THE Ebor Singers will reach for the stars on their return to the Chapter House at York Minster on February 27 for a performance by candlelight and at times in total darkness.

In a 7.30pm programme entitled Threshold Of Night, led by Herbert Howells and Tarik O’Regan works, the York choir will draw on music from the 16th century to the present day that explores light, darkness and the night sky.

Few Yorkshire classical choirs subvert expectations like the Ebor Singers, whether by discovering early music works not performed previously; performing in candlelight; juxtaposing jazz arrangements with 16th-century polyphony; singing without a conductor; surrounding the audience or being surrounded by the audience.

"We – and we hope our audience – enjoy us exploring new ways to perform”, says director Paul Gameson. “Our last concert that ventured into darkness was an exhilarating experience for singers and listeners. The concept of using low and, at points, no lighting is unusual but provides a fantastic opportunity for the audience to focus on the sound and lose the trappings that ordinarily come with concerts of this type.

"And hopefully listeners deterred by the more formal concert format will come along to hear some great choral music in a more relaxed ambience. One thing you can be sure of is that you will listen to music in a different way."

The February 27 programme includes Howells’ Requiem, an uplifting work composed on the death of his nine-year-old child, and O’Regan’s The Ecstasies Above, a setting of an Edgar Allan Poe poem, which compares the music of the heavens to that of a more earthly environment.

For the O’Regan work, the Ebor Singers will be joined by Eboracum Quartet, from the University of York, who will perform Howells’ Fantasy for String Quartet too.

The February 27 concert also will feature other music from past and present on the theme of light, darkness and night, such as works by Palestrina and Ward and Eric Whitacre’s sublime modern-day madrigal, Sleep. Tickets are available at £12, concessions £10, students £5, from the Minster box office, on 01904 557200, at boxoffice.yorkminster.org or on the door.