The days are rushing by and before we know it, it will be Christmas! December is always a busy month for Fiori. Behind the scenes at Fiori HQ we are very busy finalising our plans for 2026 – all to be revealed very shortly. Meanwhile we begin the run-up to Christmas with an wonderfully atmospheric Advent Candlelight concert on 5 December,performed in the lovely village church at Grafton Underwood – a church known for its superb Thomas Denny windows. Beautiful 18th-century music for baroque oboe and trumpet with voices and organ anticipating the Christmas season, including chorale preludes by the great JS Bach, as well as music by his contemporary Kauffmann (Bach’s rival for the post of Kapellmeister in Leipzig) and the maestro’s pupils, Krebs and Homilius – rarely heard composers whose music artfully encapsulates something of the anticipation of Christmas. And there will be mince pies and mulled wine to boot!
And then… Christmas wouldn’t be the same without Fiori’s traditional performance of Mr Handel’s Messiah in Northampton’s Cathedral on Tuesday 23 December. This year we welcome three exciting new soloists to join us for this festive occasion: soprano Ailsa Campbell, countertenor Oliver Gerrish and tenor David de Winter. Don’t miss this brilliant prelude to the Christmas Festive Season.
And not forgetting the BIG GIVE Christmas Challenge, which runs from noon on Tuesday 2 December to noon on Tuesday 9 December. This is Fiori’s key annual fundraising appeal. So please do support us if you can. Donations can be made online from noon on 2 December for just 7 days. So please help us reach our target of £21,500. It is your support that underpins Fiori and enables us to bring wonderful music to this part of the world. Without your generosity we simply couldn’t do it! Thank you for all the support you give us!
Recipe of the month – Game pate with prunes and brandy