ONE of the world’s finest countertenors Andreas Scholl will perform in Dorchester next year.

Andreas Scholl with Tamar Halperin: The Twilight People will be at St Mary's Church in the town on Wednesday, January 22, 2020 at 8pm.

Members of Dorchester Arts will be able to avail of a one-week booking window from today, ahead of tickets going on sale to the general public on Tuesday, May 14.

This concert is expected to sell out, so to be sure of securing a place to experience the beauty of Scholl’s countertenor voice and Halperin’s exquisite piano playing, interested parties are encouraged to sign up to become a member of Dorchester Arts without delay.

Dorchester Arts’ Artistic Director Mark Tattersall said: "I was thrilled when Andreas agreed to come and perform in Dorchester on this tour. I recently found out that singers like Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau and Kathleen Ferrier had performed in Dorchester in the 1950s and was determined to revive that tradition of bringing world class vocalists to the town. Andreas and Tamar's concert in January will hopefully be the start of a new series of similarly memorable visits."

Accompanied by the equally talented pianist Tamar Halperin, they will perform a programme of music from the past 100 years, including familiar songs such as Britten's arrangements of The Ash Grove and Greensleeves, Arvo Pärt's extraordinarily beautiful Vater Unser, and several songs by Vaughn Williams, including his setting of In The Spring by Dorset's own William Barnes.

There are also some wonderful discoveries and lesser-known works such as Copland's solo arrangement of the hymn At The River and Beauty Is Life by Joseph Tawadros, which showcases Tamar Halperin's piano playing as well as Scholl's sublime voice.

*Andreas Scholl with Tamar Halperin: The Twilight People, St Mary's Church, Dorchester, Wednesday, January 22, 2020. Tickets are £30 are available from the Dorchester Arts box office.