Saturday, 15 December 2001, 8pm
Sunday, 16 December 2001, 2.30pm
Xavier College Chapel, Barkers Road, Kew
Subscription Concert 4
Our annual carol-free Christmas concert is a Renaissance feast spanning Europe and the sixteenth century. Cipriano de Rore’s powerful seven-voice Mass on Josquin’s great motet Praeter rerum seriem, featured in our 1997 Christmas to Candlemas, is returning in response to a number of requests, as are some of the favourite Christmas, Epiphany and Candlemas motets of the past few years.
PROGRAM
Andreas de Silva Puer natus est nobis
Nicolas Gombert Hodie nobis caelorum Rex
Clemens non Papa O magnum mysterium
John Sheppard Regis Tharsis et insulae
Orlande de LassusVidentes stallam magi
Jacob Handl Omnes de Saba venient
William Byrd Hodie beata virgo
Tomás Luis de Victoria Senex puerum portabat
Thomas TallisVidete miraculum
Josquin Desprez Praeter rerum seriem
Cipriano de Rore Missa Praeter rerum seriem (à 7)
| SOPRANO | ALTO | TENOR | BASS |
| Deborah Summerbell | Jenny George | Peter Campbell | John Weretka |
| Carol Veldhoven | Margaret Arnold | Tim Van Nooten | Sam Furphy |
| Margaret Pearce | Jennifer Mathers | Vaughan McAlley | Andrew Fysh |
| Claerwen Jones | Barbara Tattam | Stuart Tennant | |
| Maria Pisani | Frank Prain | ||
| Helen Gagliano |
–
REVIEW
Tuesday, 18 December 2001, The Age [Melbourne], page 4, Today.
Sumptuos banquet
Joel Crotty
MELBOURNE’S premiere early music choir, Ensemble Gombert, returned to the performance arena after a
seven-month hiatus. As one has come to expect from a Gombert concert, Saturday’s program thoughtfully
expressed the nature of Christmas, the Epiphany and Candlemas. And the 18 choristers produced a
sumptuous banquet of honed intonation.
The first half of the concert consisted of short pieces from a who’s who of Renaissance composition – Silva,
Gombert, Clemens non Papa, Sheppard, Lassus, Handl, Byrd, Victoria and Tallis. And with this collection we
journeyed through English, Flemish, and Italian music influences.
At no stage during the first half did any section of the choir sound uncomfortable to the point of fragility. In
Tallis’ Videte miraculum, the first sopranos soared magnificently and lingered in the stratosphere to make the
work one of the stand-out items of the night.
Other pieces that sat above the others included Clemens non Papa’s beautiful O magnum mysterium and
Lassus’ Videntes stellam.
The real test for the singers came after the interval when they performed Josquin’s Praeter rerum seriem and
Rore’s Missa Praeter rerum seriem. Rore’s mass is quite intense musically and its seven-part division certainly
creates its fair share of ensemble problems. Yet, Ensemble Gombert was able to keep their presentation afloat
and rarely did the challenges overwhelm them. And when difficulties were encountered, the group quickly
regained composure. […]
Joel Crotty/Courtesy of The Age