Sydney Philharmonia - Handel's Messiah Part the First

CHORAL MUSIC / Sydney Philharmonia Choirs


Sydney Philharmonia Choirs presents:

Handel's Messiah - Part the First
Saturday,  5 December 2000, 2PM and 5PM
St Andrew's Cathedral, Sydney

Handel's Messiah is a biennial fixture in the Sydney Philharmonia concert calendar. Last year 2019 marked  Sydney Philharmonia Choirs' final performance of Messiah in the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall as it closed for renovations. This immortal oratorio wasn’t due for another Sydney Philharmonia outing until 2021, but after a tough year due to Covid-19 SPC turns to the comfort of tradition and the joyous, uplifting power of Handel’s greatest oratorio.

 

Image Credit: Zhang Wenjie

Sydney Philharmonia's COVID-safe Messiah will look a little different for this special concert. The Symphony Chorus – normally a cast of hundreds – will number just 32 singers and they’ll be supported by a streamlined orchestra of strings with trumpets and drums. As it happens, this is nearly identical to the forces Handel used for the premiere in Dublin in 1742.

SPC won’t be suggesting the Ladies come without their hoops or the Gentlemen leave their swords at home in order to squeeze more people into St Andrew’s Cathedral. They're limiting capacity to 400 people, including performers, and asking everyone to keep at least one swords’ distance at all times.

Finally, in order to keep the concert to an hour, only Part 1 will be performed: The prophecy of Christ’s appearance on earth and the Nativity.

“What! No Hallelujah Chorus?” No fear, Sydney Philharmonia wouldn’t deprive us of a chance to stand up, although they are requesting the audience to refrain from singing along.

Don’t delay or you might be like the hundreds who were left milling around outside the Fishamble Street Musick Hall in 1742, hoping to get in…

A joy to hear the Phillies sing again.  

 

SPC Archival Programs from 1975 to 1979.  

Image Credit: Sydney Philharmonia Choirs

Program:

Saturday 5th December 2020, 2pm & 5pm
St Andrew’s Cathedral

GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL Messiah Part the First (Plus 'Hallelujah Chorus')

Brett Weymark conductor
Sydney Philharmonia Symphony Chorus
Sydney Philharmonia Orchestra

Penelope Mills Soprano
Russell Harcourt Countertenor
Richard Butler Tenor
Christopher Richardson Bass

 

Concert duration: 60 minutes, no interval

General Admission $50 + booking fee

IMPORTANT COVID-19 SAFETY INFORMATION

• Audience members over the age of 12 are required to wear masks. This is a condition of entry.
• We will be limiting the number of people in the Cathedral in accordance with current Public Health Orders and ensuring appropriate physical distancing at all times.
• Hand sanitiser will be available.
• To minimise unnecessary contact, we will be distributing a digital program book, available in advance.

CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS ABOUT COVID-19 SAFETY PLAN

Nannerl's Music Book

Mozart's Family / Nannerl's Music Book

 

The Nannerl Notenbuch, or Notenbuch für Nannerl (English: Nannerl's Music Book) is a book in which Leopold Mozart wrote pieces for his daughter, Maria Anna Mozart (known as "Nannerl"), to learn and play. It was written from 1759 to about 1764, when Mozart was 3 to 8 years old. His son Wolfgang also used the book in which his earliest compositions were recorded (some penned by his father). 

The book contains simple short keyboard (typically harpsichord) pieces, suitable for beginners; there are many anonymous minuets, some works by Leopold, and a few works by other composers including Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach and the Austrian composer Georg Christoph Wagenseil. There are also some technical exercises, a table of intervals, and some modulating figured basses. 

Interesting link (22 videos) by Ivan Rolon Piano:  Nannerl's Music Book. I-XXIII (no video for XX)

Refer to the Table of Contents that summarises the contents of the notebook, here. 

(Apology, this link is no longer available at Youtube. 6 April 2024.)  Leopold Mozart - Nannerl Notenbuch, Volume #1, No 1 - 32. Completely created using virtual instruments. Instrumentation: Harpsichord. Composition Year: 1759 to about 1764. Movements: 32. YouTube, uploaded by Midi Mozart. Accessed October 28, 2020. 

Wolfgang A. Mozart's earliest compositions at the age of 5. These are the first 5 completed pieces of music that he wrote, short pieces performed on the harpsichord. Kochel Catalogue n°1. YouTube, uploaded by fabonino1. Accessed October 28, 2020.

Wolfgang Mozart's Compositions in the Book 

1. Andante in C, K. 1a. 

2. Allegro in C, K. 1b. 

3. Allegro in F, K. 1c. 

4. Minuet in F, K. 1d. 

5. Minuet in G, K. 1e. 

6. Minuet in C, K. 1f. 

7. Minuet in F, K. 2.

8. Allegro in B-flat, K. 3. 

9. Minuet in F, K. 4. 

10. Minuet in F "Triolen-Menuett", K. 5. 

11. Klavierstück in C, K. 5a. 

12. Andante in B-flat, K. 5b

The notebook originally contained 48 bound pages of music paper, but only 36 pages remain, with some of the missing 12 pages identified in other collections. Because of the simplicity of the pieces it contains, the book is often used to provide instruction to beginning piano players. 

 

Resources: 

Nannerl Notenbuch. en.wikipedia.org. Accessed October 28, 2020.  

Wolfgang Amadeus Book / Nannerl's Music Book. Pianoshelf. Accessed October 28, 2020

(c) October 2020. Updated April 6, 2024. Tel. Inspired Pen. All rights reserved.

Mozart Venite populi

 Mozart Works / Choral, Sacred, Motet

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Venite populi, K.260 (KV 248a) is one of the composers few works for double choir (an offertorium for two choirs), and one of the few settings of this rare and unusual text. It deserves to be better known.  

