15th Anniversary Concert

Friday 19 November, 7:30pm, St Mary’s Cathedral, Perth


Works include: J.S. Bach Singet dem Herrn, Harris Faire is the Heaven, Bring us O Lord God, Brahms Geistliches Lied, Duruflé Requiem, Ubi Caritas


The final concert in the 2010 Subscription series is a celebration of the 15 years of fine choral music presented by the Giovanni Consort. This outstanding programme contains two of the greatest choral masterworks ever written, the Requiem by Maurice Duruflé and the motet Singet dem Herrn by Johann Sebastian Bach.


Few composers have had such a complete understanding of the unique challenges and creative opportunities of writing for the pipe organ as French organist and composer Maurice Duruflé. Using the full expressive resources of both the choir and the pipe organ, and inspired by plainchant melodies, Duruflé created one of the great choral masterpieces of the 20th Century.


The exhilarating, majestic and uniquely challenging double choir motet Singet dem Herrn by Johann Sebastian Bach provides a unique counterpoint in this program to the profound and deeply moving Requiem by Maurice Duruflé. Bustling with vigour and energy, Singet dem Herrn is a contrapuntal tour de force and Bach’s crowning achievement in the motet genre.


This program also includes two miniature choral masterpieces by William Harris - Faire is the Heaven and Bring us O Lord God. Although written after the First World War, these works nostalgically evoke the mood of the halcyon days of Edwardian England and are amongst the most well-loved choral works of the extraordinary 20th Century English Choral repertoire.


Don’t miss this unique concert!

Serenade to Music

Saturday 28 August, 7:30pm, Cottesloe Civic Centre, Broome Street, Cottesloe


Works Include: Brahms Vocal Quartets, Vaughan-Williams Serenade to Music, In Windsor Forest, Faure Pavane, Madrigal and Cantique


For its second subscription series concert, the Giovanni Consort will present an evening of glorious romantic melodies.


Ralph Vaughan-Williams wrote his celebrated Serenade to Music for a consort of soloists, many of whom were his close friends, so few works provide such a perfect artistic match for the Giovanni Consort. The lyrical melodies and sumptuous harmonies that highlight the Serenade to Music can also be heard in his choral cantata, In Windsor Forest. Created from music taken from his opera Sir John in Love, Vaughan Williams vividly recreates of the magical Shakespearean world, with its mysterious forests, drunken revelry and gorgeous love songs.


The choral and vocal music of German Romantic composer Johannes Brahms has been unjustly neglected in favour of his orchestral music. Brahms, perhaps the greatest of the Romantic masters, nevertheless maintained and interest in the human voice throughout his career. His Vocal Quartets are each superbly crafted miniatures, characterized by exquisitely shaped vocal lines expressive harmonies and virtuosic piano accompaniments.


Lighter in style, texture and mood than the Quartets by Brahms, the three choral songs by Gabriel Fauré, Pavane, Madrigal and Cantique de Jean Racine, are nonetheless polished, restrained and elegant, reflecting precisely the differences between the French and German late Romantic style. These stylistic differences caused enormous controversy towards the end of the 19th century but both can been enjoyed in this charming and delightful program.

Resurrection

Sunday 21 March, 2:30pm at St Patrick's Basilica, Adelaide St, Fremantle


Works Include: Tallis Lamentations, Allegri Miserere, de Brossard Stabat Mater, Weelkes Gloria in excelsis


In 2010, Pipe Organ Plus and the Giovanni Consort both celebrate important musical milestones. In this concert they join together for a sublime musical reflection on the journey of Christ from Lent until Easter.


Featured in this program are the Lamentations of Jeremiah of Thomas Tallis, a masterpiece of Tudor polyphony and a deeply spiritual meditation for Good Friday. Few works have a more interesting history than the famous Miserere by Gregori Allegri. Banned from publication for centuries by the Vatican, the soaring solo vocal line was originally sung by the famous castrati of the Papal Choir but is now a virtuoso showpiece for the soprano as well as an awe-inspiring test of technique, stamina and musicianship.


Also in the program is a little-known gem from the French Baroque period, the Stabat Mater by Sebastien de Brossard. Better known as the creator and compiler of the first French Music Dictionary in 1703, the Stabat Mater is an exquisite setting of the mediaeval text that reflects upon the Passion of the Christ on the Cross and the suffering of Mary, the mother of Jesus. This motet has become a favourite amongst audiences and singers fortunate enough to have heard of or performed this beautiful work.


This concert will feature plain chant sung by the Consort and superb organ music by Bach, De Grigny and Tournemire performed by Dominic Perissinotto that reflect both the agony of Christ’s Passion and the joy of the Resurrection.