Yellowstone comes to Great Bourton

The old saying: 'as easy as falling off a log', probably doesn't apply.

Some of the American composers are quite complex to tackle, not least Lauridsen.

But it's not as tough as bull-riding either (thankfully), although the nod to Banbury's cattle market golden days is certainly there too.

Ventiquattro (24) is hosting a Come & Sing day to let you experience tackling some of America's Finest. Whitacre's Sleep for one, Lauridsen's O Magnum too (and no - nothing to do with Tom Selleck on that occasion), but also have some fun with Sarah Quartel's How Can I Keep From Singing? and more.

The American choral tradition is very different from ours. It has roots in folk, spirituals, gospel, Broadway and film and it's producing some of the finest choral music of our times right now. Some of it sounds easy, but that's deceptive, although it rewards any work you put in enormously.

Led by Helen Sift, 24 is tackling the full range, from Barber and Copland to Gjeilo and Whitacre, but we're also determined to have some fun. Maybe not the 8-second bull-riding kind, but with the Yanks, you never quite know. Either way 24's singers will help you along the way.

For an afternoon after Easter you'll get the chance to explore Whitacre's 'Sleep'. It's a song that had the words re-written for it when the original permission was removed. And it shows; the challenge of writing new words to a strong SATB score already set down produced something quite magical. There's no chance of the performers falling asleep with this, but mastering it is fun. Ditto Lauridsen's O Magnum. Famous enough now to have his own 'school' of composition named after him, this is his best-known masterpiece. Testing the full range of any choir dynamically and in scope, it's a wonderful piece to sing and to listen to.

The theme of the '24' concert this May is 'How Can I Keep From Singing?' and while they're tackling 3, yes 3 different settings of that lyric, Quartel's is the most fun. Celebratory even, the dance rhythm builds throughout this piece to take it about as far away from the ascetic Quaker roots as you can get. It's great fun to perform and a real workout too.

Then any day with Helen would not be complete without a run at some 'left-field' challenges - and this time it's Smiley's fun take on the Leadbelly spiritual, Bring Me Li'l Water Silvy. Every l'il once and a while you get to let your hair down and just sing from the heart. This is one of those pieces. There may even be time for a trip down the road home or a blessing or two, but we'll see.

Join us in Great Bourton by clicking on the Eventbrite link here. We'll send practice scores in plenty of time ahead of the event on Sunday 21st April from 1pm. As ever with 24, top notch refreshments are provided too in the warm and welcoming Community Hall setting (free parking). Join us for a fun afternoon exploring America's finest.