About

A performance of the Monteverdi Vespers (1610)

The
Jubilate Singers will join combine with Wellington's Baroque Voices and Burnside High School's Bel Canto choir in presenting Monteverdi's
largest work, his Vespro della Beata
Vergine, one of the best-loved compositions of the choral repertoire. .
Part of a larger 1610 Venice publication, the Vespers comprises large psalm settings, smaller-scale motets, a
lavishly scored sacred concerto, and a setting of the Magnificat. The Vespers
is courtly and majestic in places and touchingly intimate in others. A pinnacle
of Renaissance music, the work contains elements that look forward to the
Baroque style to come, and spectacular vocal and instrumental effects that are
still capable of thrilling audiences four centuries later.

The concert is on Saturday 6 October 2012 at St Mary's Pro-Cathedral,
Manchester St, Christchurch at 7.30 pm and will be directed by Grant Hutchinson.
Tickets are $25/$20 (concession) and
school students are admitted free of charge.

For further information, see www.jubilate.org.nz or contact Lois Chick
at 385 9264 /chick@clear.net.nz

Since
the choir's inception in 1977, the Jubilate Singers have been noted for their
imaginative and innovative performances andhave earned a national reputation
for high quality performance. The choir is equally at home in performing a
cappella sacred and secular worksor works with orchestral accompaniment. . Over
the years, the choir has performed a wide range of music and commissioned
several new works, several of which are featured on the choir's new CD
"Southern Landscapes".The choir is also a regular participant in the
Christchurch Arts Festival.

Baroque Voices, founded
in 1994 by Wellington-based soprano Pepe Becker, is a vocal consort that
specialises in pre-Classical music written for ensembles with one voice to a
part. Its size varies according to the particular demands of the repertoire for
each concert or project. The group has a core of singers with considerable
experience in both choral and solo performance, especially in the field of
early music.

Bel Canto is a treble choir of 36 girls, aged 14 to 18, who attend Burnside High
School. Bel Canto has been in existence for more than 20 years, and is a regular
finalist in The Big Sing, where they won the Platinum Award this year. Susan
Densem has been the choir's Music Director since 2004. The choir particularly
enjoys singing New Zealand music and have commissioned a number of new
compositions over the years.