The 0ffertorium de venerabili sacramento “Venite populi” à 2 Chori K. 260/248a – dated Salzburg, 1767 by Mozart in his autograph score – clearly reveals a striving for more pronounced contrapuntal work. A short, homophonic central movement is framed by two predominantly polyphonic movements that are fashioned from the same thematic material. The two-chorus texture offers many opportunities for interweaving, as well as contrast and echo effects of all kinds. It is not known who wrote the non-liturgical text. [Music Room]

Title: Venite populi, K.260
Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Number of voices: 8vv   Voicing: SATB.SATB
Genre: Sacred, Motet, Eucharistic song

Language: Latin
Instruments: 2 violins, cello, organ (continuo) OR organ (orchestra reduction)

Below, Mozart's Venite populi performed by the Scottish Chamber Choir. Director Mark Hindley, chamber organ Philip Sawyer, violin 1 Kate Miguda, violin 2 Simon Graham, cello Pete Harvey, double bass Emily Scott-Moncrieff. Recorded at Canongate Kirk, Edinburgh on 15 November 2014. Accessed October 27, 2020.

Latin Text:

Venite, populi, venite
de longe venite,
et admiramini gentes.
Venite, populi, venite,
an alia natio tam grandis,
quae habet Deos appropinquantes sibi,
sicut Deus noster adest nobis,
cujus in ara veram praesentiam
contemplamur jugiter per fidem vivam,
an alia natio tam grandis?
O sors cunctis beatior,
O sors sola fidelium,
quibus panis fractio
et calicis communio
est in auxilium.
Eja ergo epulemur
in azymis veritatis et sinceritatis,
eja ergo epulemur
et inebriemur vino laetitiae sempiternae;
an alia natio tam grandis?
Venite, populi, venite. 

English Translation:

Come, O peoples, come;
come from afar,
and marvel, O races.
Come, O peoples, come;
is there any nation so great
that it has its gods so near to it
as our God is near to us,
whose true presence on his altar
we continually contemplate through living faith:
is there any nation so great?
O fate more blessed than all others,
O fate only of the faithful
for whom breaking bread
and sharing the cup
is a help
Therefore let us feast
on the unleavened bread of truth and sincerity,
Let us feast, therefore,
and become drunk with wine of eternal joy;
is there any nation so great?
Come, O peoples, come. 

 

Resources:

A mere mention from A Dictionary of Music and Musicians/Mozart, Wolfgang (... a litany 'de venerabili' (243); an offertorium for 2 choirs 'Venite populi' (260); a graduale 'Sancta Maria' (273); a serenade for the wedding...). 

Venite populi (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart). CPDL. Accessed October 27, 2020. 

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Venite Populi In D Major: Mixed Choir. Music Room. Accessed October 27, 2020.

(c) Oct 2020. Tel. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved.

Sydney Philharmonia Sings Fauré Requiem

CHORAL MUSIC / Sydney Philharmonia Choirs


Sydney Philharmonia Choirs presents:

Fauré Requiem
Saturday,  31 October 2020,  2PM and 5PM
St Andrew's Cathedral, Sydney

Gabriel Fauré composed his Requiem in D minor, Op. 48, between 1887 and 1890. The choral-orchestral setting of the shortened Catholic Mass for the Dead in Latin is the best-known of his large works.

The focus of Fauré Requiem is on eternal rest and consolation. It depicts peace and beauty of the heavenly afterlife. It restores the spirit and heals the soul.  

 

Sydney Philharmonia Choirs sings again! They've continued to do so under the challenges of COVID-19 – zooming in from their homes each week to rehearse and share their music-making with us in the digital realm.

But we all know – and you know – it’s simply not the same as real-life concert-giving.

As restrictions begin to lift, they're excited to bring this live concert in the vaulted space of St Andrew’s Cathedral.

In putting this concert together, their choices have been practical: they’re featuring music for small choir and just four instrumentalists – music that will allow them to keep distance accordingly. Music they know and love.

But, as conductor Brett Weymark points out, the constraints have resulted in a program that is satisfying and consoling. Imagine: from silence a single line emerges singing of charity, love and gathering together to forget the frictions in our lives and experience true joy. That’s the Latin prayer of Duruflé’s Ubi caritas. Then the sheer beauty of Fauré’s Cantique de Jean Racine – a song of hope in which we literally ‘break the silence’. And we reprise Fauré’s Requiem, not in its grand symphonic version, but in an arrangement that restores its original conception as something intimate and restful. If 2020 has left us feeling drained and exhausted, then Fauré’s Requiem will restore spirits and heal souls.

Indeed, a joy to sing again.  

Image Credit: Eva Tilley

Program:

Ubi caritas, Op. 10
Maurice Duruflé

Cantique de Jean Racine, Op. 11
Gabriel Fauré   

Requiem 

Gabriel Fauré
(arr. by David Hill)
Published by Novello & Co Ltd
By kind permission of Wise Music Australia

Artists:

Brett Weymark, conductor
Ross Cobb, organ
Fiona Ziegler, violin
Anthea Cottee, cello
Owen Torr, harp

CHAMBER SINGERS

VOX

Orlando Lennon, treble soloist from St Andrew’s Cathedral Choir
Benoît Deney, baritone soloist from Sydney Philharmonia Choirs

Brett Weymark, SPC Music and Artistic Director

Elizabeth Scott, SPC Music Director VOX
Claire Howard Race, SPC Assistant Chorus Master and Rehearsal Pianist
 

The 5pm performance will be recorded by Fine Music Sydney for future broadcast.

Concert duration: 50 minutes, no interval

General Admission $50

Michael Faraday

 Science / Chemist & Physicist

Brief biography of Michael Faraday, considered 'father of electricity', 18th century English physicist and chemist, the greatest experimental scientist in history, famous for his breakthroughs in electricity and electrochemistry. 

Faraday is considered the greatest experimental scientist in history. He discovered the first electric generators and transformers, electromagnetic rotations, electromagnetic and magneto-electric inductions that produced the first electrical generator and transformer, diamagnetism, magneto-optical effect, and the laws of electrolysis.    

The Poor Boy  

Michael Faraday was born on September 22, 1791, in Newington Butts, south London, to a poor working-class family, James, a blacksmith, and Margaret Faraday. He was five, when the family moved to Jacob's Well Mews, near Manchester Square. When he was 19, his father died, leaving his mother to support the family.

The Faraday family belonged to the Sandemanians, a religious sect that believes in the literal truth of the Bible. Faraday maintained a separation between his religion and his science, both important to him.

Bookbinding Apprentice

Aged thirteen, he started work as an apprentice of George Riebau, a bookbinder and bookseller. He was a keen reader, a later influence in his life. He joined a group of young men called City Philosophical Society. They attended lectures and exchanged ideas on scientific matters.

