Voices of the Body
Sunday 11 November 2012
All Hallows’ Chapel, Brisbane
Choral music through the ages which explores and is inspired by the body, mind, heart and soul
As singers, our bodies are our instruments. How we relate to and think about our bodies has a profound bearing on the music we make. This was the inspiration for this season, which featured music which deals with the human body, in its physical, mental and spiritual dimensions.
Voices of the Body was a journey through the sacred and the profane. Spanning six hundred years, the repertoire chosen for this concert delved into how the human body has been depicted in music and poetry throughout the centuries. There are works which explore aesthetic beauty, songs of love and physical intimacy, music about the body in pain and the body at rest, and pieces about the mind and memory.
Our bodies are the one constant that stay with us throughout our lives – and even then, they are not constant. Always changing, growing, ageing, and slowing, we cannot separate ourselves from the physical form bestowed upon us at birth, the ever-evolving package of flesh and bones which carries us daily over the Earth. Everything we experience in life is experienced by the body: the feel of rain on damp skin; the pain of a toothache or broken heart; the sight of the sun dropping gently behind a mountain; the aroma of coffee or the crisp taste of apple; or the sound of a voice singing in the distance.
All Hallows’ Chapel, Brisbane
Choral music through the ages which explores and is inspired by the body, mind, heart and soul
As singers, our bodies are our instruments. How we relate to and think about our bodies has a profound bearing on the music we make. This was the inspiration for this season, which featured music which deals with the human body, in its physical, mental and spiritual dimensions.
Voices of the Body was a journey through the sacred and the profane. Spanning six hundred years, the repertoire chosen for this concert delved into how the human body has been depicted in music and poetry throughout the centuries. There are works which explore aesthetic beauty, songs of love and physical intimacy, music about the body in pain and the body at rest, and pieces about the mind and memory.
Our bodies are the one constant that stay with us throughout our lives – and even then, they are not constant. Always changing, growing, ageing, and slowing, we cannot separate ourselves from the physical form bestowed upon us at birth, the ever-evolving package of flesh and bones which carries us daily over the Earth. Everything we experience in life is experienced by the body: the feel of rain on damp skin; the pain of a toothache or broken heart; the sight of the sun dropping gently behind a mountain; the aroma of coffee or the crisp taste of apple; or the sound of a voice singing in the distance.
- Quam pulchra es – John Dunstable
- Ave Verum Corpus – William Byrd
- Light of My Soul – Robert Pearsall
- Si, ch’io vorrei morire – Claudio Monteverdi
- Baci soavi e cari – Claudio Monteverdi
- Zahnweh – Robert Schumann
- De clavibus memorie – Gerardo Dirié
- I Am the True Vine – Arvo Pärt
- You Have Ravished My Heart – Stephen Chatman
- As Long As Time – Anthony Ritchie (excerpts)
- Sleep – Eric Whitacre
- Your Fragrance – Edward Henderson
- Remember – Stephen Chatman
Singers
Soprano: Shannon Atkin, Katherine Chan, Lisa Mason, Bronwyn Mitchell, Sarvenaz Monfaredi, Rebecca Thomas
Alto: Stephanie Eaton, Celia Fitz-Walter, Nicki Jenkins
Tenor: Tom Marshall, Tim Smetham, Angus Veitch
Bass: Paul Bonetti, Robin Maurer, Jim McNicol, Gino Sanidad
View programme
Soprano: Shannon Atkin, Katherine Chan, Lisa Mason, Bronwyn Mitchell, Sarvenaz Monfaredi, Rebecca Thomas
Alto: Stephanie Eaton, Celia Fitz-Walter, Nicki Jenkins
Tenor: Tom Marshall, Tim Smetham, Angus Veitch
Bass: Paul Bonetti, Robin Maurer, Jim McNicol, Gino Sanidad
View programme