2009 Performance Archive
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SPONSOR AN EVENSONG
Do you or your family have an important occasion or anniversary that you would like to celebrate or commemorate?
There are many different things which may inspire you to celebrate and give thanks: personal things—a birthday, a significant anniversary, a birth; and business things too—the anniversary of the establishment of your business, your first million dollars (or second), the launch of a new product, or simply a thank you to the people who have supported you.
Sponsorship of an Evensong is a double blessing. First, it enables you to personalise your Service: your choice of hymns and readings and perhaps choral music and organ voluntary can be discussed with our Musical Director. Second, your sponsorship and payment of the modest costs to put on the Service ensures that Musica Sacra can continue to offer regular Evensongs.
Some Evensongs in 2010 are still available: 28 May; 29 August; 26 September; 31 October; 28 November. (February, March, April, June and July 2010 are already booked.)
If you would like to take up the opportunity to have one of these special commemorative Evensongs for your family, please contact the General Manager, Kevin Bishop on
529 2309 (click here to email); or the Conductor, Indra Hughes on 811 8693 (click here to email). We shall be pleased to discuss the details with you.
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Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 March 2009
Choral Evensong and Choral Eucharist
5:00pm (Saturday) and 10:00am (Sunday)
Christ Church, Russell, Bay of Islands
Members of Musica Sacra will provide the music for two services at Russell's historic and beautiful church, the oldest church in New Zealand.
Good Friday 10 April 2009
Charles Wood: The Saint Mark Passion
TWO PERFORMANCES: 3:30pm and 8:00pm
St Matthew-in-the-City
Iain Tetley, tenor
David Griffiths, baritone
John Wells, organist
Indra Hughes, conductor
Musica Sacra last sang this very beautiful work in 2001; before that it is thought not to have been performed in New Zealand since 1923. This is a highly expressive and romantic work that deserves to be more widely known. It was written to be an alternative piece to Stainer's The Crucifixion: it has some similarities in scoring and structure to that work, but the music is infinitely superior. David Griffiths and Iain Tetley will be the vocal soloists, with Dr John Wells at the organ.
Sunday 14 June
Haydn: Great Organ Mass (Grosse Orgelmesse)
10:00am
St Matthew-in-the-City
St Matthew's Chamber Orchestra
Morag Atchison, soprano
Margo Knightbridge, alto
Iain Tetley, tenor
Chris Karayiannis, bass
John Wells, organist
Indra Hughes, conductor
Musica Sacra will join with the St Matthew's Chamber Orchestra and soloists for a liturgical performance of Haydn's Great Organ Mass (Grosse Orgelmesse Hob. XXII:4). 2009 is the 200th anniversary of Haydn's death in 1809. This delightful work features prominent solos for Musica Sacra's Donald Barriball Memorial Chamber Organ, to be played by Dr John Wells.
Sunday 12 July
Concert of English Choral Music
5:00pm
St Michael's, Beatrice Road, Remuera
Sir William Harris: Faire is the Heaven
Herbert Howells: Take him, earth, for cherishing
Ralph Vaughan Williams: Mass in G minor
This programme of fine English Choral Music includes Herbert Howells' motet on the death of US President John F Kennedy, Take him, earth, for cherishing; Vaughan Williams' rich and monumental Mass in G Minor for double choir and soloists, written for Westminster Cathedral; and one of the greatest examples of 20th century cathedral music, Sir William Harris' beautiful anthem Faire is the Heaven. A rare opportunity in this country to hear these glorious and technically demanding works: not to be missed!
Sunday 6 September
JS Bach: The Motets
5:00pm
St Michael's, Remuera
Johann Ludwig Bach: Das ist meine Freude
JS Bach: Jesu, meine Freude
JS Bach: Komm, Jesu, komm
JS Bach: Lobet den Herrn
JS Bach: Singet dem Herrn
JS Bach's Motets are the focus of this concert. These are highly demanding virtuoso works that are rarely heard on account of their extreme difficulty. This programme will include the finest four of Bach's collection of six. The concert will open with the very jolly Das ist meine Freude by Johann Sebastian's uncle Johann Ludwig Bach.