In 1812, Riebau showed to Mr. Dance, one of his customers, some of Faraday's notes. Mr. Dance, a member of the Royal Institution of London, was so impressed that he bought Faraday tickets for a series of lectures at the Royal Institution. This time, Faraday had finished his seven-year apprenticeship with Riebau and had become a qualified bookbinder.

Davy's Apprentice     

The lectures Faraday attended at the Royal Institution were given by the famous scientist Sir Humphry Davy. Faraday took notes during the lectures. Later, he wrote and sent to Davy a copy of his notes. Davy was impressed. When Davy was temporarily blinded from a chemical experimental explosion he took Faraday as his amanuensis. Eventually, he was hired on March 1, 1813, as a replacement of Davy's assistant who was dismissed for misconduct.  

When Davy went on a tour with his wife, he took Faraday with him and introduced him to the leading scientist including Volta and Ampère. Faraday's only problem was that Davy's wife treated him like a servant.

Faraday the Experimenter, Lecturer, Scientific Writer

On return to London after 18 months, Faraday began his experiments alongside working as Davy's assistant. He began his lectures at the Philosophical Society and published his first scientific paper, the Analysis of Native Caustic Lime of Tuscany.  

The Analytical Chemist

In 1820, Faraday produced the first known compounds of carbon and chlorine. Inspired with the advances in electricity and magnetism by Aragó and  Ampère, and Oersted's magnetic effect of an electric current, Faraday further experimented on the subject. The following year, he published "On some new Electro-Magnetical Motions, and on the Theory of Magnetism" in the Quarterly Journal of Science.  

In 1821 Faraday married Sarah Barnard, also a member of the Sandemanian church. The Faradays lived in the Royal Institution.

More Scientific Discoveries

For the next twenty years since 1821, Faraday made one scientific discovery after another. He made his first electrical discovery, the electromagnetic rotations. He worked on the liquification of gases, discovery of benzene, process of electrolysis, the laws of electrochemistry, and devised new scientific words.  

Awards and Recognition

In 1824, Faraday was elected Fellow of the Royal Society of which Davy opposed but over-ruled. An excellent lecturer, Faraday instituted the celebrated series of Friday evening discourses. He was professor of chemistry at the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich. He was in demand to give practical advice and commercial analysis.

In 1832, Faraday received more honours: honorary degree from the University of Oxford, Fullerian Professor of Chemistry at the Royal Institution, the Royal Medal and the Copley Medal, both from the Royal Society. In 1836 he was made a Member of the Senate of the University of London.  

Final Years

By mid-1850's, now spent, Faraday continued his children's Christmas lectures, including the chemical history of the candle. In 1864, he declined the Presidency of the Royal Institution, and gracefully retreated from the scientific world. Queen Victoria gave him a Grace and Favour House at Hampton Court, where he died on August 25, 1867.

Beyond Faraday

Faraday's work for the magnetic field concept formed the foundations of the mathematical description of the electromagnetic theory taken up by James Clerk Maxwell after Faraday's death.

 

Resources:

Chambers Biographical Dictionary, edited by Una McGovern, Chambers, 2002

Ellyard, David. Who Discovered What When. New Holland, 2005

Farendon, J. and Woolf, A., Rooney, A. and Gogerly, L.. The Great Scientist. Capella, 2005

(Note: I originally published this article at Suite101.com, 21 May 2008. / Tel) 

 

(c) September 2015. Tel. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved. 

A castrato rare recording of a Mozart aria, from Mitridate...

Opera / Mozart's Mitridate, re di Ponto


The video (below) is a modern castrato ultra rare recording, with credit to Quatrapuntal who shared it. This is a live recording from 1999 that he had all this time but never released. The piece is an aria "Va, l'error mio palesa" from Wolfgang A. Mozart's opera Mitridate, re di Ponto. It was composed by Mozart at the age of only 14 whilst touring Italy with his family. 

Full details about the piece are in the video itself. 




Castrato defined: A 'castrato' (Italian, plural: castrati), is a type of classical male singing voice equivalent to that of a soprano, mezzo-soprano, or contralto. The voice is produced by castration of the singer before puberty, or it occurs in one who, due to an endocrinological condition, never reaches sexual maturity.




Video Credit: 

"A modern castrato (NOT falsetto) ultra rare recording! Mozart Va, l'error mio palesa from Mitridate". YouTube, uploaded by Quatrapuntal, Sept 5, 2020.  Accessed September 6, 2020.



(c) September 2020. Tel. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved. 

Sydney Philharmonia Cinematic Concert

Celebrating SPC's 100 Years

In celebration of its centenary this year 2020, Sydney Philharmonia Choirs will sing Elena Kats Chernin's new work HUMAN WAVES... filled with heart wrenching stories of survival.

Due to COVID-19, this year there won't be physical concert - no Sydney Opera House nor Sydney Town Hall - rather, it's virtual voices of Sydney Philharmonia choristers. 


HAPPY 100th BIRTHDAY Sydney Philharmonia!!!


Cinematic Birthday Concert, Time & Place 
Premiering on Wednesday 9 September, 7:30pm. 

TIME AND PLACE | CELEBRATING 100 YEARS

On September 9th 2020, Sydney Philharmonia Choirs turns 100.

To celebrate this remarkable achievement in the cultural life of Australia, Sydney Philharmonia Choirs will present a cinematic concert featuring newly commissioned works by two of Australia’s most lauded female composers.

Time and Place examines what it means to be part of Australian society through the lens of both indigenous cultures and those many cultures that have come to call this land home.

Tarimi Nulay – long time living here is a choral Acknowledgement of Country written by Deborah Cheetham with text by Matthew Doyle. It is a work that brings Australians into the moment and lifts the curtain on Elena Kats Chernin and Tamara-Anna Cislowska’s world premiere, Human Waves. True stories of struggle and success have been woven into the nine movements that will touch hearts, make you laugh and possibly even bring a tear to the eye.

Hundreds of choristers have recorded themselves in isolation and this will be mixed with live footage of the composer and librettist at the piano to create a unique digital event that celebrates the best of our unusual times.

It is so much more than a concert.

It is an event not to be missed.



Deborah CHEETHAM AO Tarimi nulay – Long-time living here (extract)
Elena KATS-CHERNIN AO Human Waves (World premiere)

ARTISTS:
Brett Weymark conductor
Sydney Philharmonia Choirs

PRODUCTION:
Ten Alphas



Resources:
(All resources available at the time of  access.)

