Durban Chamber Choir presents:
Let Music Be the Food of Love
Reflecting on our love of music.
St Thomas Church, Musgrave on Sunday 23 June at 3pm
On Sunday, 23 June, the Durban Chamber Choir will present a programme of choral music, interspersed with three organ pieces, which reflect on our love of music, to be performed at St Thomas Church, Musgrave on Sunday 23 June at 3pm.
After several months of rehearsal, the Durban Chamber Choir is ready to present their new programme.
Music certainly can be the food of love. Much of the history of western music revolves around themes of love. The concert’s title work, opens the programme, followed by an arrangement (in 16th century European madrigal style) of the Beatles’ iconic song “Money Can’t Buy Me Love”. From romantic love, the texts turn to religious devotion, reflecting musically on the Psalms, a prayer to Mary (from Rachmaninov’s Vespers), and a metaphorical medieval text “Jesus Christ the Apple Tree”.
Then comes a time to share our love of South Africa and its diverse musical cultures. An ingenious quodlibet of Afrikaans local songs, which includes “Daar Kom Die Alibama” and “Nooi, Nooi, die Rietkooi Nooi”, will have your feet tapping. A stirring SeSotho song about a father’s concern about his wife and children will evoke sonic pictures of the Mountain Kingdom of Lesotho. And then the choir will pay tribute to the legendary African Music specialist, Andrew Tracey (who died earlier this year), with his arrangement of a Xhosa lullaby. The grand finale is a double choir work by Stanford, Coelos Ascendit, another thrilling outpouring of devotion. This work commemorates the centenary of the composer’s death.
The Durban Chamber Choir has been in existence for over 20 years. Its first members were mostly choristers from the Errol Slatter Chorale. The choir’s repertoire is wide-ranging from early plainchant to the contemporary choral repertoire, Renaissance to modern, sacred to secular, accompanied by organ, piano and small orchestral ensembles. The Choir gives regular concerts in Durban and Pietermaritzburg, and has also visited several smaller town in KwaZulu-Natal, performing in churches, school halls and retirement homes – wherever it can bring pleasure to lovers of choral music. It is made up of voluntary members of all ages and from all walks of life, united in their love for choral singing.
The choir’s conductor is Andrew-John Bethke. Before coming to Durban to take up an academic position at UKZN, he was director of music at Grahamstown Anglican Cathedral and conductor of the Rhodes University Chamber Choir (RUCC).
Come and join us to celebrate choral music in an eclectic programme which will delight your heart.
Tickets will be available at the door for R100, concessions R70.
Let Music Be The Food Of Love
