Bach’s “Christmas Oratorio” was first heard in its entirety at Leipzig’s St. Thomas church at Christmastime 1734. Some Leipzig church-goers may have recognized some of the melodies, since Bach used material from earlier works, sometimes reworking the music to fit new texts. This practice, called the “parody technique”, was frequent in Bach’s time. The six separate, large-scale but related parts of the Oratorio tell the Nativity story through texts of the apostles St. Matthew and St. Luke, and through traditional or newly written material. Bach is credited with shaping the text and selecting the Biblical passages in such a way that the work follows a logical sequence. This contribution gives the piece a musically dramatic and compelling textual unity. Considered one of the world’s leading specialists of Baroque music, Nikolaus Harnoncourt founded the “Concentus Musicus Wien” in 1953. It has since become one of the world’s most respected ensembles specializing in the performance of early music on original instruments or faithful reproductions. With its opulent decor and gilt ornamentation, the Austrian Baroque church of Waldhausen provides a setting evocative of Bach’s times. An added highlight of the program is the retelling of the Nativity story with the magnificent carved figures of two master wood-carvers of the Baroque period from Upper Austria. Also heard on the recording are the distinguished tenor Peter Schreier, bass Robert Holl and the Tölzer Boys’ Choir.
Bach, Weihnachtsoratorium (Christmas Oratorio) BWV 248, Cantata No.4
Bach’s “Christmas Oratorio” was first heard in its entirety at Leipzig’s St. Thomas church at Christmastime 1734. Some Leipzig church-goers may have recognized some of the melodies, since Bach used material from earlier works, sometimes reworking the music to fit new texts. This practice, called the “parody technique”, was frequent in Bach’s time. The six separate, large-scale but related parts of the Oratorio tell the Nativity story through texts of the apostles St. Matthew and St. Luke, and through traditional or newly written material. Bach is credited with shaping the text and selecting the Biblical passages in such a way that the work follows a logical sequence. This contribution gives the piece a musically dramatic and compelling textual unity. Considered one of the world’s leading specialists of Baroque music, Nikolaus Harnoncourt founded the “Concentus Musicus Wien” in 1953. It has since become one of the world’s most respected ensembles specializing in the performance of early music on original instruments or faithful reproductions. With its opulent decor and gilt ornamentation, the Austrian Baroque church of Waldhausen provides a setting evocative of Bach’s times. An added highlight of the program is the retelling of the Nativity story with the magnificent carved figures of two master wood-carvers of the Baroque period from Upper Austria. Also heard on the recording are the distinguished tenor Peter Schreier, bass Robert Holl and the Tölzer Boys’ Choir.
Bach, Weihnachtsoratorium (Christmas Oratorio) BWV 248, Cantata No.5
Bach’s “Christmas Oratorio” was first heard in its entirety at Leipzig’s St. Thomas church at Christmastime 1734. Some Leipzig church-goers may have recognized some of the melodies, since Bach used material from earlier works, sometimes reworking the music to fit new texts. This practice, called the “parody technique”, was frequent in Bach’s time. The six separate, large-scale but related parts of the Oratorio tell the Nativity story through texts of the apostles St. Matthew and St. Luke, and through traditional or newly written material. Bach is credited with shaping the text and selecting the Biblical passages in such a way that the work follows a logical sequence. This contribution gives the piece a musically dramatic and compelling textual unity. Considered one of the world’s leading specialists of Baroque music, Nikolaus Harnoncourt founded the “Concentus Musicus Wien” in 1953. It has since become one of the world’s most respected ensembles specializing in the performance of early music on original instruments or faithful reproductions. With its opulent decor and gilt ornamentation, the Austrian Baroque church of Waldhausen provides a setting evocative of Bach’s times. An added highlight of the program is the retelling of the Nativity story with the magnificent carved figures of two master wood-carvers of the Baroque period from Upper Austria. Also heard on the recording are the distinguished tenor Peter Schreier, bass Robert Holl and the Tölzer Boys’ Choir.
