On Sunday 8 December, over one hundred people attended a free Concert of Carols for Advent and Christmas at Sacred Heart Cathedral. Led by the Choirs from Sacred Heart and St Paul’s Cathedrals in Bendigo – in a wonderful ecumenical initiative – the combined Choir on the sanctuary was directed by Sarah Gould, Assistant Choir Director, accompanied by St Patrick’s Cathedral Brass from Melbourne, led by Dennis Freeman, with Nigel Self and Paul Taylor, Organists from Sacred Heart providing keyboard accompaniment.
The concert featured familiar, popular carols by renowned English and Anglican church musician, Sir David Willcocks (1919-2015) whose beautifully crafted arrangements have been adopted by Church choirs around the world, after their use at the Advent and Christmas Carols Services at King’s College in Cambridge where Willcocks was Organist and Director of Music from 1957-1974. Willcocks’ arrangement of “O Come, All Ye Faithful” has also been heard at Christmas Masses in St Peter’s Basilica, with music accompanying the original Latin text Adeste fideles.
In addition, Cathedral Brass players – Sarah Camm, Sarah Henderson (Trumpet I and II), Phoebe Smithies (Horn), Dennis Freeman (Trombone) and Alex Hunt (Tuba) contributed to the festive feeling with the compositions Nun danket alle Gott By Sigfrid Karg-Elert, a Fanfare by C. S. Lang, the evocative Canzon duodecimi toni by Giovanni Gabrieli and, for brass and organ, smaller solo arrangements by Ludwig Maurer and John Iveson. Whilst brass ensembles are often featured outdoors – because of their powers of projection – the music of brass instruments takes on an added dimension in resonant Cathedral acoustics because of the reverberation.
It is anticipated that the Concert of Carols for Advent and Christmas, featuring choristers from both local Cathedrals and visiting musicians, will become a regular feature on the seasonal calendar of annual musical events at Sacred Heart Cathedral, and will normally be held in early December due to the availability of the musicians before the summer holidays.
PHOTO CREDITS: Liezbeth van Emmerik
Return to Sandpiper e-News 89 (13 December 2024)
