Famous composers celebrated
THE Durban Chamber Choir’s (DCC) concerts on May 28 at St Thomas’s Anglican Church, Musgrave, and on June 11 at the Lutheran Church, Hayfields, will honour the birthday of Claudio Monteverdi, and the works of another great transitional composer, Gabriel Fauré.
This year marks the 450th anniversary of Monteverdi’s birth in Cremona, Italy, in 1567. The DCC will celebrate this landmark with a performance of one of the great composer’s three Latin Mass settings (identified by its date of publication, 1650).
“Monteverdi lived through one of the most significant periods of change in the history of Western music – the transition from the Renaissance to the Baroque style,” notes Dr Christopher Cockburn, the DCC’s director.
“While his 1650 Mass primarily looks back to the Renaissance, it also includes many touches of the more modern style pioneered in such works as his Vespers and his famous opera, Orfeo. This blend of old and new makes this Mass a unique musical experience.
“The French composer, Gabriel Fauré, whose music makes up the rest of the programme, lived during another of the great transitional moments in Western music, as Romanticism gave way to Impressionism in the second half of the 19th century,” says Cockburn. “The choir will present several of Fauré’s works. These include his Cantique de Jean Racine and his famous Pavane.”
The works by Fauré will be accompanied by Jacques Heyns, and Cockburn conducts the whole programme. Refreshments will be served after each performance.
Both performances start at 3pm, and last about an hour. Tickets will be available at the door from 2pm, and admission to the venues is from 2.30pm. Tickets are R70 per person (student/scholar/pensioner concessions R40).
School groups are admitted free and group bookings may be made by prior arrangement with the choir (nicole@NGOLawSA. co.za). The choir is looking to add a few tenors to their number, for an exciting programme to be presented later this year – those who are interested in joining are invited to attend a concert and talk to the committee members, or e-mail Nicole.
Meanwhile, also at the Lutheran Church in Hayfields, the Pietermaritzburg Amateur Choir can be heard in a programme of French choral music, including Charles Gounod’s Messe Solennelle. Conducted by Nigel Fish and featuring soloists Annalie Herbstvan Rooyen (soprano), Sandile Mabaso (tenor) and Andrew Butler (bass), this programme takes place at 2.30pm on Sunday. Tickets are R100 (R50 students) at the door.
The Drakondale Girls’ Choir School, which opened its doors in Cedara near Howick in January, has been performing regularly since the middle of last term, showcasing their first group of Grade 7 and 8 girls. Under the seasoned choral directorship of Judith Hawthorn, the choir’s repertoire covers classical, pop, folk, gospel and musical theatre songs. Hawthorn says the girls are loving the experience of frequent performances for appreciative audiences. This first girls’ choir school in South African is a result of the vision of John Tungay, founder of the Drakensberg Boys’ Choir, and the school’s chief executive, Wendy Clarke.
The school caters for talented, musical girls, offering a full academic programme as well as a range of extra-mural cultural and sporting activities besides music. Parents interested in enrolling their daughters can contact Clarke on 083 661 5044. For information about performances, log onto www. drakondale.co.za.
On the chamber music front, the Trio Frontier, comprising pianist Christopher Duigan, clarinettist Junan Sun and cellist Aristide du Plessis, can be heard performing for Friends of Music on Tuesday at 7.30pm at the Durban Jewish Centre, 44 KE Masinga (Old Fort) Road. Their programme includes music by Handel, Rossini, Bruch, Kovács, Fauré, Ravel, Popper and Sarasate. Tickets are R80 (for members), R100 (non-members) and R20 (orchestra members and students).
Du Plessis and Duigan can also be heard performing a programme titled Cello Song at St Agnes Church in Kloof at 7.30pm next Thursday. This features Beethoven’s Sonata for Piano and Cello in G minor Opus 5 No 2, as well as music by Tchaikovsky, Piazzolla and Fauré. Tickets are R100. Book through the St Agnes Church office at 031 764 2037 or e-mail booking@ musicrevival.co.za.
On Friday, June 2, the KZN Youth Orchestra will present a sundowner concert at the Sandpiper Room at the Mount Edgecombe Country Club.
The concert, which will include orchestral classics by JS Bach, Mozart and Tchaikovsky as well as popular contemporary items, runs from 6pm to 7pm and will include refreshments. Tickets are limited at R135. Call or e-mail Sihle on 071 948 5763 or sihle@kznyo.co.za for more information.