100 Minutes of New Australian Music. Sydney Philharmonia Choirs. Accessed 27 Aug 2020

A Century in Review. Sydney Philharmonia Choirs. Accessed 27 Aug 2020

Choir Unites in Isolation to Celebrate 100 Years. Performing Arts Hub. Accessed 9 September 2020

Time and Place : Celebrating Sydney Philharmonia's 100 Years. www.stagewhispers.com. Accessed 27 August 2020.

Sydney Philharmonia Choirs + TEN ALPHAS Announce Digital World Premiere TIME AND PLACE. Broadway World Classical Music. Accessed 4 September 2020. 

(c) August 27, 2020. Tel. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved. 

Thomas Tallis

Composers Datebook 

Composer of the English Renaissance

Thomas Tallis (c. 1505 – 23 November 1585) was an English composer who occupies a primary place in anthologies of English choral musi and with William Byrd, considered the leading composer of the English Renaissance.  Tallis is one of England's greatest composers, and he is honoured for his original voice in English musicianship.

No contemporaneous portrait of Tallis survives; the one painted by Gerard Vandergucht dates from 150 years after Tallis died, and there is no reason to suppose that it is a fair likeness. In a rare existing copy of his blackletter signature, he spelled his name "Tallys".

His works include Tallis's Canon ('Glory to thee my God this night'), the antiphonal Spem in alium non habui (English: "I have never put my hope in any other...") for 40-part Renaissance motet, composed in c. 1556/1570 for  eight choirs of five voices each, and a collection of 34 motets, Canioness sacarae, of which 16 are Tallis and 18 by Byrd. Tallis was one of the earliest composers to write for the Anglican liturgy.  


Early Life

Little is known about Thomas Tallis's early life. He was born in the early 16th century toward the end of Henry VII's reign. The name "Tallis" is derived from the French word taillis, which means a "thicket." There are suggestions that he was a child of the chapel (boy chorister) of the Chapel Royal, the same singing establishment which he joined as an adult.
 
Tallis's first known musical appointment was in 1532 as organist of Dover Priory (now Dover College), a Benedictine priory in Kent. His career took him to London, then to Waltham Abbey in the autumn of 1538, a large Augustinian monastery in Essex which was dissolved in 1540. He was paid off and acquired a book about music that contained a treatise by Leonel Power which prohibits consecutive unisons, fifths, and octaves.



 

 ^{Thomas Tallis' Spem in Alium, with Tallis Scholars Ensemble.}

Gustav Mahler

Classical Music / Composers Datebook:  July 7

Late Romantic Czech-Born Austrian Composer

"A symphony must be like the world, it must embrace everything." ~ Gustav Mahler, a remark to Sibelius, Helsinki, 1907.


A brief profile of Gustav Mahler 

Mahler is famous for symphonies, in particular, "The Symphony of a Thousand" and lieder (songs).

Gustav Mahler  (7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911), was a late-Romantic Austrian composer and one of the leading conductors of his generation.  A Jew, he was born in the village of Kalischt, Bohemia, in what was then the Austrian Empire, now Kaliště in the Czech Republic. His family later moved to nearby Iglau (now Jihlava), where Mahler grew up.

He composed some large-scale symphonies, for instance, The Song of the Earth, and many with voices,including Symphony No. 2 Resurrection, Symphony No. 6 in A minor, sometimes referred to as "Tragic" or Tragische, Symphony No. 8 The Symphony of a Thousand, and Symphony No. 10, left unfinished at his death. Mahler also composed orchestral lieder songs. His Symphony No. 5 was composed in 1901 and 1902, mostly during the summer months at his holiday cottage at Maiernigg. 

Great Conductors of the Past

Classical Music / The Art of Conducting


A most wonderful documentary of great conductors of the past.  As a consummate lover of classical music, especially from Baroque to early Romantic era, I find this video a treasure. If you're like me, you'll never tire listening to the majestic performances.

As a chorister,  to me the greatness of a conductor - whether conducting a symphony or choir or both - lies most significantly in the time devoted to the actual rehearsal process (the arduous journey of a performer), in which the greatest percentage (perhaps 90%) of his/her work is done. The performance itself, whilst important (the destination), is almost more for its effect on the audience than on the orchestra or the choir --- the rehearsal process is the heart of the music.





Video Resources:

Conductors and Conducting. YouTube, Uploaded by Burtw47. Accessed  April 22, 2020. 

Great Conductors of the Past (1996). YouTube, uploaded by Eduard Moya. Accessed April 22, 2022.  (Please refer to Youtube for corresponding licenses of the music and the artists.)  

Great Female Conductors. 10 names from History of Music. YOuTube, uploaded by Legendry Musicians by History of Music. Accessed May 22, 2022.

The 10 Greatest Living Conductors (for the moment ) 2022. YouTube, uploaded by The Ultimate Classical Music Guide by Dave Hurwitz. Accessed April 22, 2023.

(c) May 22, 2020. Tel. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved.

Mozart's "God is our Refuge", KV 20

Classical Music / Mozart Motet

God is our Refuge, K. 20, is a motet for four voices in G minor by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Based on Psalm 46, it was composed in July 1765 during Mozarts' stay in London on the Mozart family grand tour as a gift for the British Museum along with one other supposed work: a set of variations in A major, K. 21a.

Sir: I am ordered by the Standing Committee of the Trustees of the British Museum, to signify to You, that they have received the present of the musical performances of your very ingenious Son which you were pleased lately to make them, and to return You their Thanks for the same."  - A brief note from a secretary at the British Museum. 

Original manuscript of Wolfgang Mozart's "God is my Refuge", composed in 1764 when he was nine years old.

Score: 

The 23-bar work is scored for four voices: soprano, alto, tenor and bass, and is written in ³
₂ time.

Lyrics

God is our refuge,
our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble,
a present help in trouble.

Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto

Classical Music Datebook / Violin Concerto


The Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35 was the only concerto for violin composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1878 and is one of the best-known violin concertos. 

 

Instrumentation:  The concerto is scored for solo violin, two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets in A and B-flat, two bassoons, four horns in F, two trumpets in D, timpani and strings. 

