Eternal Light – an evening of luminous choral music, consolation and hope

Bradford Festival Choral Society presents an inspiring concert showcasing three of the most acclaimed British choral works of the twenty-first century. Bringing together emotional depth, spiritual reflection, and radiant harmony, the evening features music by Cecilia McDowall, Tarik O’Regan, and Howard Goodall. Performed just a few days after Armistice Day, this evening’s music focuses on peace, consolation in times of loss, our shared humanity and above all, hope.

Cecilia McDowall’s Ave maris stella – Hail, star of the sea – opens our programme. Dedicated ‘to peace’ and originally written for performance on Armistice Day, it’s music full of rich harmonies and beautiful melodies, profound yet instantly accessible.

Tarik O’Regan’s Triptych, a dynamic work that masterfully fuses Western choral heritage with Eastern rhythmic influences, offering a poignant reflection on memory, grief, and hope. O’Regan – born in London and now living in San Francisco – was among the composers honoured with a commission for the coronation of King Charles III in 2023.

The concert culminates with Howard Goodall’s deeply moving Eternal Light: A Requiem. Intertwining traditional Latin texts with English poetry, Goodall crafts a contemporary requiem designed above all to comfort the living – full of lyrical elegance and profound warmth.

Join Bradford Festival Choral Society in their 170th Season for an unforgettable performance celebrating the vitality and expressive power of contemporary British music, accompanied by the strings of the acclaimed professional Yorkshire Symphony Orchestra, together with outstanding vocal soloists Jennifer Clark · soprano and Oscar Golden-Lee · tenor (a member of The Sixteen).

This November concert returns to the warm acoustic of Price Hall — an intimate setting ideally suited to voices and strings. The concert begins at 7.30pm and we expect to finish by 9.35pm; there will be an interval where you can catch up with friends and buy a drink at the bar.

Children and young people under 18 attend free when accompanied by an adult.