City in close harmony for choral festival

More than 4,500 singers from all over the world will fly into Cork shortly to take part in the city’s 58th international choral festival.

Details of the festival, which runs from May 2-6, were unveiled last night and include 80 different events, the vast majority of which will be free to the public.

The crowing glory of this year’s festival will be a stunning line-up of gala concerts where audiences can listen to some of the world’s leading vocal artists and ensembles.

The opening gala performance will be of Mozart’s masterpiece Requiem. Widely regarded as one of the most enigmatic pieces of music ever composed, the concert will take place at City Hall on May 2.

The Orchestra of St Cecelia will lead the celebrated Goethe-Institut Choir and some of Ireland’s premier soloists, including Sharon Carty and Virginia Kerr, in a thrilling opening to the festival.

Not to be missed on Thursday May 3 will be a performance at Cork Opera House by The King’s Singers, one of the world’s most celebrated vocal ensembles.

Celebrated Czech ensemble The Gentlemen Singers will be performing their Evocations Gala at the North Cathedral on Friday May 4. It will feature contemporary classical works by a variety of European composers, from one-voiced compositions to highly complex eight-voice arrangements.

The organisers have also arranged a packed daytime schedule of events with the Choral Trail, which features free performances by choirs all over the city.

‘Afternoons in the Atrium’, will also take place at the Clarion Hotel during the festival, with choirs singing back to back in a buzzing atmosphere.

The festival also attracts more than 70 choirs from all over Ireland to City Hall where they will take part in numerous competitions.

The competitive highlight is the prestigious Fleischmann International Trophy Competition which this year sees 12 top international choirs from as far away as Philippines and Singapore compete for one of the most prestigious prizes in European choral music.

An 86-page festival programme can be purchased from the Everyman Palace’s theatre box office.

Copies of the festival’s free event guide can also be found throughout the city.

* www.corkchoral.ie