THE Ebor Singers are undertaking a space odyssey on Saturday night.

A choral work written in 2009 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Apollo 11's Moon landing will be the focus of this weekend's concert in the Chapter House of York Minster.

Alec Roth's 40-part choral piece Earthrise was prompted by a photograph of Earth and part of the Moon's surface, taken from lunar orbit by astronaut Bill Anders on December 24 1968 during the Apollo 8 mission.

Seven months later, in July 1969, Apollo 11 landed on the Moon. "This Earthrise photograph, and the way it transformed how humankind perceives itself, was the inspiration for Roth's piece, although Thomas Tallis’s phenomenal 40-part motet Spem In Alium was undoubtedly the musical stimulus," says Paul Gameson, the choir’s director.

"Our 7.30pm programme also includes two now-established choral classics, Eric Whitacre's Sleep and Ēriks Ešenvalds' Stars for choir and wine-glasses, as well as music by Brahms, Bach, Debussy and Victoria."

These works will be performed using the "acoustical properties of the Chapter House to full effect". "It’s always a challenge finding new ways to perform in there," says Gameson.

"These large-scale choral pieces and the sound-world they explore lend themselves naturally to the remarkable acoustics of the building and will be a unique experience for choir and audience alike.

"We hope the audience will enjoy a rare opportunuity to hear Tallis’s opus magnus – recently heard ‘virtually’ at an installation at York Art Gallery's exhibition curated by Leeds band Kaiser Chiefs - in a live performance!"

Tickets cost £15, concessions £12, students £5, from the York Minster box office or on the door.