 

Form: The piece is in three movements:

1. Allegro moderato (D major)
2. Canzonetta: Andante (³
   ₄, G minor)
3. Finale: Allegro vivacissimo (²
   ₄, D major)

The second and third movements are played attacca, with no break between them. A typical performance runs approximately 35 minutes.  

American violinist Joshua Bell interprets Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto in D major, Op 35. (YouTube, uploaded by Classical Vault 1. Accessed  April 2, 2020.) 1. Allegro moderato 2. Canzonetta: Andante 3. Finale. Allegro vivacissimo. National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America, Valery Gergiev, conducting.

Sergei Rachmaninoff Remembered.

In memoriam /  1 April  2020

Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff or Sergei Vasilyevich Rakhmaninov, (1 April [O.S. 20 March] 1873 – 28 March 1943), was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor of the late Romantic period. As a pianist he was famous for his precision, rhythmic drive, clarity of texture, and for the broad design of his performances. 

Rachmaninoff's music is melodious and emotional. The influence of Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Balakirev, Mussorgsky, and other Russian composers is seen in his early works, later giving way to a personal style notable for song-like melodicism, expressiveness and rich orchestral colors.

Rachmaninoff's Piano Prelude in C# minor , written at the age of 19, made him famous overnight. He wrote brilliantly for the piano, and equally well for the orchestra.

His most famous works include: Piano Concerto No. 2, used in the British film Brief Encounter; Piano Concerto No. 3, the theme music in the movie Shine; and Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini for the piano and orchestra, featuring the most popular Variation No. 18. This variation is one of the most beautiful and magical compositions ever written by Sergei Rachmaninoff; it was featured in the movie Somewhere in Time. 

His other works include: operas such as Francesca da Rimini (1906); three symphonies; four piano concertos; piano pieces including Prelude in C-# minor (1882); choral; chamber music and songs.   

Rachmaninoff's qualities of style, mood and technical mastery made Sergei Rachmaninoff one of the most popular among the great composers.   

 

Rachmaninoff - Rhapsody Paganini - Alexander Malofeev, Pianist.

Video Credit:

Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op.43. Artists: Soloist Alexandеr Malofeev (16 y.o.). Conductor Myung-Whun Chung. Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI di Torino. Italy. Auditorium RAI Arturo Toscanini -- May 30, 2018.

"I feel like a ghost wandering in a world grown alien. I cannot cast out the old way of writing, and I cannot acquire the new. I have made intense efforts to feel the musical manner of today, but it will not come to me." - Rachmaninov, quoted in Ewen, American Composers

 

Resources:

Classical Music Instance Reference: Teach Yourself Series

Oxford Dictionary of Music, Sixth Edition.

Sadie, Stanley, Editor. The Grove Concise Dictionary of Music

 

(c) April 2006. Updated April 1, 2021. Tel. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved. 

Sydney Philharmonia Choirs - Mendelssohn's Oratorio Elijah

Choral Singing / Oratorio

Due to COVID-19, like all performances in Performing Arts this concert has had its share of cancellations: first, for its May 9, 2020 at 3pm, for September 11, 2021 at 3pm, and then again, for December 16, 2021 at 7pm.

Mendelssohn's Elijah presented by the Sydney Philharmonia Festival Chorus

Date:  Thursday 16 December 2021 at 7pm (cancelled due to COVID related-reasons)
Venue: Centennial Hall, Sydney Town Hall

In Elijah, Mendelssohn combines the majestic tradition of Handel and the worshipful spirit of Bach with his own Romantic style.  

Elijah, Op. 70, MWV A 25, is an oratorio by Felix Mendelssohn depicting events in the life of the Prophet Elijah as told in the books 1 Kings and 2 Kings of the Old Testament. It premiered in 1846 at the Birmingham Festival. When Mendelssohn’s Elijah received its triumphant premiere at this festival there were more than a hundred musicians in the orchestra and several hundred singers in the choir. This is choral music on a grand scale, and the Sydney Philharmonia Choirs  will do it justice with the imposing sound of the 400-voice Festival Chorus and the perfect Victorian-era ambience of the Sydney Town Hall.

Based on an Old Testament story (earthquake! fire! and the “still small voice”), Elijah combines the majestic tradition of Handel and the worshipful spirit of Bach with Mendelssohn’s own Romantic style. The result is a thrilling musical picture of “a grand and mighty prophet…borne on the wings of angels”.

But, as conductor Brett Weymark points out, Elijah was also a complex personality and in some ways a “very difficult man”. Mendelssohn himself saw him as “energetic and zealous, but also stern, wrathful and gloomy.”

Sydney Philharmonia has no recorded video of this oratorio. Instead, below, I'm sharing this superb performance of Mendelssohn's Elijah, Op.70, MWV A25 / Part 1 - "Thanks be to God" excerpt performed by the Edinburgh Festival Chorus · Stephen Doughty · Orchestra of The Age of Enlightenment · Paul Daniel. Provided to YouTube by Universal Music Group. Accessed March 25, 2020. 



"Thanks be to God!"

Thanks be to God, He laveth the thirsty land. 
The waters gather, they rush along! 
They are lifting their voices! 
The stormy billows are high; their fury is mighty. 
But the Lord is above them, and Almighty!

Mozart Double Piano Concerto

Classical Music / Concertos

Mozart's Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra in E-flat major, K. 365/316a, is simply known as Mozart Double Piano Concerto (No. 10). It is not known when the composer completed this concerto but a research by Alan Tyson, a Glasgow-born British musicologist who specialized in studies of the music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven, shows that cadenzas for the first and third movements are written in Mozart and his father Leopold Mozart's handwriting on a type of paper used between August 1775 and January 1777 (Wiki).  Most sources, however, including Alan Tyson's book Mozart: Studies of the Autograph Scores and Lindeman's The Concerto: A Research and Information Guide (2006) indicate that this concerto was composed in 1779. 

It is presumed that Mozart wrote it to play with his sister Maria Anna ("Nannerl"). He later performed it in a private concert with his pupil Josepha Barbara Auernhammer, an Austrian pianist and composer. 

 

Featured Video: 

I've listened to some interpretations, however, but consider the best this one played by Daniel Barenboim and Vladimir Ashkenazy, "Barenboim, Ashkenazy: "Barenboim, Ashkenazy: Mozart  Double Concerto - Documentary of 1966", with the English Chamber Orchestra. From 32.58 to 51.16:  32:58 Double Concerto, First movement 43:14 Double Concerto, Second movement 51:16 Double Concerto, Third movement  This video was taken in March 1966, when Barenboim and Ashkenazy were then two great young pianists and good friends.  (Youtube, uploaded by Allegro Films by Christopher Nupen. Accessed March 11, 2020.)

