Music at the LMS

The Southwell Consort - Holy Week in the Sistine Chapel

In March, The Southwell Consort will present two concerts of awe-inspiring choral music composed for the Sistine Chapel in Rome for the most sacred season of the Triduum: the liturgies of the Last Supper, Crucifixion and Resurrection of Christ.

Join us during Lent to commemorate the Holy Year of 2025 at the Priory Church of St Dominic, Haverstock Hill, or St James's Spanish Place. The Southwell Consort, led by Jeremy Summerly, will bring to life the glorious sounds of Renaissance Rome and the poignant compositions of Palestrina, Allegri, Victoria and Morales.

Concert details:

Friday 7 March 2025, 7.30pm at The Priory Church of St Dominic, Haverstock Hill, Southampton Road, London NW5 4LB

Tickets for St Dominic's: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/holy-week-at-the-sistine-chapel-tickets-1236016642049

Saturday 15 March 2025, 7.30pm at St James's Spanish Place, 22 George Street, London W1U 3QY

Tickets for St James's: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/holy-week-at-the-sistine-chapel-tickets-1236008818649

Tickets available via the links above, and also on the door. £15 | £20 | £25

The Southwell Consort - Palestrina and the music of the Sistine Chapel

The traditional Latin Mass is sung each Monday evening at Corpus Christi Catholic Church, Maiden Lane, in the Covent Garden area of London.

In the sixteenth century the Sistine Chapel witnessed the emergence of a unique liturgical culture in which Renaissance art and music combined. The sublimity of Michaelangelo’s frescos was matched by the sacred music composed for the Papal Chapel by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina and his contemporaries. 2025 is a Holy Year – a special year of pilgrimage to Rome – and it also witnesses the sixtieth anniversary of the Latin Mass Society. This celebration of sacred music sung by the Southwell Consort will celebrate these occasions by presenting this polyphony in the context of the traditional Roman liturgy for which it was originally composed.

You can see the programme here.

Please support the series by giving to the LMS Music Fund Appeal.

Monday Evening Masses at Maiden Lane

The Southwell Consort and Houghton Schola sing on alternate Monday evenings at Corpus Christi, Maiden Lane WC2E 2NB. The Southwell Consort sings a wide range of polyphonic settings, whilst the Houghton Schola is dedicated to singing gregorian chant. The Masses take place at 6.30 pm and can be seen on livesteam here:

Those interested in singing with either consort should email Dominic Bevan: southwell@lms.org.uk.

The LMS supports the Gregorian Chant Network, which is an association of individuals, chant scholas and other organisations for coordination and promotion of Gregorian Chant in the context of the Catholic liturgy.

Byrd 400 Festival

2023 witnessed the four hundredth anniversary of the death of William Byrd. To mark the occasion the Southwell Consort held a Byrd 400 Festival of his sacred music. You can view select recordings below and more at our youtube page.

Requiem Mass I