Luton Ladies Choir gives rare performance at La Sagrada Familia during Barcelona tour

Between 6th and 10th October 2023, Luton based Caritas Harmony completed a highly successful tour of Barcelona during which they gave a total of four performances. This included a joint concert with Spanish choir 'Trencacors' at the church of l'Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, and short performances at the Basilica de la Sagrada Familia and at the Basilica de Montserrat. At Sant Pau, the choir received a standing ovation from a very appreciative Spanish audience and after the performance, one audience member commented that he had been moved to tears by several songs and he felt very fortunate to have heard such a magnificent group.

At the Basilica de Montserrat, the group attended Mass before being invited to sing on the altar steps. This is also the location of the world famous 'Black Madonna Our Lady of Montserrat' which can be seen above the altar and is visited by thousands of pilgrims every year. The well-known and much visited La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona provided the choir with a unique backdrop for the three sacred songs that they were invited to perform. The Sagrada is one of Gaudi's most famous works in Barcelona and astonishingly it has been under construction since 1882, with work on the building continuing even today. Antoni Gaudi guided and directed the construction until his death in 1926.

Caritas Harmony has been performing in Beds, Herts and Bucks for over 20 years and is a significant choral group in Luton and Dunstable, particularly admired for their ability to sing close 4-part harmony. The unaccompanied sacred pieces performed by the choir at La Sagrada Familia and at the Basilica de Montserrat demonstrated this skill superbly and was particularly effective in these beautiful Spanish locations.