Our most recent concert
We were delighted to return to the beautiful setting of St Faith’s Church in Gaywood, where we performed our inaugural concert in 2019, to present an evening of Christmas music. A very appreciative audience enjoyed music ranging from the Gloria from Palestrina's Missa Papae Marcelli sung in mystical darkness from the back of the church, through pieces by Praetorius. Rutter, Lauridsen, Reger and Britten, and including arrangements of traditional carols.
We are very happy to share proceeds with St Faith’s towards the ongoing work of the church and its community support, The Bungalow Project, now known as The Hub.
Breckland Society Christmas Social
We were delighted to be asked by the Breckland Society to perform at their Christmas Social event on Friday 5th December in St John the Evangelist Church in Oxborough. We sang a range of Christmas music from Palestrina to an arrangement of Mel Tormé’s Christmas Song. Something to suit every taste!
St John the Evangelist is stunning, with its adjoining Bedingfeld Chapel containing beautiful and intricate terracotta tombs in the Italian Renaiassance style of the early 16th century. The Bedingfeld family have occupied the adjacent Oxbrugh Hall since it was bult in the 1480s.
The excellent accoustics in the church made it a joy for us to sing, and the champagne and canapés following the concert were a perfect way to end the evening!
James Parry, Chairman of the Breckland Society, wrote the following: 'What a triumph! We've had the most wonderful feedback to the concert from our members - hardly surprising, given the beautifully curated programme and the quality of the singing. We are truly grateful to you all for supporting the Breckland Society in this way. It was a rare treat, and will be remembered for a very long time by everyone lucky enough to be there,'
Find out more about the work of the Breckland Society by clicking here.
The Glory of the Renaissance 8/11/25
Superb....so good to hear such a really well blended choir
The Palestrina was sung in such a prayerful way. Like hearing it sung in a Mass. The choir sang it completely without ego - as it should be sung. Truly spiritual.
Review of the concert by Andy Tyler published in the Lynn News 18/11/2025
In just half a dozen years or so The Guildhall Singers, formed in 2019 by Helen Herbert, have become a trusted and popular chamber choir, based here in West Norfolk and have explored music of an intimate nature, attracting enthusiastic audiences as was the case in its most recent concert, ‘The Glory of the Renaissance’ held at All Saints Church, Hillington Square, Lynn.
A nicely contrasted concert included one work by G.P. da Palestrina ( 1525-1594), in its first half, a complete performance of his Missa Papae Marcelli, a work where no element of the music dominates, and we enjoyed a clear, well-balanced performance of the piece. A very satisfying musical experience.
After the interval, secular and popular madrigals were performed by composers Orazio Vecchi (1550-1605), Jacques Arcadelt (1507-1568), and some better-known composers: Thomas Morley (1557-1602), Orlando Gibbons (1583-1625), and John Dowland (1563-1626). The subject matter of the pieces is often of love and loss, some lively, some much more reflective. Thomas Morley’s popular ‘Now is the month of Maying’ is based on one of Vecchi’s madrigals. I was pleased Orlando Gibbon’s moving piece ‘The Silver Swan’ was included - a favourite of mine!
Thanks, of course, go to music director Andres Hernandez-Salazar for his confident and inspiring leadership of this excellent local chamber choir. The varied character of the pieces is well conveyed. We look forward to the choir’s next concert at St Faith’s Church, Gaywood, on Sunday, December 14, 6pm.
Concert Archive
