A choir claiming to be one of the oldest in Abergavenny is marking its 75th year with an anniversary concert this weekend.

The Gwent Bach Choir is a mixed choir of about 70 members based in Abergavenny, and draws singers and audiences from Monmouthshire, Powys and South Herefordshire.

The choir was originally established in 1951 to perform the works of J.S. Bach and has expanded its repertoire to include major classical choral works as well as some lesser known and contemporary pieces.

Regular concerts have been staged from the beginning and were interrupted only by the Covid pandemic in 2020, during which the choir continued to rehearse online via Zoom. Later that year the choristers were finally able to sing socially distanced in the open air in fine summer weather.

Now, its anniversary concert this weekend seeks to combine that ethos with choral classics from the year 1600 right up to - and including - the 21st century.

Palestrina’s Tu es Petrus, Mozart’s Ave Verum Corpus and Bach’s Wachet Auf are just some of the compositions the audience can expect to hear on Saturday night.

The choir has been rehearsing tirelessly to ensure everything goes ‘alright on the night’, and they relish the opportunity to perform for a live audience once again.

“The old pieces can be difficult to vocalise because of their age, and the modern pieces are difficult because we aren’t used to them as a choir, but that is all part of the fun of it,” said Ann Fairhurst, one of the several choristers who will be performing on the night.

“It’s communicating with the audience and getting our love of the music over to them [the audience].”

“I find singing with other people really important. It is just so uniting and fulfilling somehow. The stuff we do is challenging but very worthwhile. I look forward to our rehearsals every week.”

A lot of the pieces will be played on radio stations like Classic FM, i treat it mainly as a way of getting my brain working. The mental exercise of connecting the noted of the words is really important.

Ann - I find singing with other people really important. It is just so uniting and fulfilling somehow. The stuff we do is challenging but very worthwhile. I look forward to Thursday every week.

There will be a series of events and concerts over the course of the next twelve months, as the choir commemorates the completion of its 75th year.

Conductor, Roger Langford and Organist, Judith Pendrous, will be leading the choir through their repertoire on Saturday November 14th at St Mary’s Priory Church in Abergavenny at 7pm. All those interested are invited to attend and celebrate this impressive milestone with the choir.

Tickets will cost £20 from gwentbachchoir.co.uk or from choir members on the door.