IN their 70th anniversary year, Newent Choral Society members have put together an autumn concert of pieces with a regal connection, to celebrate the year in which the Queen became Britain’s longest serving monarch and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge had their second child.

And to add a local flavour two of the items on the programme are by Sir Hubert Parry, formerly of Highnam Court, whose works are being seen as increasingly important in the English choral repertoire.

The Gloucestershire composer’s anthem I Was Glad has been played at every British Coronation since that of Edward VII in 1902 and the choral work Blest Pair of Sirens, written in 1886, was an outstanding feature of the music for the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton in 2011.

Carrying on the royal connection the Handel coronation anthems Zadok the Priest and The King Shall Rejoice are also on the programme.

The thrilling Zadok the Priest has been a part of the British coronation tradition since 1727, and is also well-known to armchair TV soccer fans as the anthem of the European Champions League.

To complete the concert, choral society members have chosen Mendelssohn’s haunting anthem Hear My Prayer, with its famous O For the Wings of a Dove passage, and Antonio Vivaldi’s Gloria.

The exuberant Gloria, performed in twelve cantatas, is now recognised as Vivaldi’s choral masterpiece. Written in 1715 it lay undiscovered for two centuries and, astonishingly, was not fully performed until 1957.

Choral Society chairman Peter Coulson said: “The choir is in particularly fine voice at the moment under our musical director Ian Fox, and we can promise an exceptional evening of good music. This event should not be missed.”

The concert takes place in the main hall of Newent Community School on Saturday, November 28. Entrance is £10 and free for under 18s. Tickets are available from society secretary Angela Jones (01531 820205) or from any member.