Edgecumbe Choir is presenting a concert performance of carols and seasonal choral works inspired by the beauties of nature next Sunday.

Christmas Carols in the Garden will be conducted by Chalium Poppy and will feature several works, including Adam Lay Ybounden, by Phillip Ledger, The Linden Tree Carol by Malcolm Archer, Cherry Tree Carol by Stephen Cleobury, There Is No Rose, by John Joubert and more.

Poppy describes the concert as “an assemblage of carols rich with botanical imagery.

“In this musical garden there are linden, cherry, and apple trees. Posies, violets, lilies, marigolds, and crown imperials also thrive in this musical space.

“For good measure, I’ve included the popular carol The Holly and the Ivy.

“An obvious choice given its allusions to greenery and red berries but upon closer examination of the text with its familiar references to “the rising of the sun and the running of the deer”, it would have been tragic to omit it from a New Zealand carol concert.

“It also affords some of our fine singers in the Edgecumbe Choir the opportunity for solos and duets.

“Many of the carols on today’s programme use ancient texts dating back to the Middle Ages.

“Some of them tell fantastic allegories – they are wonderful old legends. The Cherry Tree Carol (dating back to the year AD 650) recounts the apocryphal story of Mary and Joseph on their way to Bethlehem for the census.

Mary, hungry from the journey, requests Joseph stop in a cherry orchard so that she may eat. What follows is something of a humorous domestic disagreement over fatherhood.

“The final work, by Scottish composer James Macmillan is a very recent composition and in fact comes from a greater suite of choral music called The Strathclyde Motets of which there are five in total. O Radiant Dawn is the antiphon appointed by the church for December 21. This is magnificently dramatic modern choral music at its very finest.”

Poppy thanked the Edgecumbe Choir patrons for their continued support throughout the 2024 season.

“And while your halls may not be decked with boughs of holly, may your festive boards be adorned with fresh flowers and your pavlovas festooned with fresh fruit. I wish you and your whanau all a very merry and a very blessed Christmas.”