Tonbridge Philharmonic Society

In our next concert we take you to Austria (via Scotland!) for March’s programme. We are in Lent, so the theme is somewhat quieter.

We start with Mozart’s Ave Verum Corpus, a short anthem with hints of his Requiem, and then move on to Haydn’s Symphony 26, La Lamentatione, or Lamentation, an expression of grief. Gerard Finzi choice of 17^th Century poems for Lo, the full final, sacrifice makes this anthem fit well into our programme. It’s gentle consideration of the salvation leads to an optimistic ending.

We return to Haydn for the Missa in Angustiis, a Mass for Troubled Times, which became known as the Nelson Mass. Austria was threatened by the belligerence of Napoleon, but news of the British victory in the Battle of the Nile arrived just before the first performance. The composer didn’t give the work this title, but it seems very suitable for the world of today.