NOTE: 

Please watch on Youtube! Unfortunately, this video is not available for display on other websites. Thank you.  Here!

 

Resource:

Piano Concerto No. 10 (Mozart). en.wikipedia.org

 

(c) March 2022. Tel. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved.  

JS Bach's St. John Passion

Classical Music / Sacred Music  

Johann Sebastian Bach's St. John Passion: facts, the cast, brief history, and other related information.

Johann Sebastian Bach, a Protestant German composer of the Baroque era, composed St. John Passion (Passio secundum Johannem). With interspersed chorales and arias, the gospel of St. John (Chapters 18 and 19) from the Holy Scriptures is set to music.  

Facts about St. John Passion

Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) 

Original Title: Passio secundum Johannem

Original Language: German

Text: From the Gospel of St. John, Chapters 18 and 19; in addition, excerpts from Barthold Heinrich Brockes's poem "Jesus Martyred and Dying for the sins of the world" (1715.)

Form: In two parts, including a total of 40 musical numbers (68 according to the old numbering system).  

Date of Writing: Anhalt-Kothen, 1722-1723; revised in 1725, around 1730, and then again, around 1739.  

First Performance: April 7, 1724, performed as part of Good Friday liturgy in the church of St. Nicholas in Leipzig, and not as a concert.  

Brief History of Bach's St Matthew Passion

The St. John Passion seems to have been the first work of its kind composed by Bach. An earlier St. Luke Passion, presented under his name, has since turned out to be fairly certainly spurious. Bach, exceptionally receptive to other musicians' cocmpostiions, probably performed this rather weak work and for that purpose copied it out. However, the view that there were, in addition to the St. John and St. Matthew Passions, two other Bach works in this genre stubbornly persists, but thteyu are thought to have been lost.

When Bach was certain that he had obtained the position in Leipzig and would soon begin his work there, he began to compose the St. John Passion while still in Kothen. He could not find a suitable libretto so he wrote one himself, using the text of the Gospel according to St. John, and adding some excerpts by the poet and town councilor of Hamburg, Barthold Heinrich Brockes. It's not easily explained why JS Bach chose to compose this Passion upon assuming his new office.

Generally, Bach's St. Matthew Passion is preferred than his setting of this Passion, although contrary opinions have been voiced, like that of Robert Schumann. 

Brief Synopsis of St. John Passion

This work tells the story of the capture of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, a place frequented by him and his disciples; his being interrogated by Annas, a brother-in-law of the High-Priest Caiphas; his being handed over to Caiphas and then to the Roman governor Pilate, who was convinced that Jesus had committed no crime; the insistence of the Jews that Jesus be condemned to death because he had called himself their "king;" of his crucifixion and death; his removal from the cross by Joseph of Arimathea and the hasty burial due to the approaching Sabbath.

Below, JS Bach St. John Passion BWV 245.  (New Recording). Stephen Cleobury and the Choir of King’s College, Cambridge are joined by the Academy of Ancient Music in Bach’s much-loved St John Passion. Captured live in 2016 during Easter celebrations at the College, it features an all-star line-up of soloists who are renowned for their handling of the repertoire, including King’s alumnus James Gilchrist as the Evangelist and Neal Davies, Cardiff Singer of the World prize winner, as Jesus. Accessed July 26, 2020.

Orchestration: two flutes, two oboes, oboe d'amore, two oboes da caccia, viola da gamba, two violas d'amore, viola da gamba, strings, continuo with cello, bassoon, contrabass, organ or harpsichord.    


The Cast of Characters of St Matthew Passion  

Evangelist (tenor)

Jesus (bass)

Peter (bass)

Pilate (bass)

Four solo voices (soprano, alto, tenor, bass),

Four-part mixed chorus

Orchestra.

Trivia:  Our Sydney Philharmonia Choirs (Symphony Chorus, Chamber Singers and Sydney Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra) will be performing Bach's St. John Passion Re-Imagined, with Brett Weymark conducting. Artists: Richard Butler (Evangelist), Andrew O'Connor (Christus), Celeste Lazarenko (Soprano), Anna Dowsley (Mezzo -Soprano), Brenton Spiteri (Tenor), David Greco (Bass). Saturday, 11 April 2020 at 3pm, Sydney Town Hall.  (Note: Sadly, this concert has been cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic. / Tel, March 24, 2020.)  

Bach Resources:

www.jsbach.net
JS Bach Biography  Biography.com

Suggested Recording:  

Bach-Handel Recitals

LPO, Sir Adrian Boult

Kathleen Ferrier

Historic Performances , recreated in Stereo, Decca

(Note: I first published this piece for Suite101.com, 19 March 2008. It's been re-printed in abridged form for this post. / Tel.) 

(c) March 21, 2010.  Updated February 25, 2020. Tel. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved.     

Sor Introduction and Variations on a Theme from Mozart's 'The Magic Flute'

Classical Music / Classic Guitar 


Introduction and Variations on a Theme by Mozart, Op. 9, is one of Fernando Sor's most famous works for guitar. It was first published in London in 1821 and dedicated to Sor's brother Carlos.

Note on Editions.  The title page of the first edition reads “As performed by the author, at the Nobilities’ Concerts.” The French edition was published by Meissonnier, dated roughly in the same period, and had one less variation, no coda, and some differing notes. However, in 1826 or 27, Meissonnier brought out another version, this one identical to the London first edition.

The Introduction and Variations on a Theme from Mozart's The Magic Flute, Op 9, embodies the best characteristics of Fernando Sor as a composer, requiring great technique. It is a frequently performed classic guitar piece that serves as a “testing ground for every aspiring guitarist.” The work is based by Sor on a melody from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's famous opera The Magic Flute (Die Zauberflöte) to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The opera was first performed in Vienna in 1791, and in German, while the first performances in Italian took place in 1794, three years after Mozart had died. It is more likely that he was inspired to write the piece when the first major production was premiered in England in May 1819, when Sor was in the area.

Video below, guitarist Ana Vidovic plays Sor's Variations on a Theme from Mozart's The Magic Flute. YouTube, uploaded by SiccasGuitars. Accessed July 19, 2023. 

