Reason to rejoice

THE Allegri Ensemble’s In Dulci Jubilo concert will feature Christmas carols, including three works accompanied by a six-piece Baroque ensemble, at All Saints Church in South Hobart on Saturday.

The accompanied Baroque cantatas are the title work In Dulci Jubilo and Das

Neugeborne Kindelein, by Dietrich Buxtehude, and the female members of the choir for Wie Schon Leuchtet der Morgenstern, by Christian Geist.

“We’re absolutely thrilled for the ensemble to be led by Van Diemen’s Band founder Julia Fredersdorff and to have theorbo player Simon Martyn-Ellis, both of whom are international-class musicians,” says concert director Jonathan Wallis. “The accompanied cantatas will provide the backbone of the program and will be surrounded by unaccompanied works.”

Wallis says the program will be full of balance and variety both in terms of period and style, ranging from medieval times to the present day, and will use unexpected juxtapositions to give an element of surprise.

“Most will be sung by the full choir, but there will also be some smaller breakout groups both for variety and to recall the tradition of carollers wandering from house to house,” he says.

“It covers the Annunciation with Gabriel’s Message and Beata Viscera by William Byrd, and we go right through to the Nativity with the carols expressing reverence, amazement and joy.”

The title work, In Dulci Jubilo, will be sung by a soprano-alto-bass sextet.

“It’s a glorious medieval carol set by Buxtehude and is sung in the original German and Latin,” Wallis says.

“It means ‘in sweet rejoicing’ and is a little hymn of reverence at the birth of Jesus and the joy it brings to humankind. It’s both delicate and sparkling and

there’s a wonderful interplay between the voices and the instruments.”

The largest work on the program will be Das Neugeborne Kindelein.

“It involves the whole choir and string ensemble with three violins and cello,” Wallis says. “It’s a hymn about the angels’ joy about the arrival of the baby, the liberation of humankind and the end of suffering. It gives a celestial or heavenly perspective.

“Lullay, My Liking, by Thomas Hewitt Jones, is a much more intimate portrait of the birth and is effectively a lullaby Mary sings to the baby Jesus. It’s a beautiful setting using a medieval text, but is the most modern piece on the program, having been commissioned in 2014.”

The concert at All Saints Church in South Hobart starts at 8pm on Saturday and will be followed by a festive supper.

Tickets are $40 for adults and $30 concession, available from the Theatre Royal box office or at the door.