HOLY Trinity Church, Skipton will play host to Celestial Voices, a visiting mixed-voice choir, in a concert featuring music from the 15th century to the present day, on Saturday October 9.

The hour long concert will be conducted by Janet Kelsey, with William Campbell as accompanist.

The programme, A Choral Tapestry, is so called because the choir will sing music displaying a huge variety of colours, textures and moods by composers from countries including France, Great Britain, the US and Austria.

Some of the pieces will be unaccompanied, such as Ubi Caritas by Duruflé and Bring Us, O Lord God by Harris. Others will have fascinating and beautiful accompaniments like Tundra by Gjeilo and the Cantique de Jean Racine by Fauré.

The full power of the Holy Trinity organ will be heard in Ireland’s Greater Love Hath No Man, as well as in the organ solo, played by William Campbell, organ scholar at Leeds Minster.

Particular favourites such as The Heavens are Telling from Haydn’s Creation and Rutter’s A Gaelic Blessing are sure to be popular.

The 26-strong choir says it is thrilled to be presenting the concert, which was originally planned for April 2020 in France but thwarted by Covid.

The singers are all participants in a venture set up by Janet Kelsey called Château Singing Holidays. Its aim is to combine intense singing workshops with staying at a beautiful château hotel in France, enjoying great company, food and singing over five days then presenting a concert.

Janet, a consummate music professional and a Yorkshire lass, was director of music at Hymers College in Hull and was also an occasional choral director for the Hull Philharmonic Orchestra and a member of the Yorkshire Bach Choir before moving to Norfolk to teach music at Gresham’s School.

In 2019 Janet moved to France and held the first highly successful Château Singing Holidays workshop in Poitiers in July 2019.

Covid forced the postponement of the April 2020 course and following two further cancellations amid concerns about travelling abroad, the decision was made to hold this workshop at Skipton. The singers come from Norfolk, Sheffield, York and Farnborough.

The concert on Saturday October 6 starts at 7pm. Entry is free with a retiring collection.