YORKSHIRE Bach Choir's Three Marys concert on May 19 at St Michael le Belfrey, York, brings together musical settings from Italy, Spain and England all associated with the figure of Mary.

"Mary, mother of Jesus, Mary Magdalene and the other biblical Marys were the focus of an extraordinary flowering of art during the Renaissance period," says conductor Peter Seymour.

"Composers were part of this movement, exploring the lives of the Marys in music that ranges from the deeply sacred to the sensual. This concert explores a range of different ‘Marys’, from a grieving mother at the foot of the cross to Mary Magdalene and the ‘other Mary’ who went to the tomb on Easter Sunday."

Peter continues: "The programme is built around Palestrina’s extensive setting of the six-part mass Missa Assumpta Est Maria, which has long been celebrated for its bright sonorities and compositional verve. We also perform Paletrina’s large-scale, haunting setting of the Stabat Mater, which poignantly explores Mary’s perspective at the crucifixion."

Alongside the Palestrina piece, Yorkshire Bach Choir also explore the beautiful harmonies of Spanish composer Guerrero and Victoria in richly textured Marian settings.

"We then return to English shores to end the concert with John Sheppard’s setting Gaude, Gaude, Gaude Maria, which imagines a youthful Mary receiving the joyful news at the annunciation," says Peter.

Tickets for Three Marys cost £14, concessions £12, students £5, from the National Centre for Early Music, Walmgate, on 01904 658338 or at ncem.co.uk