Rare musical treat for Durban
THE Durban Chamber Choir continues its 2016 series of concerts with a programme intriguingly titled The Great Mystery, performed under the baton of their director, Dr Christopher Cockburn.
The event, featuring choral music from the 16th and 21st centuries, can be heard in Durban at St Thomas’s Church in Musgrave, at 3pm on Sunday, October 30.
The programme will be reprised at the Hayfields Lutheran Church in Pietermaritzburg at 3pm on Sunday, November 6.
Tickets cost R70 at the door (R40 for senior citizens and students). School choir groups may attend at no charge, by prior arrangement. Contact nicole@ngolawsa.co.za.
“Many of the great choral composers of the 16th-century Renaissance produced settings of the Latin text O Magnum Mysterium, which have remained among their bestloved works,” says Cockburn.
“In recent years, the same words – and the earlier musical settings of them – have been a source of inspiration for a number of contemporary composers.
“In its upcoming concerts, the Durban Chamber Choir sings five of the Renaissance settings and four of the contemporary settings, providing listeners with a fascinating comparison of different composers’ responses to the same text.”
Cockburn adds that the words are associated with the season of Christmas, and refer to the “great mystery!” that animals should be able to see God lying in a manger.
“Most of the composers seem to have taken their cue from the word ‘mysterium’ and have created music that is by turns otherworldly and intensely expressive.
“The predominant mood is one of mystical contemplation, and will offer listeners an opportunity to step out of the busyness of the everyday world into a quieter dimension. However, several of the composers also take advantage of the ‘Alleluia’ that appears at the end of the text to create contrasting sections in a lively and energetic style.”
The earliest setting is by the Spaniard Cristobal Morales, who lived from 1500 to 1553, he said.
“The most recent setting was composed in 2012 by the Norwegian Ola Gjeilo, whose music made a deep impression on many of the audience, who heard it at the Chamber Choir’s previous concert in May.
“His setting of O Magnum Mysterium is titled Serenity and adds a solo cello to a rich choral texture that at times divides into as many as 12 different voice parts.
“The Renaissance settings also feature varied arrangements of the voices, from four parts (Morales and Victoria) to six (Palestrina) and eight (Gallus and Gabrieli).”
This is a programme of remarkable music rarely heard in live performance in this country, and in fact some of these pieces will be performed here for the first time.
In addition to the choral items, there will be short interludes of music for solo cello played by Nigel Fish, and music for organ played by conductor Cockburn.
Meanwhile, a reminder that the British Cultural Heritage Association is presenting the KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic in its annual Last Night of The Proms concert at Durban’s Playhouse at 3pm on Sunday.
Richard Cock will be on the podium, while soprano Vanessa Tait-Jones and clarinettist Junnan Sun will be the soloists, and the Durban Symphonic Choir will join forces with the Durban Girls’ High School Choir.
Tickets range in price from R140 to R210 and are available at Computicket outlets. Alternatively, phone the Playhouse box office at 031 369 9540 or 031 369 9596 (office hours).
Finally, note that Baroque 2000’s sixth concert of the year is set for 11.30am on Sunday, November 6, at the Church of the Mariannhill Monastery.
This will feature performances of music by Vivaldi, Galuppi and Locatelli.
Tickets cost R140 at the door, parking is provided and refreshments are available at the tea garden.