Sydney Philharmonia Choirs: Orff's Carmina Burana (2023)

Choral Singing / Choral Music

Carl Orff's CARMINA BURANA presented by the Sydney Philharmonia Choirs

Date: Saturday 9 September 2023 at 2pm
Venue: Sydney Opera House Concert Hall

 

Carmina Burana is a cantata composed in 1935 and 1936 by Carl Orff, based on poems from the medieval collection "Carmina Burana". Its full Latin title is Carmina Burana: Cantiones profanae cantoribus et choris cantandae comitantibus instrumentis atque imaginibus magicis. Its first performance was 8 June, 1937, at Oper Frankfurt.  

Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana is the blockbuster of the choral repertoire, the kind of music guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat. Its worldly – and occasionally naughty – texts were assembled by mediæval monks, but its flamboyant music is barely a century old. From the rousing chorus of “O Fortuna!” to the intrepid tenor (the inimitable Kanen Breen) voicing a roasting swan at the top of his range, Carmina Burana will take you on an exhilarating and often visceral journey through the rhythms of life.

Sydney Philharmonia Choirs are also thrilled to present the concert premiere of Elena Kats-Chernin’s Human Waves. With words by fellow-pianist Tamara-Anna Cislowska, it charts stories of struggle and success from the rich tapestry of Australia’s migrant history, finding inspiration in the diversity of cultures and traditions that make up our society.

Murrgumurrgu, by First Nations artist James Henry, takes its title from the Yuwaalaraay name for the ibis, which breeds on the Narran Lakes before coming to Sydney to find food.

The best-known song from Carmina Burana is “O Fortuna” (“Oh Fortune”), which serves as both prologue and epilogue. It frames the revelry of the three main movements with a stark warning about the power of luck and fate, offering the ancient image of a wheel of fortune that deals out triumph and disaster at random.

PROGRAM

HENRY Murrgumurrgu (Ibis)*†
KATS-CHERNIN Human Waves*†
ORFF Carmina Burana

* Concert premiere
† From 100 Minutes of New Australian Music Project

This program will run for approximately 2 hours and 5 minutes, including a 20-minute interval.

ARTISTS

Brett Weymark conductor
James Henry singer & composer
Lorina Gore soprano
Kanen Breen tenor
Hadleigh Adams baritone
Festival Chorus
River City Voices
Tamara-Anna Cislowska piano & librettist (Human Waves)
Sydney Philharmonia Orchestra

PRE-CONCERT TALK

Come to the Northern Foyer from 1pm to hear SPC Chorister and 2MBS Fine Music presenter Peter Poole chat with Human Waves librettist Tamara-Anna Cislowska and Murrgumurrgu composer James Henry. Grab a drink at the bar and enjoy this free, 30-minute talk, with plenty of time to find your seat for the 2pm concert.

Seating is on the carpeted stairs in the Northern Foyer.
Access the Northern Foyer via the new tunnel from the Southern Foyer.

• Saturday 9 September: 1:15PM-1:45PM
• Concert Hall, Northern Foyer stairs

 

2023 Pre-Concert Talks are made possible with the support of 2MBS Fine Music.

Reviews: 

Carmina Burana (Sydney Philharmonia Choirs). 4.5 🌟🌟🌟🌟Limelight Magazine. Accessed September 11, 2023.

Carmina Burana-Sydney Philharmonia Choirs and Orchestra. Reviewed by Shirley Politzer. JWire.com.au. Accessed September 13, 2023.

SYDNEY PHILHARMONIA CHOIRS : CARMINA BURANA @SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE. 5🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 Sydney Arts Guide. Reviewed by Paul Nolan.  Accessed September 13, 2023.

 

 

 

Related Links:

Carl Orff. Inspired Pen Web. 

Carmina Burana (Orff). en.wikipedia.org. Accessed July 10, 2023.

Carl Orff - O Fortuna ~ Carmina Burana. Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, conducted by Robert Shaw. Artwork: Irudiak - Joseph Mallord William Turner. YouTube, uploaded by Beatriz. Accessed July 10, 2023.