The theme and the variations are based on this one that was used in numerous composer's arrangements, some being by the flutist Drouet, by Herz, and by Mikhail Glinka. It is the theme played near the end of Act I called “Das klinget so herrlich”, in Italian either translating to "O dolce armonia" as Sor chose to use. This last translation was also used in the vocal score of The Magic Flute published in Birchall, London in around 1813.

Sor's theme differs somewhat from Mozart's original, as may be seen in the comparison. The time and key signatures of the originals have been changed. None of the bars/measures are exactly the same but most only differ slightly.


Image Credit:

The original cover of Sor's Variations on a Theme of Mozart, Op. 9, published in Paris in 1821. en.wikipedia.org. Public Domain.  


Resource:

Introduction and Variations on a Theme by Mozart (Sor). en.wikipedia.org. Accessed February 14, 2020.



(c) February 2020. Updated July 19, 2023. Tel. Inspired Pen Web. all rights reserved.   

Sydney Philharmonia Choirs (VOX) - CONSIDERING MATTHEW SHEPARD

Choral Music / Choral Singing 


Presented by Sydney Philharmonia Choirs and City Recital Hall.
Thursday 20 February, 7:30pm
City Recital Hall

Considering Matthew Shepard

In 1998 Matthew Shepard, a first-year college student in Wyoming, was kidnapped, beaten and left to die. This brutal anti-gay hate crime inspired anguish and outrage. Nearly 20 years later it inspired composer Craig Hella Johnson to contemplate suffering, death and the flame of love and led him on a challenging creative journey. “In composing Considering Matthew Shepard,” he says, “I wanted to create, within a musical framework, a space for reflection, consideration and unity around his life and legacy.”

The result is a fusion-oratorio, stylistically eclectic music that moves between Lutheran hymnody, chant, blues, cowboy songs and Broadway as it captures the fullness of Matthew’s life and the legacy of his death. In the background are the Passion settings of JS Bach – offering musical comfort as their listeners reflect on a story of intense suffering. And Considering Matthew Shepard begins with Bach: the serene sounds of the first prelude from the Well-Tempered Clavier (the music that underpins Gounod’s Ave Maria).

Considering Matthew Shepard will be performed by Sydney Philharmonia Choirs' young adult choir,  VOX – some of its members the same age as Matthew himself when he died – in a semi-staged presentation. Join the Sydney Philharmonia Choirs (VOX) at City Recital Hall for this musical memorial that reverberates with hope and serenity.


“…this modern-day Passion will move many listeners to tears even as it reaches beyond tragedy to peace, understanding and forgiveness.” -  The Chicago Tribune




PROGRAM
Craig Hella JOHNSON Considering Matthew Shepard


ARTISTS
Elizabeth Scott conductor
Shaun Rennie director
VOX with soloists from the choir
Sydney Philharmonia Ensemble


Photo Credit: 

Sydney Philharmonia Choirs: VOX.  Accessed February 1, 2020. 




Resources:

City Recital Hall. Considering Matthew Shepard. Accessed February 4, 2020. (Available at the time of posting.) 


Sydney Philharmonia Choirs. Considering Matthew Shepard. Accessed February 1, 2020.(Available at the time of posting.)

(c) February 1, 2020. Tel. Inspired Pen Web. All rights Reserved.

Sydney Philharmonia Choirs: Centenary Season in 2020

Choral Music / Choral Singing

Sydney Philharmonia Choirs is set to celebrate its Centenary in 2020 with a future-focused program, shining light on Australian composers, and on the organisation’s longstanding commitment to collaboration, community and connection.

At the heart of their Centenary celebrations is the commissioning of “100 Minutes of New Australian Music”, to be premiered as part of the Choirs’ 2020 Season.  Works from 12 Australian composers will make their debut as part of the initiative, including four on the international stage, as part of a European tour in October.

Comprising a variety of works created to varying length, scale and theme, the composite “100 Minutes of New Australian Music” will showcase a uniquely Australian contribution to the art form of choral music.

 

Highlights will include a series of works by Indigenous Australian composers, offering both chorister and audience a distinctive performance experience; and a new major work from Brett Dean, to be premiered in partnership with leading orchestras across Europe.

From the most well-known to emerging composers, “100 Minutes of New Australian Music” embraces a diverse expertise, representative of the rich makeup of Australia’s music community: with pieces by Brett Dean, Elena Kats-Chernin, Deborah Cheetham, Joseph Twist, Brooke Shelley, James Henry, Nardi Simpson, Will Yaxley, Matthew Orlovich, Daniel Brinsmead, Maria Lopes, and Andrew Anderson.

At least one of the new compositions – ranging from pieces for small ensembles to those for large massed choirs, will be performed at each of the organisation’s concerts, rolling out throughout their anniversary year.

Whilst marking 100 years since 12 church choristers first met in 1920, forming the original “Hurlstone Park Choral Society”, Sydney Philharmonia Choirs will also pay tribute to the many collaborations and partnerships that have seen the organisation mature over the decades, informing their position as Australia’s leading choral organisation, recognised around the world for its contribution to Sydney’s vibrant artistic and cultural identity.

Long Sydney Philharmonia Choirs’ performance home, and a frequent programming partner, Sydney Opera House formally acknowledged their longstanding relationship with the Choirs in August 2019, by welcoming the organisation as a Resident Company. It is only fitting therefore that the Choirs’ 2020 Centenary Season begin here, with a free open-air performance, heralding the coming year with a nod to Australia’s premier city; and to past, present, and future possibilities.

On Sunday January 19, as the first rays of light break over Sydney, a Dawn Chorus will begin, comprising hundreds of singers from the Choirs’ 600 strong membership, gathered on the steps of Sydney Opera House, conducted by Artistic and Music Director, Brett Weymark. Markedly, the opening note of the year will go to the world premiere of a choral Acknowledgement of Country, Tarimi nulay - Long time living here (Gadigal language), composed by acclaimed Indigenous Australian soprano and composer, Deborah Cheetham: the first of the Choirs’ commissions to make its debut as part of “100 Minutes of New Australian Music”.

