Ipswich Church Choir returns with postponed Easter concert

Posted:
11:48 am November 6, 2021

The choir of St Mary the Tower picks up where it left off with much “joy and relief” as it returns to the performing arts.

Almost 20 months after the original performance was scheduled, the Tower Chamber Choir is preparing to perform the Saint Matthew Passion by JS Bach.

The concert was planned as part of the Easter festivities at St Mary the Tower for 2020 – but had to be postponed when the first nationwide lockdown was announced.

Christopher Borrett, the church’s musical director and conductor of the show, said the decision was made to postpone it for a year in the hopes that the pandemic would be over.

“But as we all know, we weren’t back in April – it was a much harder lockdown, in fact, so it had to be postponed again.”

But the stage is finally set, the choir can meet, rehearse and prepare the show on Saturday, November 13 at 6 p.m.

Speaking of the return of the choir, Mr Borrett said: “There is a lot of joy and relief after such a long separation.

“When we first came back to rehearsals, I hadn’t heard the choir play for 18 months, so I wasn’t sure what shape anyone’s voice would be in for this big challenge.

“But it’s been so wonderful and such a relief to be back in the same room, standing as part of a band, singing great music. It’s not the same on Zoom.

“There was a little danger with rates so high locally, we were concerned that some additional restrictions might mean another postponement, but luckily that isn’t the case and people are confident to come back.”

Although the Passion according to Saint Matthew is traditionally linked to the services of Good Friday, the themes of loss and humanity correspond to this time of remembrance which will be recognized in the church over the weekend.

The performance will be given by the Tower Chamber Choir and Tower Sinfonia and will include renowned soloists and instrumentalists.

Tickets are available for purchase online and at the door before the show. Those purchased for the original performance date are still valid.