Sydney Philharmonia Choirs' Carl Off's Carmina Burana 2021. Inspired Pen Web.

Video Credit:

Carmina Burana 2023 Version 2. Sydney Philharmonia Choirs.  O Fortuna! Carl Orff’s 'Carmina Burana' is the blockbuster of the choral world, the kind of music that will keep you on the edge of your seat with its rousing choruses and wicked humour. Elena Kats-Chernin’s 'Human Waves' offers something completely new from one of Australia’s most popular composers, inspired by the rich tapestry of our migrant history. And Yuwaalaraay compsoer James Henry paints a fond portrait of the ibis in 'Murrgumurrgu'.  YouTube, accessed August 10, 2023.

Resources:

Orff's Carmina Burana. Sydney Philharmonia Choirs. Accessed July 10, 2023  (Available at this time)

Sydney Philharmonia Choirs' 2023 Season Catalogue. 

 

TICKETS

Premium $129 | A $105 | B $85 | C $60 | D $45
Concessions $116 | A $92| B $75 | C $55 | D $41
Under 30 $30
A booking fee of $8.95 per transaction applies.

BOOK TICKETS HERE

COVID-19 SAFETY AT SPC CONCERTS

Up-to-date COVID guidelines will be available a few weeks before the concert. Sydney Philharmonia Choirs regularly update their guidelines based on health directives from NSW Government & the Sydney Opera House. 

 

(c) July 10, 2023. Tel.  Inspired Pen Web.  All rights reserved.

Sydney Philharmonia Choirs' The Golden Age of Broadway

 Choral Singing / Musicals

 

The GOLDEN AGE of BROADWAY presented by the Sydney Philharmonia Choirs

Date:  Saturday 6 May 2023, 7pm
Venue: Sydney Opera House, Concert Hall

Note: This Concert Hall performance will be broadcast live to a ticketed audience on the Forecourt, as part of Inside/Out at the House, celebrating 50 years of the Sydney Opera House. Find out more at Sydneyoperahouse.com 

All the classic favourites in a dazzling tribute to the great Broadway musicals. 

 

What’s playin’ at The Roxy? I’ll tell ya what’s playin’ at The Roxy!

For one night only the Sydney Opera House will go back to a time of lush orchestrations, toe-tapping tunes, and those catchy songs that changed the shape of musical theatre for decades to come.

Sydney Philharmonia Choirs will light up the stage with over 100 choristers, a star-studded cast of vocalists, and bring the Golden Age of Broadway back to life with the brilliant music of Leonard Bernstein, Irving Berlin, Cole Porter and more.

As part of the Inside/Out at the House classical festival celebrating the Sydney Opera House 50^th Anniversary, Sydney Philharmonia Choirs and Orchestra will present a stunning concert inside in the Concert Hall –  whilst also being broadcast to an audience on the Forecourt.

Music was the salve that healed the wounds of 1940’s America, a time in dire need of laughter and lightness – and composers answered the call with upbeat sing-a-long musicals such as On the Town and Kiss Me, Kate while stars like Gertrude Lawrence and Danny Kaye lit up the stage.

The Golden Age reached its zenith in the 1950s when audiences filled the theatres to see the likes of Guys and Dolls and My Fair Lady with their unforgettable tunes and dancing. In the 1960s, as the Sydney Opera House was taking shape on the other side of the world, Broadway’s audiences thrilled to Hello Dolly, Mame and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. It’s high energy, optimistic music that puts the choir in the spotlight!

Sit back and watch the house lights dim, and as the first notes unfold be transported to the Golden Age of Broadway.

Saturday 6 May | 7pm
Concert Hall | Sydney Opera House
And broadcast to the Forecourt

PROGRAM

An evening of dreamy choruses and beloved songs from the Broadway musicals that shaped our times, including Guys & Dolls, Oklahoma, Gypsy, Kiss Me Kate, My Fair Lady, and more*.

*Please note, this program may be subject to change.

 
The performance will run for approximately 2 hours and 15 minutes, including one 20-minute interval.