Sunday 22 November
A CONCERT FOR SAINT CECILIA'S DAY
Sunday 22 November
5:00pm
St Michael's, Remuera
The choir presents a programme of some of the finest choral music ever written. Opening with the astonishing Kyrie from Antoine Brumel's The Earthquake Mass in 12 parts, the programme moves on to include two extraordinary settings of the biblical story of the death of Absalom: Robert Ramsey's How are the mighty fallen and the contemporary composer Eric Whitacre's When David heard. Musica Sacra's beautiful Mander chamber organ features in verse anthems by Boyce and Gibbons, and in solos by Thomas Arne and JS Bach, played by our Organist Dr John Wells, whose Magnificat, commissioned by the choir, receives its concert premiere in this performance. Superb pieces by Sir John Tavener (Two hymns to the Mother of God), Sir William Harris (Bring us, O Lord God) and EW Naylor (Vox dicentis, clama) complete the programme.
Thanks to our wine sponsors, Crossroads Winery, your admission price includes a complimentary glass of wine and canapes after the concert.
Admission is by programme at the door, but you can book and pay for your tickets in advance:
email bookings@musicasacra.org.nz or fax (09) 529 2308.
Saturday 19 December
8:00pm
St Patrick's RC Cathedral, Wyndham Street
CHRISTMAS CONCERT
Admission FREE - retiring collection
(please note that our usual concert admission price is $35)
Our annual and always popular Christmas Concert, as usual on the last Saturday before Christmas, will include an entertaining and joyful mix of both traditional and modern carols for choir, organ solos by Dr John Wells, and carols for the audience to sing. The venue is the beautifully restored St Patrick's Cathedral.
SPECIAL PARKING OFFER
By arrangement with St Patrick's Cathedal, parking for concert patrons is available at Wilson Parking, corner of Wyndham Street and Hobson St, for only $1.
Approach from the lower end (Fanshaw Street end) of Hobson Street in the far right lane or the lower end of Wyndham Street (Nelson Street end).
Collect a ticket from the machine as usual on your way to your car park.
Validate your ticket in the machine at the back of the cathedral before returning to the car park building.
Click here for other parking options. |
Choral Evensong
The choir sings Choral Evensong at 5:00pm on the last Sunday of each month (in 2009: February to September inclusive, and November). These services take place at the beautiful church of St Matthew-in-the-City in central Auckland. The services follow the 1662 Book of Common Prayer: they are short, fully choral, and there is no sermon. The Officiants are the Venerable Howard Leigh, the Reverend Jeremy Younger, the Venerable Glynn Cardy and the Venerable Richard Hancock. Free parking on Sundays is available in the church parking building immediately adjacent to the church, on the south side of the building.
PLEASE NOTE: because of Queen's Birthday and Labour Weekend, there will be
NO CHORAL EVENSONG
on 31 May or 25 October 2009.
Evensongs in 2009:
Feb 22; Mar 29; Apr 26; May 31 (cancelled); Jun 28; Jul 26; Aug 30; Sep 27; Nov 29
A highlight of the 2009 Evensong programme will be the premiere performance on 29 March of John Wells' The Musica Sacra Canticles (Set Two), written for and commissioned by Musica Sacra with the generous assistance of the Donny Charitable Trust. Click here to read more about Dr Wells' composition.
On Whit Sunday, 31 May (otherwise known as the Feast of Pentecost) there will be High Mass with glorious music by Tomas Luis de Victoria (his Mass and Motet Dum complerentur).
On 26 July we look forward to welcoming our former Organist Woo-sug Kang as Guest Conductor.
Click here for a map showing the location of St Matthew’s.
Special events
Dean Spanley movie premiere: private screening
Click here to read about our private premiere screening of the acclaimed new movie Dean Spanley (Thursday 5 February at 8:15pm), which includes contributions to the soundtrack recorded by Musica Sacra. Some tickets are still available for this.
Musica Sacra Garden Party at Zealandia
Click here for more details about a special Musica Sacra Garden Party, to be held at the Zealandia Sculpture Garden on 28 February (rain date 1 March). The renowned sculptor Terry Stringer has generously created an exclusive limited edition medallion, Theatre of Life, which will be available for sale at the Garden Party. The occasion will also include champagne, afternoon tea and musical performances by the choir, and by Indra Hughes and John Wells at the organ.
SUMMARY OF EVENTS
5 February |
Private Screening of Dean Spanley |
28 February (1 March, rain date) |
Garden Party at Zealandia |
10 April (Good Friday) |
The St Mark Passion (Wood) |
14 June |
Haydn's Great Organ Mass |
12 July |
Concert of English Choral Music |
6 September |
Concert of Bach's Motets |
22 November |
Concert for St Cecilia's Day |
19 December |
Christmas Concert |
Last Sunday of each month
(not October) |
Choral Evensong |
Click here to read the archive of our performances in 2006.
Click here to read the archive of our performances in 2007.
Click here to read the archive of our performances in 2008.
>> Go to the top of this page. |
