MUSIC
The Astra Choir (Australia)
Dolorosa/
Gaude!
Presented by Astra Chamber Music Society
in association with Melbourne Festival
Embark on a sonic adventure with
Melbourne’s Astra Choir: from a key
Romanian work of the 1990s, back
into musical history and forward
to electronic sound-spectra.
In the architectural marvel of St Mary Star of the
Sea church, Dolorosa/Gaude! presents two images
of Mary: the grieving victim of human conflict,
portrayed by Romanian composer Dan Dediu
in the mediaeval poem Stabat mater dolorosa;
and the joyful affirmation of Nature as ‘star of
the sea’, imaged by Finnish composer Einojuhani
Rautavaara. Australian Carl Vine places human
singing and laughter in an endangered natural
world, while renowned recorder artist Genevieve
Lacey and computer-art composers Steve Stelios
Adam and Michael Hewes join the choir to create
soundscapes that move between the ‘real’ and
the transfigured.
Dolorosa/Gaude! is a pilgrimage through the worlds
of the sacred, the ritualistic and the natural, in a
spirit of sonic experiment and adventure.
Dan Dediu Stabat mater dolorosa, 10 madrigals after
Gesualdo and Verdi
Einojuhani Rautavaara Song of Mary: Star of the
Sea/Gaude!
Carl Vine They Shall Laugh and Sing
With works by Anthony Briggs,
Steve Stelios Adam, Michael Hewes
With choral pieces by Stravinsky, Verdi,
Gesualdo, Gombert
Recorders Genevieve Lacey
Organ Rhys Boak
Electronics Steve Stelios Adam & Michael Hewes
The Astra Choir
Conductor John McCaughey
Event information
St Mary Star of the Sea
Corner Victoria & Howard streets,
West Melbourne
Fri 19 Oct at 8pm
Sun 21 Oct at 6pm
1hr 45min including interval
$40 / $20 / Grp $36 / Snr $34
Transaction & booking fees may apply
Ticketmaster 136 100
melbournefestival.com.au
Image Călin Dan, Sample City, 2003, production photo (detail)
The Astra Chamber Music Society is assisted by private donors, The
William Angliss Trust, Diana Gibson, The Ian Potter Foundation and
The Robert Salzer Foundation.
WORLD PREMIERE
MUSIC
Membra Jesu
nostri (Australia/Germany)
The Illustrated Man
Presented by Melbourne Festival and
Monash University
Performed under the majestic arches
of St Paul’s Cathedral, Membra Jesu
Nostri is a unique contemporary
re-imagining of a masterwork of
Western sacred music.
Two talented Melbourne-based ensembles join
forces under the direction of award-winning
conductor Peter Tregear to present a stirring vocal
and visual performance of Membra Jesu Nostri,
a set of seven short cantatas first created for
Holy Week in 1680 by German-Danish composer
Dietrich Buxtehude.
Berlin-based visual designer Christian Herrnbeck
has composed an arresting series of photographic
projections to accompany the performance,
providing a stunning contemporary commentary
on the Christian idea of a God-made-man.
Performed by Melbourne’s finest young vocal
soloists, The Consort of Melbourne – who
appeared at last year’s Melbourne Festival with
the Kronos Quartet – along with the accomplished
string ensemble Monash Sinfonia, this stunning
baroque score is given a suitably exquisite
showcase in a truly majestic setting.
Latin with English translation
46
Conceived & Directed by Peter Tregear
Visual Design Christian Herrnbeck
The Consort of Melbourne
Monash Sinfonia
Event information
St Paul’s Cathedral
Tue 9 – Fri 12 Oct at 1pm
1hr no interval
$20 / $10
Transaction & booking fees may apply
Ticketmaster 136 100
melbournefestival.com.au
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