Corvus Consort

with Louise Thomson

choir & harp

Thursday 17th December 2026

7.30pm Morpeth Methodist Church

Programme (on occasion, the artists may make minor changes to the published programme)

'Welcome Joy' and Britten's Ceremony of Carols

Imogen Holst Welcome Joy and Welcome Sorrow, 1st movement 

Judith Weir We sekyn here rest 

Olivia Sparkhall Lux aeterna 

Hilary Campbell Our endless day 

Caroline Lizotte La Madone

Elizabeth Poston An English Day-Book 

Elizabeth Poston Jesus Christ the apple tree 

Howard Skempton Into this world, this day did come 

Peter Maxwell Davies The Fader of Heven 

Trad. Ther is no rose of swych vertu 

Benjamin Britten Ceremony of Carols

Listen to music from this programme on Spotify HERE

Corvus Consort's upper voices join with harpist Louise Thomson to present a festive concert, featuring music celebrating women's voices from their acclaimed album ‘Welcome Joy’ alongside Benjamin Britten's iconic Ceremony of Carols.

The first half of the programme comprises a selection of music from ‘Welcome Joy’, which was released in 2024 on Chandos Records. A celebration of women’s voices, both as singers and composers, the album received five stars from BBC Music Magazine, who also named it one of their ’13 best classical albums of 2024’.

Imogen Holst’s characterful Keats setting Welcome Joy and Welcome Sorrow opens the programme, before a set of beautiful works by living composers Judith Weir, Olivia Sparkhall and Hilary Campbell, all commissioned by Multitude of Voyces as part of a project to mark International Women’s Day in 2019. Caroline Lizotte’s La Madone for solo harp then provides a harmonic bridge to Elizabeth Poston’s remarkable An English Day-Book, a cycle of eleven short movements charting the course of a day in the English countryside, packed with strikingly vivid depictions of bells, clocks, songbirds, owls, and a mischievous bumblebee.

The second half is where things get festive, opening with a selection of a cappella Christmas pieces by Elizabeth Poston, Howard Skempton and Peter Maxwell Davies, as well as the medieval carol Ther is no rose of swych vertu. Harp and voices will also sound together in the magical Peace on Earth by current Master of the King’s Music Errollyn Wallen.

Finally Corvus and Louise will perform Benjamin Britten’s Ceremony of Carols, undoubtedly the most famous composition that exists for women’s voices and harp. Mirroring Poston’s cycle at the end of the first half, the Ceremony of Carols also consists of eleven movements, in this case setting a series of medieval carol texts, with perfectly judged musical moods shifting between the lyrical, poignant, and joyful. It is one of the best-loved works in the English Christmas repertory, and will bring the concert to a fabulous festive close.

Freddie Crowley  - Conductor

Louise Thomson - Harp

Ailsa Campbell  - Soprano

Alice Beverley  -Soprano

Clover Willis - Soprano

Hannah Littleton - Soprano

Sumei Bao-Smith - Soprano

Ellie Stamp  - Alto

Helena Paish  - Alto

Izzi Blain  - Alto

Lily Robson  - Alto

'Dazzling … under its founder-director Freddie Crowley, Corvus Consort is always full of fresh thinking.'

BBC Music Magazine

More about the Corvus Consort:

'Founded and directed by Freddie Crowley, Corvus Consort is a UK-based vocal ensemble comprising some of the country’s finest young professional singers. Described as “dazzling” and “always full of fresh thinking” by BBC Music Magazine, Corvus’s combination of musical excellence, passionate performance and imaginative presentation makes them hugely popular with audiences nationwide.

Corvus’s innovative programming and artistic versatility see them perform in a wide variety of genres and styles, ranging from Renaissance polyphony and Baroque motets right through to 20th century music and contemporary choral works. The Consort’s flexible combination of voices also allows them to carefully tailor their size and forces for each performance context.

In addition to frequent appearances as an a cappella ensemble, Corvus places emphasis on its instrumental collaborations. Ongoing projects include upper voices and harp with Louise Thomson, voices and saxophones with the Ferio Saxophone Quartet, and contemporary explorations of Renaissance soundworlds with instrumental duo Music on the Edge. This season they look forward to a new collaboration with violinist Fenella Humphreys to present ‘Shared Ground’, an exploration of artistic responses to the poetry of 17th-century metaphysical poet George Herbert.

In collaboration with the Ferio Saxophone Quartet, Corvus Consort released its debut CD ‘Revoiced’ in July 2022 on Chandos Records, to great acclaim across press and radio. ‘Revoiced’ explores the magical blend of voices and saxophones and brings new colours to early music with a set of Baroque and Renaissance works uniquely reimagined by Freddie Crowley, described by BBC Radio 3’s Record Review as “intriguing and strikingly effective arrangements”. Four works by living composers nestle amongst these early music gems: a new piece by Owain Park re-interpreting Allegri’s iconic Miserere, together with newly-created versions of existing works by Sarah Rimkus, Roderick Williams and James MacMillan.

Corvus’s second disc for Chandos, ‘Welcome Joy’, was released in 2024, and saw the Consort’s upper voices join forces with harpist Louise Thomson to present glorious music for upper voices and harp in celebration of visionary women’s voices, both vocal and compositional. The disc immediately caught the attention of critics and has since been broadcast on international radio. It was selected as BBC Radio 3 Essential Classics ‘Album of the week’ and by BBC Music Magazine as both ‘Recording of the Month’ and as one of the 13 best classical albums of 2024 in its year-end review.

Alongside their dynamic performances of core vocal repertoire, Corvus has quickly developed a strong track record for championing new music and commissioning some of the most exciting composers in the UK and beyond. For Christmas 2020, twelve emerging composers were commissioned to write twelve miniature carols for twelve voices based on the well-known song The Twelve Days of Christmas, as part of a festive project entitled “Twelve Composers Composing”. In 2023, “Byrd Takes Flight” commemorated William Byrd’s 400th anniversary with four new commissions for voices and instruments in collaboration with Music on the Edge, placing Byrd’s compositional voice into direct dialogue with some of today’s brightest artistic voices. “Byrd Takes Flight” saw its premiere at the 2023 Whiddon Autumn Festival and was performed on tour in the summer of 2024, including a sold-out concert at the Three Choirs Festival. Corvus’s latest album ‘Welcome Joy’ featured a pair of commissions for upper voices and harp from Indian-American composer Shruthi Rajasekar, responding to Gustav Holst’s use of ancient Sanskrit texts in his famous Choral Hymns from the Rig Veda.

Highlights of recent seasons have included Corvus’s debut at the Three Choirs Festival, Rachmaninov’s All Night Vigil at Exeter Cathedral, and a Bach programme alongside violinist Rachel Podger. Since its inception in 2020, Corvus has also enjoyed performances for series and festivals across the UK including London’s Kings Place, Chiltern Arts Festival, Dorchester Arts, Little Missenden Festival, Kings Lynn Festival, Music on the Quantocks and Summer Music in City Churches, as well as an ongoing position as Ensemble-in-Residence at Devon’s Whiddon Autumn Festival since the inaugural festival in 2021.

This season, they will appear across the UK, including at the Bradfield Festival of Music, Church Stretton Arts Festival, Ilkley Concert Club, Ripon Concerts and Morpeth Music Society.