Connections
Graduate Singers (known as Grads) and the Adelaide Wind Orchestra (AWO) are excited to announce their upcoming concert Connections, to be performed on Saturday 19 October at 7.30pm at Elder Hall, The University of Adelaide.
The collaboration is a celebration of music for choir, brass, and wind. Central to the program is John Rutter’s exhilarating Gloria, whose three movements are described by the composer as “exalted, devotional and jubilant by turns.” The forces required – choir with brass, percussion, and organ – create “a joyful noise unto the Lord” in the outer movements, but are used more softly and introspectively in the middle movement.
Anton Bruckner’s Ecce sacerdos magnus highlights how voices and brass can sound at once both ancient and modern – mediaeval-like open chords recall the sacredness of the text, cutting through Bruckner’s rich harmonic language. Other works on the program exemplify the strong parallels between wind and choral music: Grads will perform Frank Ticheli’s poignant setting of Sara Teasdale’s poem There Will Be Rest, later reworked by the composer for wind band. Continuing this theme, AWO will perform Eric Whitacre’s lush October, a work which Whitacre later transformed into Alleluia for a Capella choir.
Connections will feature two premiere performances. AWO will give the Australian premiere of Intrada 1631, a dramatic work for brass choir and percussion by American/British composer Stephen Montague. The work uses a 17th century hymn from Peru as the basis for a grand, chant-like processional which builds slowly to a stirring finale.
Grads and AWO will also join forces to give the world premiere of Auguries of Innocence for choir, woodwind, and horns by Adelaide composer and AWO member Martin Cheney. Cheny’s inspiration for the work is somewhat incongruous with the final product – he first encountered William Blake’s poem Auguries of Innocence whilst watching the Tomb Raider movie! Cheny writes:
“One of Blake's stanzas, "To see a world in a grain of sand, and a heav'n in a wild flow'r, hold infinity in the palm of your hand, and eternity in an hour," was used as a cryptic clue and for some reason I was quite taken with it. I then researched the complete poem and thought the imagery translated to music perfectly, so I decided to extract my favourite three stanzas and create a set of meditations on them.”
Conductors Karl Geiger and Bryan Griffiths share the podium to bring audiences this unique concert experience featuring some of Adelaide’s finest musicians.
Connections will be performed on Saturday 19 October at 7.30pm at Elder Hall, The University of Adelaide.
Tickets are available now (www.graduatesingers.com.au) and at the door.
The meshing of brass, choir and wind was superb. The drummers were mesmerising. A feast for the soul!