Swansongs

University Choir and Symphony Orchestra join forces with The 24 in the stunning setting of York Minster to provide a spectacular finale to our 2025/26 season! The programme features a captivating selection of works written at the very end of the lives of some of the greatest composers in history.

Schubert's 'Missa Solemnis' was composed only months before his death in 1828. Known for its dramatic scope and harmonic richness, the work was premiered posthumously, conducted by the composer's brother. While the work is rarely performed today, it is now widely considered to be a personal masterpiece, combining liturgical splendour with Schubert's own subjective Romanticism.

The programme also includes final offerings from Brahms, Byrd and Orlande de Lassus. However, as we mark the end of the academic year and look ahead to the next chapter in our students' lives, the concert concludes with an upbeat and futuristic work by John Ireland, written in 1937, that envisions a glorious communal future!

University Choir &
Symphony Orchestra
with The 24
Robert Hollingworth  conductor

Programme to include:

Schubert   Mass in E-flat, D. 950 ('Missa Solemnis')
Orlande de Lassus   Vide Homo
Byrd   I laid me down to rest
Brahms   Canon 13, op. 113 (‘Leiermann’)
Joanna Marsh   now i lay (with everywhere around)
Ireland   These Things Shall Be