer schools worldwide, she has seen again this inspiration at work with singers and players who will be tomorrow’s masters. Nowadays teaching more than she performs, Emma still enjoys the occasional recital with colleagues, old and young.

About The Handful Chamber Choir 

A vibrant chamber choir of around 30 voices based in Bath, The Handful has been giving stylish performances since 2002, embracing a diverse repertoire of early, classical and contemporary music, which it brings to life with exceptional purity of tone and musical understanding.