THE Ebor Singers go stellar on Saturday by reaching for the stars at the National Centre of Early Music in York.

In celebration of the patron saint of music, St Cecilia, the choir has commissioned York composer James Cave to write a new choral work, and he has responded with a piece that draws on the European Space Agency’s Rosetta probe mission.

"James has provided us with a challenging musical work that imaginatively celebrates music as part of the harmony of the universe," says Paul Gameson, the York choir’s director.

The work is called Philae’s Landing, named after the Rosetta probe’s landing vehicle, which is about the size of a fridge, now perched on the comet known as 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.

"The lander has only intermittently sent back information as it relies on sunlight to power its battery," says Gameson. "James has depicted the loneliness of the lander, ever so briefly communicating with us, as a way to explore the very ancient idea of music and its role in the celestial order."

As the Ebor Singers perform Cave's premiere on Saturday, the comet, probe and lander will be about 264 million kilometres from the Earth, and they will pass out of range by the end of the year.

Alongside this new piece, the choir will be performing one of the greatest Baroque choral pieces, Monteverdi’s Vespers. "It’s not too large a leap from sci-fi to Monteverdi," assures Gameson. "Monteverdi and his contemporaries were exploring the Ancient Greek theory that music had the power to unlock the music of the spheres, the harmony of the cosmos, and Monteverdi’s Vespers were published in 1610: the same year Galileo Galilei established that the stars did not orbit the Earth."

Tickets for Saturday's 7.30pm concert cost £12, concessions £10, students £5, children aged 16 or under free, and are available on 01904 658338, at ncem.co.uk or on the door from 6.45pm.