Christmas Around the World
Sun, 11 Dec 2022
We performed our 2022 Christmas concert at St Simon's Rowville, on 11 December 2022.
Our program:
Hodie Christus Natus Est (Sweelinck)
O Magnum Mysterium (Lauridsen)
Magnificat (Bach)
The First Nowell (English Trad. Carol, arr. Willcocks)
Carol of the Bells (Ukrainian Carol)
Wassail song (English Trad. Carol, arr. Vaughan Williams)
Jingle Bells
Joy to the World (Mason, arr. Rutter)
Deck the Hall (Welsh Trad. carol, arr. Willcocks)
Pastores A Belen (Spanish Carol)
Jingle Bell Rock (Beal and Boothe, arr Billingsley)
Hark the Herald Angels Sing (Mendelssohn, arr. Willcocks) )
For Unto us a Child is Born (Handel)
Rise up Shepherd and Follow (Spiritual, arr. Rutter)
Mary’s Boy Child
Amen
O Come All Ye Faithful (Wade, arr. Willcocks)
Our program:
Hodie Christus Natus Est (Sweelinck)
O Magnum Mysterium (Lauridsen)
Magnificat (Bach)
The First Nowell (English Trad. Carol, arr. Willcocks)
Carol of the Bells (Ukrainian Carol)
Wassail song (English Trad. Carol, arr. Vaughan Williams)
Jingle Bells
Joy to the World (Mason, arr. Rutter)
Deck the Hall (Welsh Trad. carol, arr. Willcocks)
Pastores A Belen (Spanish Carol)
Jingle Bell Rock (Beal and Boothe, arr Billingsley)
Hark the Herald Angels Sing (Mendelssohn, arr. Willcocks) )
For Unto us a Child is Born (Handel)
Rise up Shepherd and Follow (Spiritual, arr. Rutter)
Mary’s Boy Child
Amen
O Come All Ye Faithful (Wade, arr. Willcocks)
1000 years of Spring Song Frivolity
Sun, 25 Sep 2022
A lighthearted afternoon of music from the past 1000 years, celebrating the return of Spring.
The concert opened with the premier performance of An Acknowledgement of Country by Tracey Edgar, sung by the choir.
Other songs included May the Road Rise up to Meet You, Summer is Icumen In, Ale Psalite Cum Luya, El Grillo, Pastime with Good Company, Now is the Month of Maying, Sing We and Chant it, If All be True that I do think, Simple Gifts, Both Sides Now, Here Comes the Sun, Saily, and For the Beauty of the Earth, all sung by the choir. Soloists from the choir, and friends, performed Fruhlingstraum, The Flower Duet, Vilja and On a Clear Day.
As befitting the day after AFL Grand Final Day in Melbourne we finished with a selection of footy team songs and the music that inspired them, the audience being invited to join in!
The concert opened with the premier performance of An Acknowledgement of Country by Tracey Edgar, sung by the choir.
Other songs included May the Road Rise up to Meet You, Summer is Icumen In, Ale Psalite Cum Luya, El Grillo, Pastime with Good Company, Now is the Month of Maying, Sing We and Chant it, If All be True that I do think, Simple Gifts, Both Sides Now, Here Comes the Sun, Saily, and For the Beauty of the Earth, all sung by the choir. Soloists from the choir, and friends, performed Fruhlingstraum, The Flower Duet, Vilja and On a Clear Day.
As befitting the day after AFL Grand Final Day in Melbourne we finished with a selection of footy team songs and the music that inspired them, the audience being invited to join in!
The Glory of Song
Sat, 18 Jun 2022
Our Program included:
Zadok the Priest - Handel
Cantique de Jean Racine - Faure
The Heavens are Telling - Haydn
Ave Verum Corpus - Mozart
The Hallelujah Chorus - Handel
We were accompanied by Geoff Urquart on the organ and harpsichord, Brienne Gawler on the oboe and the Monash Chorale Chamber Orchestra, whose members were local tertiary music students.
Geoff Urquart also performed Bach's Prelude in G on the harpsichord.
We were conducted by our musical director, Anne Friend.
Zadok the Priest - Handel
Cantique de Jean Racine - Faure
The Heavens are Telling - Haydn
Ave Verum Corpus - Mozart
The Hallelujah Chorus - Handel
We were accompanied by Geoff Urquart on the organ and harpsichord, Brienne Gawler on the oboe and the Monash Chorale Chamber Orchestra, whose members were local tertiary music students.
Geoff Urquart also performed Bach's Prelude in G on the harpsichord.
We were conducted by our musical director, Anne Friend.
A Tapestry of Christmas!
Sun, 12 Dec 2021
Our first public performance in 2 years, and performed as "masked singers" due to the continuing COVID-related restricitions. This was our first performace in St Simon's Rowville.
We were condcted by Anne Friend and accompanied by Roger King. The program included the Gloria, from Vivaldi's Gloria, Handel's Hallelujah Chorus and a selection of Christmas carols, with the audience invited to participate in some that are better known.
We were condcted by Anne Friend and accompanied by Roger King. The program included the Gloria, from Vivaldi's Gloria, Handel's Hallelujah Chorus and a selection of Christmas carols, with the audience invited to participate in some that are better known.
Monash Chorale performs three main concerts each year: in late Autumn, early Spring and shortly before Christmas. One concert features predominantly classical music, the second popular music and lighter classics, with the Christmas concert including a selection of both lighter and more serious Christmas music.
A sample of some of the pieces we performed in the few years prior to 2020 is given below::
2019
December: Premiere of Gloria by David Keefe
August: Guardians of the Harmony – popular music including Duel of the Fates from Star Wars
May: Royal Crescendo - including Mozart’s Coronation Mass and Elgar’s Great is the Lord
2018
December: Vaughan Williams’ Fantasia on Christmas Carols, and Messiah excerpts
August: It’s Showtime! – songs from musicals May: Haydn and Schubert Masses
May: Autumn Classics - Schubert's Mass in G and Haydn's Mass in Eb
2017
December: A feast of traditional Christmas carols
August: Mozart’s Requiem and Handel’s Coronation Anthems
May: The Pirates of Penzance
2016
December: Britten’s A Ceremony of Carols
September: Viva Verismo – Works by Verdi, Donizetti and Mascagni
May: Les Misérables medley, Jazz classics, and Elgar’s From the Bavarian Highlands
2015
December: Saint-Saens’ Christmas Oratorio
September: Verdi and Handel opera choruses, music by Vaughan Williams’, Fauré, Rachmaninov and Copeland
May: Popular and folk songs from America and England
