St Alban’s Anglican Church in Copenhagen is hosting a double celebration this weekend. Not only is 2012 the 60th jubilee year of Queen Elizabeth II, it’s also 125 years since it was built by Princess Alexandra, the wife of Britain’s Edward VII who went on to become queen of England and empress of India from 1901 to 1910.
To mark the occasion, the church is welcoming an esteemed choir from the historic city that it was named after. The St Alban’s Cathedral Girls’ Choir are rated one of the top cathedral choirs in the world, and on Saturday 18 February at 5pm, they will be singing a special free concert at the church.
The programme for the public event (no tickets are needed) will include works by Mendelssohn, William Boyce, Alessandra Grandi, Maurice Greene, Schubert, Parry, Jerome Kern and Henry Mancini, as well as some Danish pieces. The conductor will be Tom Winpenny and the organist Peter Holder.
“This will be a really wonderful double celebration of two queens, and I look forward to welcoming all the Anglophiles of Copenhagen to this special free concert,” enthused Jonathan LLoyd, the parish priest at St Alban’s Church. “Princess Alexandra is an important link between Denmark and Britain, and the building of St Alban’s Church was her vision and project. This will be the first of several celebratory events at St Alban’s Church Copenhagen to mark our 125th year, and I extend a warm invitation to all.”
The choir, which consists of 26 girls aged between nine and 14, have recorded several CDs – including a critically-acclaimed recording of John Rutter’s ‘Gloria’ and ‘Magnificat’ – and are regularly broadcast live on BBC Radio. After tours to the US, the Netherlands and Germany, this will be their first visit to Denmark.
St Alban’s Church is located next to the Gefion Fountain at Churchillparken. The nearest S-train station is Østerport.