ARTISTS

Brett Weymark Conductor
Virginia Gay
Georgina Hopson
Kanen Breen
Alexander Lewis
Symphony Chorus
Sydney Philharmonia Orchestra

BOOK TICKETS HERE

This Concert Hall performance will be broadcast live to a ticketed audience on the Forecourt, as part of Inside/Out at the House, celebrating 50 years of the Sydney Opera House. Find out more at sydneyoperahouse.com

 

Image: Conductor Brett Weymark, soloists, Symphony Chorus, and the Sydney Philharmonic Orchestra.   

 

Reviews:

Golden Age of Broadway a Bewitching Show.  ClassikON.  Reviewed by Jacqui Smith | May 7, 2023 | Ambassador thoughts, Choirs, Music Directors & Conductors, Orchestras.  Accessed May 9, 2023.

Golden age of Broadway -A music review by Shirley Politzer.  J-Wire.  May 10, 2023. Accessed May 10, 2023.

Review: The Golden Age of Broadway is Sydney Philharmonia Choirs' Contribution to The Sydney Opera House's Inside/Out At The House Season. broadwayworld.com.  Reviewed by Jade Kops. Accessed May 7, 2023.

The Golden Age of Broadway. Stage Whispers. Reviewed by Carol Wimmer. Accessed May 7, 2023.

The Golden Age of Broadway (Sydney Philharmonia Choirs). 4.5/5 Stars.  The stars come out for a night of popular music that sends its audience out on a high. Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House. Reviewed by Deborah Jones.  May 7, 2023

Related Links:

Broadway: The American Musical. Inspired Pen Web.

New York Philharmonic New Year's Eve: Bernstein on Broadway. YouTube, uploaded by rayray10. Accessed April 26, 2023. The New York Philharmonic celebrates the centennial of the late Leonard Bernstein, its fabled Musical Director from 1958 to 1969. Led by Bramwell Tovey, with special guests Annaleigh Ashford, Christopher Jackson, Laura Osnes and Aaron Tveit, this loving tribute promises to become a classical music moment to remember.

Oscar Hammerstein II. Inspired Pen Web.

Richard Rodgers. Inspired Pen Web.

Sydney Philharmonia Choirs - Bernstein's Candide. Inspired Pen Web

Sydney Philharmonia Choirs - Bernstein's Wonderful Town. Inspired Pen Web.

Video Credit:

Videos are provided by Sydney Philharmonia Choirs. 

 

Photo Credit:

 

Sydney Philharmonia Choirs / Keith Saunders, Harvey House, Kate Williams, Alex Smiles, Amelia Dowd.

Resources:

The Golden Age of Broadway. Sydney Philharmonia Choirs. Accessed April 6, 2023 

Sydney Philharmonia Choirs' 2023 Season Catalogue. 

Tickets:

Premium $129 | A $105 | B $85 | C $60 | D $45
Concessions $116 | A $92| B $75 | C $55 | D $41
Under 30 $30
A booking fee of $8.95 per transaction applies.

COVID-19 SAFETY AT SPC CONCERTS

Up-to-date COVID guidelines will be available a few weeks before the concert. SPC regularly update their guidelines based on health directives from NSW Government & the Sydney Opera House. 

 

(c) April 6, 2023. Tel.  Inspired Pen Web.  All rights reserved.

Sydney Philharmonia Choirs' Jubilation: Handel & Haydn

Choral Singing / Classical Music

 

Jubilation: Handel & Haydn

Date:  Sunday 22 May 2022, 3pm
Venue:  Sydney Town Hall

 

 

Image credit: Sydney Philharmonia Choirs
 

The last time Sydney Philharmonia's Festival Chorus performed was in September 2019. Now, as they come together for the first time in nearly two years, they're putting the “festive” back into Festival with a magnificent and uplifting program guaranteed to put a smile on every face.

 

Organist David Drury. Image Credit: Sydney Philharmonia Choirs

                 

There’s nothing restrained about this program. Handel’s four Coronation Anthems, commissioned personally by George II, are in the grand ceremonial style – majestic music capturing all the pomp and splendour of the occasion. Haydn’s Nelson Mass is remarkable for its boldness and rich dramatic power. And Sydney Philharmonia Choirs' Festival Chorus bring the celebratory spirit into the present with three new orchestral interludes commissioned from emerging Sydney composers. Sublime!

