Monday, 5 November 2018, 6pm
Melbourne Recital Centre – Salon
Bach & Barber
Melbourne Recital Centre Local Heroes Series 2018
Johann Sebastian Bach:
Der Geist hilft unser Schwachheit auf BWV 226
Lobet den Herrn, alle Heiden
Fürchte dich nicht BWV 228
Samuel Barber:
Reincarnations
Twelfth Night
To be Sung on the Water
Agnus Dei
Soprano
Carol Veldhoven; Deborah Summerbell; Katherine Lieschke;
Victoria Brown; Katharina Hochheiser; Kate McBride
Alto
Belinda Wong; Juliana Kay;
Yi Wen Chin; Mandie Lee
Tenor
Tim van Nooten; Peter Campbell;
Vaughan McAlley; Stuart Tennant; Michael Stephens
Bass
Nicholas Tolhurst; Mark Thawley
Mike Ormerod; Tom Reid
BACH & BARBER
Ensemble Gombert
Melbourne Recital Centre
Why this pairing? It could be a demonstration of old and new counterpoint or an exploration of the contrast between masculinity and flaccidity. However you read it, the night will test the Gomberts’ pitching and interpretative skills in the confined Salon space of the MRC. For the Bach, we are confronted by three of the mighty motets: Der Geist hilft, Lobet den Herrn, and Furchte dich nicht. Taking a bit longer to work through, the American composer’s group comprises the choral madrigal in three movements, Reincarnations; a setting of Laurie Lee’s Christmas poem Twelfth Night; its companion piece, To Be Sung on the Water; and the almost inevitable Agnus Dei arrangement of the Adagio for Strings which will probably make up the longest piece on the program. The outer Bach pieces are for double choir, and they sound magnificently mobile in a fair-sized church but I think that here the dubious Lobet in 4 lines will come off best.
Clive O’Connell/O’Connell the Music