SERENITY
A concert of French and German music spanning two centuries, including Duruflé’s Requiem (1948) as well as shorter works by JS Bach, Brahms, Duruflé, Fauré, Messiaen and Rheinberger, performed by the Melbourne Bach Choir and Chamber Choir, under the direction of artistic director Rick Prakhoff, with John O'Donnell on the organ. Soloists are:
Christopher Hillier, baritone
Saskia Mascitti, mezzo-soprano
SERENITY
A concert of French and German music spanning two centuries, including Duruflé’s Requiem (1948) as well as shorter works by JS Bach, Brahms, Duruflé, Fauré, Messiaen and Rheinberger, performed by the Melbourne Bach Choir and Chamber Choir, under the direction of artistic director Rick Prakhoff, with John O'Donnell on the organ. Soloists are:
Christopher Hillier, baritone
Belinda Paterson, mezzo-soprano
LET ME BUT SOAR
Concordis Chamber Choir invites you to experience Let Me But Soar at Abbotsford Convent. A warming blend of soaring melodies and touching harmonies to enrich the soul.
Experience a journey of healing as we explore an enthralling program featuring works from Jake Runestad, Caroline Shaw, Thomas LaVoy, and many more.
Join Concordis in the historic surrounds of Abbotsford Convent for a joyous performance of choral music that will leave you feeling renewed and uplifted.
COMMEMORATING BYRD & WEELKES
William Byrd and Thomas Weelkes died 400 years ago in 1623 – Byrd in his 80s and Weelkes at age 47. To commemorate these two stalwarts of the repertoire, Ensemble Gombert have curated a program that celebrates a variety of their choral works. The two centrepieces of the program are Byrd’s Te Deum and Magnificat from his Great Service and repertoire that has affirmed Ensemble Gombert as masters of their craft. These works are complemented by popular favourites including Byrd’s Sing Joyfully and Weelkes’ Hosanna to the Son of David, plus other beloved anthems of Elizabethan and Jacobean repertoire.
MUSIC FOR PENTECOST
Melbourne’s outstanding chamber choir was founded by John O’Donnell in 1990 and continues to delight audiences with its expert and informed performances.
This program of music for Pentecost will present the following works:
Mathurin Forestier (1475–1541), Veni, sancte Spiritus (formerly attributed to Josquin Desprez)
Thomas Tallis (1505–1585), Loquebantur variis linguis
William Byrd (c. 1540–1623), In festo Pentecostes
Philippe de Monte (1521–1603), Advenit ignis divinus
Giovanni Gabrieli (1557–1612), Hodie completi sunt (à 8)
THE TURN
Divisi’s debut in Melbourne Recital Centre’s Primrose Potter Salon explores the intrigue of madrigals, taking six narrators’ individual interpretations and coordinating them into a beautiful, cohesive story. Divisi Chamber Singers will take four hundred years of madrigal storytelling tradition and weave masterworks with contemporary comparisons. Ben Rowarth’s The Turn, an Australian premiere, gives further context to Monteverdi’s Lamento D’Arianna. Gavin Bryars’ madrigals shed more light on ancient poetry with intricate contemporary harmony.
MATTHAUS PASSION
Early Voices (directed by Stephen Grant), along with the viol consort Consortium and baroque violinists Lizzy Welch and Tim Willis, present this innovative early Passion by the German 17th century composer Johann Sebastiani.
KLEINE ORGELSOLOMESE
Tony Way, conductor
Merlyn Quaife AM, soprano
Sally-Anne Russell, mezzo-soprano
Timothy Reynolds, tenor
Nicholas Dinopoulos, bass-baritone
Choir of St. Francis' Church
Symphonia of Melbourne
THE BIRTH OF IMPRESSIONISM
The year is 1863 and the Emperor Napoleon III has decreed that all paintings rejected by the Salon’s judges can be exhibited in a nearby room “wishing to let the public judge the legitimacy of the artists’ complaints”. Thus was born the first Salon des Refusés and the seed of Impressionism was planted.
Using 5 famous paintings as focal points, this program explores French poetry and music inspired by them through songs by Debussy, Fauré, Duparc and duets by Chausson.
Looking to future generations of painters and composers, we pay tribute to Poulenc with a performance of his monumental song cycle 'Le Travail du peintre'.
Tony Way, conductor
Merlyn Quaife AM, soprano
Lynlee Williams, mezzo-soprano
Alastair Cooper-Golec, tenor
Nicholas Dinopoulos, bass-baritone
Choir of St. Francis' Church
Symphonia of Melbourne