PROGRAM

George Frideric HANDEL The King Shall Rejoice
Tomas PARRISH-CHYNOWETH The Fractured Crown*
HANDEL Zadok the Priest
Aidan Charles ROSA Ineffable*
HANDEL Let Thy Hand Be Strengthened
Aija DRAGUNS Lavender Paper Cranes*
HANDEL My Heart is Inditing
Joseph HAYDN Missa in angustiis, Hob.XXII:11 (Nelson Mass)
* Premiere

This performance will run for approximately 2 hours, including one 20-minute interval.

 

Top: Penelope Mills, soprano; Russell Harcourt, countertenor
Below: Louis Hurley, tenor; Christopher Richardson, bass-baritone.
Image Credit: Sydney Philharmonia Choirs

 

ARTISTS

Brett Weymark conductor
Penelope Mills soprano
Russell Harcourt countertenor
Louis Hurley tenor
Christopher Richardson bass-baritone
Festival Chorus
Sydney Philharmonia Orchestra

 

TICKETS

Premium $112 | A $101 | B $79 | C $58
Concessions: Premium $101 | A $90| B $71 | C $52
A booking fee of $8.50 per transaction applies.

 

Reviews: 

Will be provided as available. 

Resources:

2022 Season Together Again. Sydney Philharmonia Choirs. Artistic & Music Director Brett Weymark, OAM

Jubilation: Handel & Bach. Sydney Philharmonia Choirs.  (Available on access, 8 May 2022.)

 

BOOK TICKETS HERE

COVID-19 SAFETY

• All SPC singers, musicians and staff are double vaccinated.
• Audiences will be required to wear masks throughout the performance. If this changes we will inform patrons as soon as possible.
• Hand sanitiser will be available.
• A digital program book will be available on this page a week prior to the concert. A limited number of printed program books will be available for $5 each at the concert.

DETAILS ABOUT OUR COVID SAFE PLAN

(c) 8 May 2022.  Tel.  Inspired Pen Web.  All rights reserved.

Sydney Philharmonia Choirs' Bach: Mass in B Minor

Choral Singing / Baroque Music

JS Bach's Mass in B Minor

Date: Saturday 16 April 2022, 3pm
Venue: Sydney Town Hall

 

What would be your “desert island” Bach?

At Sydney Philharmonia Choirs, they would nominate his Mass in B minor. In just under two hours, this astonishing choral work does it all. On the one hand, it’s a literal portfolio of Bach’s tremendous musical accomplishment – a virtuoso display of style and taste, from the academic to the fashionable, wonderfully varied and yet completely coherent. Easily the most impressive job application in the history of music. Bach collated many of his finest vocal and orchestral styles and examples from across his lifetime: it’s like a sublime “best-of album” from 300 years ago.  

When Bach eventually completed the Mass in B minor, he signed it “D.S.G.” – Deo Soli Gloria, the Latin term for Latin term for Glory to God alone. This music was a celebration of an ancient liturgical tradition – an ecumenical setting of the Latin Mass by a deeply devout Lutheran inspired to the glory of God alone.

It was also completely impractical: too long for use in church and calling for brilliant musicians – it’s as if every singer and instrumentalist has a solo part to play. But that’s exactly what makes it so satisfying in the concert hall. In her first concert as Associate Music Director, Dr. Elizabeth Scott will conduct the beautiful voices of SPC's Chamber Singers and young adult choir, VOX  – a precision ensemble of singers – accompanied by their own 42-piece Baroque period instrument orchestra, four of Australia's best soloists, for a virtuoso performance to do justice to Bach’s supreme musical craft and spiritual inspiration.  

Video Credit: Keith Saunders, Michael Bradfield, Robert Catto & Rebecca Sawyer.

