North East Premiere for Darlington Choral Society

A Vivaldi Re-imagining and a Baroque Christmas Classic

Here’s what choir members think of this new work…..

“...inventive, funny and unique…”

“...full of dramatic colour…”

“...it wonderfully recreates the excitement
Vivaldi’s first audiences must have felt…”

Darlington Choral Society brought a unique musical experience to the North East with the regional premiere of A Season to Sing—a bold and beautiful choral reimagining of Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons—on Saturday 29th November at 7.30pm at the Dolphin Centre, Darlington.

Composed by acclaimed British musician Joanna Forbes L’Estrange, A Season to Sing blends Vivaldi’s iconic melodies with poetry, scripture, and original compositions. The 40-minute work features Bible texts, poems by Emily Brontë and Eliza Cook, and even a wordless tribute to Ward Swingle, founder of The Swingle Singers. Expect birdsong, summer storms, cuckoo calls, and a chillingly vivid winter—all brought to life by the choir’s voices.

Darlington Choral Society is proud to be a commissioning choir for this innovative piece, having also funded additional orchestral parts to enhance the performance.

The evening will also feature Heinrich Schütz’s A Christmas Story, a 17th-century musical telling of the Nativity. Under the direction of Richard Bloodworth, the choir will present this charming work originally written for Christmas Day.  Choir members are enjoying the quirky rhythms which are great to sing.

Richard Bloodworth said “Tuneful and concise, Heinrich Schütz’s The Christmas Story is a quarter the length of Bach’s Christmas Oratorio and Handel’s Messiah, yet it influenced both of these longer works. Short, fun, and delightful, it presents angels, shepherds, wise men, priests, and scribes, all accompanied by trumpets, trombones, and flutes. A Season to Sing offers a wonderful mix of well-known tunes, engaging activities like whistling and body percussion, and perhaps even some audience participation.”