June Concert 2008
Sumer is Icumen in
Anon c1280
This four-part infinite canon at the unison (rota), with its accompanying two-part rondellus (pes), has been widely published. Although time has rendered the composer anonymous, the date of c1280 seems widely accepted. Controversy still remains over whether the Medieval English text sung in this performance, or a sacred Latin text, is the original.
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Christmas Concert 2007
German Carols
Singt und Klingt
Praetorius (1571-1621)
Es ist ein Ros Entsprungen
Michael Praetorius was a prolific composer whose works show the influence of contemporaries Samuel Scheidt and Heinrich Schütz as well as the Italians. Included in his compositions are the nine volume Musae sioniae (1605-10), a collection of over a thousand chorale and song arrangements and many other works for the Lutheran church. Terpsichore (1612), a compendium of over 300 instrumental dances, is his most widely-known, and sole surviving, secular work. CONTINUE READING »
May Concert 2007
Kyrie Eleison
Felix Mendelssohn
Mendelssohn stood at the forefront of German music during the 1830s and 40s, as conductor, pianist, organist, and above all, composer. He composed a set of three sacred pieces that were published after his death. The Kyrie Eleison of 1846 is one of these pieces and was written for the choir of the Domkirche in Berlin. Although Mendelssohn was on the verge of a total physical breakdown, the piece is characterised by a sense of inner peace and warmth.
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Christmas Concert 2006
Hodie Christus Natus Est
by Cheryl Camm
Cheryl Camm was born in Worksop, England, and travelled to New Zealand in 1987, after completing an honours degree in Composition at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. She has since completed Master of Music and Doctor of Music degrees (both specialising in composition) at Auckland University. Between 1993 and 1994, the Arts Council of New Zealand employed Cheryl as their Composer in Schools, firstly in Auckland, then Dunedin. It was during this time she completed Hodie Christus Natus Est. During 1996, Cheryl was the Mozart Fellow (a fellowship for established composers) at Otago University in Dunedin and is currently resident in Northumberland, England.