Newbury Spring Festival

The evening

Ceremony, mystery and vision meet in a richly expressive programme conducted by Martin Yeates. Parry’s I Was Glad opens the evening with glittering confidence. Originally written for the coronation of Edward VII, its jubilant setting of Psalm 122 has become one of the most beloved works in the English choral tradition, radiating energy, grandeur and unmistakable joy. Elgar’s Enigma Variations follow, a work that moves from affectionate humour to profound introspection, weaving musical portraits whose central “enigma” continues to intrigue listeners more than a century on. After the interval, Vaughan Williams’s The Future crowns the programme, a large-scale, work for soprano, chorus and orchestra, discovered only after the composer’s death and performed here with Lucy Crowe as soloist.