PROGRAM

Deborah CHEETHAM & Matthew DOYLE Tarimi Nulay – Long time living here*
Johann Sebastian BACH Mass in B minor, BWV 232

* Commissioned for our 100 Minutes of New Australian Music project.

This performance will run for approximately 2 hours and 10 minutes, including one 20-minute interval.

 

Dr. Elizabeth Scott, Conductor 

 

 Top: Celeste Lazarenko, soprano; Anna Dowsley, mezzo-soprano
Below: Jonathan Abernethy, tenor; Simon Lobelson, baritone.

 

ARTISTS

Elizabeth Scott conductor
Celeste Lazarenko soprano
Anna Dowsley mezzo-soprano
Jonathan Abernethy tenor
Simon Lobelson baritone
Chamber Singers
VOX
Sydney Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra

Composed over the course of 16 years, Bach's B Minor Mass is a compendium of every aspect of Bach’s genius and a profound testament of his faith.  Johann Sebastian Bach was a deeply religious man. On July 28, 1750, less than a year after completing B-minor Mass, he died in Leipzig, due to complications from treatment following eye surgery. His body in a humble oak casket was buried in a site unmarked until the mid-19th century. Mozart found revelation in Bach's work reflected in the younger composer's famous unfinished Requiem. But it was not until 1829, during Mendelssohn's revival of Bach's work, in particular, Mendelssohn’s momentous performance of the St. Matthew Passion that secured Bach’s place in history.  Bach's Mass was published in 1845, nearly 100 years after the composer's death. Complete performances followed in Europe.  Bach's B-minor Mass is a masterful combination of sublimity and profundity.

Reviews: 

Bach: Mass in B Minor (Sydney Philharmonia Choirs). Bach’s magnificent Easter offering is given it due reward by a crack team. 4.5 stars. Reviewed by Steve Moffatt.  Accessed April 19, 2022. 

Nothing minor about Sydney Philharmonic Choirs’ Bach Mass. 3.5 stars. Reviewed by Peter McCallum. Accessed April 20, 2022.l

Video Credits:

Sydney Philharmonia Choirs. Keith Saunders, Michael Bradfield, Robert Catto & Rebecca Sawyer.

Resources:

2022 Season Together Again. Sydney Philharmonia Choirs. Artistic & Music Director Brett Weymark, OAM

Bach B Minor Mass. Sydney Philharmonia Choirs.  (Available on access, 23 March 8, 2022.)

TICKETS

Premium $112 | A $92 | B $71 | C $50
Concessions $101 | A $83| B $64 | C $45
A booking fee of $8.50 per transaction applies.

 

BOOK TICKETS HERE

COVID-19 SAFETY

• All SPC singers, musicians and staff are double vaccinated.
• Audiences will be required to show proof of double vaccination upon entry to the Sydney Town Hall.
• Audiences will be required to wear masks throughout the performance. If this changes we will inform patrons as soon as possible.
• Hand sanitiser will be available.
• A digital program book will be available on this page a week prior to the concert. A limited number of printed program books will be available for $5 each at the concert.

DETAILS ABOUT OUR COVID SAFE PLAN

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

Sydney Philharmonia Choirs' ChorusOz 2019

Sydney Philharmonia Choirs Presents

ChorusOz 2019: Ode to Joy

9 June 2019, 5 P.M.  Sunday
Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House 


It's again that time of the year in June when hundreds of passionate singers from interstate and all over the world join the Sydney Philharmonia Choirs choristers for the annual ChorusOz weekend of singing, fun and friendship, finishing with a performance on the world-famous Sydney Opera House Concert Hall with a professional orchestra and soloists.





Ode to Joy 

Ludwig van Beethoven's 'Ode to Joy' from his Ninth Symphony is one of his best-known themes. Sydney Philharmonia Choirs' ChorusOz provide joining singers experience the thrill of performing this great choral finale with hundreds other voices, plus full orchestra and soloists in the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall.




Insights on the Program Repertoire:

You know the ‘Ode to Joy’. Perhaps you sang it at school, or played it on recorder. If you’ve heard Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony you’ll have thrilled to its sounds in the visionary choral finale that changed the course of music forever. But do you really know it?