Sheringham and Cromer Choral Society present Harmony in the Cotswolds

This April marks the 150th anniversary of the death of Samuel Sebastian Wesley, the grandson of Charles Wesley. He is often referred to as S.S. Wesley to avoid confusion with his father Samuel Wesley. His middle name is derived from his father’s lifelong admiration for the music of Bach. His prolific career as a composer and organist led to positions as organist at Hereford, Exeter, Gloucester and Winchester cathedrals. His English church anthems are frequently sung (and much loved) in the Church of England to this day and we celebrate by singing some of these in this concert – a full list can be found here.

The Music Makers was commissioned for, and first performed at, the Birmingham Triennial Music Festival on 1 October 1912. The text of the work is the 1874 poem Ode by Arthur O’Shaughnessy, which Elgar set in its entirety. He had been working on the music intermittently since 1903, without a specific commission. He completed it after receiving a commission from the Birmingham Triennial Music Festival. It was dedicated to “my friend Nicholas Kilburn”.