The main work in this concert is the well known and much loved Duruflé Requiem, written in 1947. Like many of his works it is based on plainsong, but clothed in rich harmonies and influenced by Debussy and Ravel. Elgar’s Te Deum was written in 1897 and commissioned for the Three Choirs Festival in Hereford. Give unto the Lord is a setting of Psalm 29. In contrast Lauridsen’s Madrigali are six “Fire Songs” on Italian Renaissance poems written in 1987. The work opens with the “fire chord” which recurs throughout the piece. To quote the composer –“Stylistic features of Italian Renaissance madrigals are blended within a contemporary compositional idiom.” The Gaudete Singers is a long established chamber choir and has a wide-ranging repertoire; from 16th century polyphony through to modern works by composers such as Morten Lauridsen and Henryk Górecki; as well as our own Andrew Cooke and Andrew Robinson.