Bath-based Lucis Choir performs The Breath of Life at Malmesbury and Rochester

Freshly returned from performing in Rochester Cathedral, Bath-based Lucis Choir is bringing a joyful new choral composition to Malmesbury Abbey this June.

On 27 June, Lucis will be performing The Breath of Life, a new cantata by contemporary composer Matthew Coleridge.

This glorious, uplifting piece brings together poetry, sacred texts and hymns, coupled with music that brims with rhythmic energy, lyrical beauty and emotional depth.

Coleridge has been hailed as one of the leading lights of choral composers working today. His Requiem was named a “modern choral classic” by Classic FM, and it regularly appears in their annual Hall of Fame.

Lucis’s two concerts in Rochester and Malmesbury this month are among several performances of The Breath of Life taking place across Europe this Summer, alongside events in Paris, Edinburgh, Cambridge and Bruges.

Across eight movements, the piece ranges from contemplative stillness to evocations of thunder, offering hymn-like praise of the natural world, spirituality and humanism.

In preparing for the concerts, Lucis took part in a singing workshop with Matthew Coleridge at St Stephen’s Church in Bath earlier this year.

Lucis’s Marketing lead Vicky Messer says: “It is a stunning piece to sing, and the choir has really got into the gorgeous harmonies and atmospheres the music creates.” 

Musical director Francis Faux says: “Lucis has developed a great relationship with Matthew, having previously performed his Requiem, and we are excited to be among the earliest choirs to perform this beautiful new piece, which is a joy to both those singing and listening.”

You can see Lucis and accompanying chamber orchestra perform The Breath of Life in the beautiful setting of Malmesbury Abbey on Saturday 27 June. Tickets are available at Bath Box Office. The concert programme also includes the premiere of Hymn of Man, another new work by Coleridge set to words by poet Kahlil Gibran, as well as an original work by Lucis’ musical director, Francis Faux.

A recording of The Breath of Life was released in March 2026, and is available on streaming sites.