A TOTAL of 160 voices and a 50-piece orchestra will bring the roof-raising genius of Vaughan Williams back to Worcester Cathedral.

The Worcester Festival Choral Society , Worcester Cathedral’s boy choristers and a full symphony orchestra are performing a major autumn concert at Worcester Cathedral this month, including exciting choral works by Vaughan Williams and Poulenc.

A spokesman said: “Worcester Festival Choral Society, which stages three concerts of ‘choral greats’ at Worcester Cathedral each year, is performing its first concert of the season on Saturday November 17 at 7.30pm.

“The concert includes two, lively 20th century choral works: Vaughan Williams’s Christmas Cantata, Hodie and Poulenc’s Gloria.”

The Vaughan Williams work has a historic link to Worcester: it was premiered at Worcester Cathedral at the 1954 Three Choirs Festival – conducted by the composer himself.

The spokesman added: “Performing with the 140 members of the Choral Society will be a 50-piece symphony orchestra, more than 20 Worcester Cathedral Choir and Voluntary Choir boy choristers, and acclaimed soloists Susanna Fairbairn (soprano), Tom Robson (tenor) and Alex Ashworth (Baritone). The Society’s music director, Christopher Allsop, conducts.

“Ben Cooper, Chairman of Worcester Festival Choral Society, said: “This will be a major, exciting concert with some fabulous music – we can’t wait to perform it.

Concert tickets (£10-£25, some concessions available) and opt-in to a prize-draw are available at worcesterfestivalchoralsociety.org.uk. Tickets are also available from Worcester Live at 01905 611427.