MSO: Bernstein on Broadway
All his life Leonard Bernstein had a love affair with New York and in his many music theatre works he painted the most vivid picture of life in the ‘City That Never Sleeps’. This performance embraces Bernstein’s New York, offering a rare insight into the composer’s mind with Bernstein devotee Bramwell Tovey at the helm and on the keys. PROGRAM Music from Wonderful Town, On the Town, Candide, Peter Pan, Fancy Free and West Side Story
MSO: Perséphone & The Rite of Spring
The MSO reveals the power of spring with Stravinsky’s Le Sacre du printemps and Perséphone: one wild, rebellious and revolutionary, the other a lyrical, little-known masterpiece. In his final year at the helm, parting Chief Conductor Sir Andrew Davis conducts this extraordinary Stravinsky double bill, in which Perséphone is performed for the first time in Australia since more than 50 years. Tenor Paul Groves, as Priest Eumophalus, is accompanied on stage by another 180 voices: the MSO Choir, the Australian Girls Choir and the National Boys Choir. The mezzo-soprano Lotte Betts-Dean is a convincing narrator.
MSO: Kate Mille-Heidke and the MSO
A recording of a very special one-night-only event, Australian theatre and music sensation Kate Miller-Heidke joins the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, performing songs from her award-winning opera The Rabbits and popular hits featured on her new album ‘The Best of Kate Miller-Heidke: Act One’. Kate Miller-Heidke is a classically trained singer who traverses the worlds of contemporary pop, folk and opera. This is her first collaboration with the MSO. When the singer-songwriter combines her own material with a symphonic sound, you’re in for a special thrill! Featuring extraordinary visuals by Australian artist and film maker Amy Gebhardt, guitar accompaniment by Keir Nuttall and conducted by MSO’s Associate Conductor Benjamin Northey.
MSO: Hector Berlioz ” L’Enfance du Christ”
The 150th anniversary of Hector Berlioz’s death in 1869 will be commemorated in 2019. An ancient story with a modern parallel, Berlioz’s L’Enfance du Christ tells the story of the Holy Family fleeing their homeland and relying on the kindness of strangers as they journey across the desert to safety. Tender, intimate and intensely evocative, this oratorio is a stark musical contrast to the wild pagan dervishes, choruses of the damned and huge orchestral forces more commonly associated with Hector Berlioz. In almost cinematic style, Berlioz paints the human elements of the story in a series of visual tableaux: an uneasy night in Rome, the world-weariness of Herod, the blind fanaticism of the soothsayers, the joys and griefs of Jesus’ parents, the shepherds’ kindness and the bustling welcome of the Ishmaelite household. Prepare to be moved to tears, Berlioz would be proud! Why it’s a must-see: “This piece is very unusual for Berlioz as most of it is quite intimate. This work has wonderful writing for the chorus, it’s very varied and the narrator (sung by Andrew Staples) is so colourful. The final chorus is to die for!” (Sir Andrew Davis).
MSO: Eumeralla – A War Requiem for Peace
Eumeralla, a war requiem for peace brings into focus a period of Australia’s history that is yet to be fully understood. Written and composed by acclaimed Yorta Yorta soprano and composer Deborah Cheetham, this requiem for peace will be sung entirely in the ancient dialects of the Gunditjmara people. Benjamin Northey is “superbly conducting” the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, receiving “well-deserved and spontaneous standing ovations” (Limelight Magazine). Above all, this performance is a sign of willingness to continue on the path of reconciliation, in which Eumeralla represents a significant step.
MSO: Handel/Davis: Messiah
This performance by the MSO stands apart – firstly, as Sir Andrew Davis’ farewell performance after six years as Chief Conduct, and secondly, as the Australian premiere of Davis’ own orchestration of Handel’s classic which has been nominated at the 2018 Grammy Awards. The all-Australian cast of soloists including soprano Shiobhan Stagg – “sparkling all night“ – (Herald Sun) and tenor Topi Lehtipuu sing excellently, the well-prepared MSO choir performs masterfully.
MSO: Season Opening Gala
Join us for a concert with two universally admired guest artists – Brazilian pianist Nelson Freire, described by The Guardian as ‘a master of (his) craft’, and Australian heldentenor and Grammy Award nominee, Stuart Skelton. The celebratory program includes: Beethoven’s majestic “Emperor” Piano Concerto; Carl Vine’s Symphony No. 1 “Microsymphony” (a work encompassing the dramatic features of a symphony compressed into just 12 minutes); and highlights from Fidelio, Die Walküre, Otello and Götterdämmerung sung by Stuart Skelton, who was awarded the International Opera Awards Male Singer of the Year.