With eyes to the future, Sydney Philharmonia Choirs also embraces new relationships in 2020, and revitalises long-standing friendships with both the City Recital Hall and the Sydney Town Hall.
In February the Choirs will partner with City Recital Hall to present the Australian premiere of Craig Hella Johnson’s Grammy- nominated oratorio, Considering Matthew Shepard. Written in response to one of the worst anti-gay hate crimes in history, this moving work commemorates a young American college student who was kidnapped, beaten, tied to a fence and left to die, in Wyoming in October 1998.

In April the Choirs present the first of their large scale concerts for the year, in the stunning surrounds of Sydney Town Hall. A significant space, where so many of Sydney Philharmonia’s performances have occurred over its 100-year history, the Town Hall will host four of the organisation’s major 2020 presentations, beginning with their Easter Saturday concert, St John Passion Reimagined. 

 
The dramatic power of Bach’s St John Passion has transcended its church origins to speak a universal, musical message that combines storytelling and meditation. In this re-imagined performance two specially commissioned “reflections” by Australian composers, Joseph Twist and Brooke Shelley, are embedded in the narrative, commenting on questions posed by this great work, and providing musical and philosophical reflections for the modern era.

Come May and Sydney Philharmonia’s 400-voice Festival Chorus will fill the Town Hall with the exhilarating sounds of Mendelssohn’s choral masterpiece Elijah. Based on the Old Testament story, it’s a thrilling musical picture of “a grand and mighty prophet...borne on the wings of angels” and featuring Teddy Tahu Rhodes as Elijah. This is the first of the Choirs’ participatory events for the year, with rehearsals starting in February.

In June, Sydney Philharmonia Choirs present their showpiece Sydney concert for the year, A Centenary Celebration. An epic performance across three acts, this spectacular concert will celebrate 100 years of singing, and the ever-evolving cultural fabric of the city the Choirs call home.

A Centenary Celebration features a major new work from Elena Kats-Chernin; the Sydney premiere of a new work from Deborah Cheetham; new works from James Henry and Nardi Simpson; and a mash-up of the top ten choral masterpieces at the core of the Choirs’ repertoire, created for the Philharmonia by Dan Walker.

And in October, the Choir’s ChorusOz program comes to the Town Hall, drawing hundreds of participants from around Australia and beyond, for an intensive weekend of music-making, culminating in a one-off performance of Verdi’s great masterpiece, his Requiem.

Also in October, 120 choristers from the Choirs’ acclaimed Symphony Chorus, Chambers Singers and VOX choirs, will embark on a “Centenary Tour”, premiering a unique portfolio of new Australian choral music by Brett Dean, Matthew Orlovich, Daniel Brinsmead and Will Yaxley, to audiences in the UK and Germany.

Presented in collaboration with esteemed local orchestral partners including the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra and Lyon National Orchestra, the tour represents an exceptional opportunity for European musicians to learn and present new Australian music, and for audiences to experience the latest Australian creativity and innovation.

In November, Sydney Philharmonia Choirs returns to the Sydney Opera House Utzon Room to present Transcendence, a concert in honour of the patron saint of music and musicians, Saint Cecilia. The chant-inspired music of visionary American composer Lou Harrison provides the framework for a garland of choral tributes from composers across the ages, including new works from Maria Lopes and Andrew Anderson.

As the finale for their 2020 celebrations, the Choirs will take their Christmas Carols event to Western Sydney, presenting two performances of Carols at the Coliseum, at Sydney’s newest venue The Sydney Coliseum Theatre. This will be a family-friendly program based around Robert Shaw’s Many Moods of Christmas, featuring baroque classics, show tunes and everyone’s favourite Christmas carols.

Sydney Philharmonia Choirs’ Artistic and Music Director Brett Weymark says, “2020 is a very special year for us at the Sydney Philharmonia Choirs, celebrating the extraordinary milestone of 100 years of singing together. So how do you celebrate 100 years of music making? You create something new - hence our ambitious project of 100 minutes of new music to celebrate our centenary. 100 for 100! An opportunity to explore our past, the present and our future as an artistic force in our city.

“We have major works being presented by our choirs in Sydney and abroad, from international names such as Brett Dean and Elena Kats-Chernin, to emerging artists and even members of our own choirs. In 2016 we made a commitment to the female voice in the compositional world with our contribution to the National Women Composers Development Program and this continues in the coming year, under the watchful eye of Liza Lim.

“In 2020 we launch a program that embraces the Indigenous Australian voice in choral music. Each concert this season will commence with a sung Acknowledgment of Country - Tarimi nulay - Long time living here (Gadigal language), written by the acclaimed Deborah Cheetham and Matthew Doyle, alongside new works by Nardie Simpson and James Henry. This is the start of an ongoing cultural conversation with the First Nations peoples of Australia and one we know will enrich the lives of our singers and our understanding about how we can better shape the future of this country.

“In an age where many people express despair at a lack of connection with each other, live music-making continues to be one of the most dynamic exchanges of energy we have as a society.

Composers share their vision with performers who then communicate directly with an audience in a relationship that is closely connected. People watch, listen and feel. They forge a connection that can profoundly change the way we look at the world. We cannot wait to share the gift of music with you.”
For updates on international tour venues and ticket availability, join Sydney Philharmonia’s mailing list at sydneyphilharmonia.com.au

Find out how to sing with the Choirs, here:

Auditioned choirs – sydneyphilharmonia.com.au/choirs/auditioned-choirs/

Community choirs, no experience necessary - sydneyphilharmonia.com.au/choirs/community-choirs/

Photographer: Keith Saunder.

Sydney Performances:

Dawn Chorus
Sunday 19 January, Dawn

Monumental Stairs, Sydney Opera House

Considering Matthew Shepard
Thursday 20 February, 7.30pm City Recital Hall

St John Passion Reimagined
Saturday 11 April, 3pm Sydney Town Hall

Elijah
Saturday 9 May, 3pm Sydney Town Hall

A Centenary Celebration
Saturday 20 June, 5pm Sydney Town Hall

ChorusOz: Verdi Requiem
Sunday 4 October, 5pm
Sydney Town Hall

Transcendence
Saturday 21 November, 5pm
Sunday 22 November, 2pm
Utzon Room, Sydney Opera House

Carols at the Coliseum
Saturday 19 December, 8pm Sunday 20 December, 2pm
Sydney Coliseum Theatre

sydneyphilharmonia.com.au

Read about more 2020 Seasons

 

 

 

(c)  January 2020. Tel. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved.