A Summer Serenade

Sunday 5 July 2026 at 6.00 pm
St Barnabas, Ranmore, RH5 6SP
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Patrick Allies Conductor
Elinor Thomas & Jason Fan Apprentice conductors

Reserve tickets

What could be more idyllic than relaxing in the picturesque English countryside, on a balmy summer’s evening, with beautiful music drifting through the air? The Ripieno choir brings a relaxed end to our summer season with a program of works spanning six centuries, and dedicated to the twilight hour, in the picturesque St Barnabas Church, Ranmore (Sir George Gilbert Scott’s the “cathedral in the woods”).

We start with a short recital in the church with pieces such as Tallis’ Te lucis ante terminum (“Before the ending of the light”), Rheinberger’s sublime Abendlied (Evening Song) epitomising dusk and nightfall, and a stunning setting of the canticle of peaceful release, Nunc dimittis, by the young British composer, Amy Summers.

We continue with an interlude of plainsong from Compline, the final Christian liturgy of the waking day.

Finally, we move outside into nature, using its peacefulness to transition from sacred to secular as we sing English pastoral madrigals, including Vautor’s homage to the ultimate embodiment of dusk, Sweet Suffolk Owl.

You are invited to bring a picnic to enjoy alongside members of the choir, as the evening lingers over the Surrey Hills.

Programme

Recital
Thomas Tallis – Te lucis ante terminum
Max Reger – Nachtlied
William Mundy – O Lord, the Maker of All Thing
Tomàs Luis de Victoria – Alma redemptoris a 8
Amy Summers – Nunc dimittis
Josef Rheinberger – Abendlied
Charles Wood – Hail, Gladdening Light

Compline service

Outside serenade
Robert Pearsall – Lay a Garland
Thomas Vautor – Sweet Suffolk Owl
arr. John Byrt – The Keel Row

Tickets
Admission is free, with a retiring collection
Space is limited so we recommend tickets are reserved in advance. Admission on the door will be subject to available space.

Reserve tickets

Box office
✆ 020 8399 2714
✉ ku.gro.riohconeipirnull@xov