“Per ardua ad astra” is the motto of the Royal Air Force in the UK – “To the stars through hard work” is a rough translation.  The Choir has been putting in a lot of hard work recently rehearsing Granados’ “Song of the Stars” and we finally reached the stars last night as we participated in the work’s Australian premiere at the Conservatorium in Sydney.  Following two piano pieces played masterfully by Carolina Estrada, and a delightful solo song by Anita Kyle, the time finally came to show off Granados’ musical evocation of the heavens.  And,,judging by the applause, it went down very well.  The concert ended with Pablo Casals’ “Song of the Birds”  – a very effective conclusion to a programme dedicated to Catalan music reflecting on the transient nature of human passions compared to the eternal immensity of the cosmos.

What a delight it was to sing at the open acoustics at the Verbrugghen Hall at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music last night.  It took us a while to organize ourselves into two choirs, but once we did, the music began to flow.  It was exciting to sing in a hall that is different to the one we are used to and is so significant in the musical life of Sydney.

It has been somewhat difficult rehearsing this piece so it was very satisfying to finally have a run through which showed the music in its true colours.

Manly Warringah Choir is delighted to be taking part in the Australian Premiere of Granados’ recently found work, The Song of the Stars. The performance will take place at the Verbrugghen Hall, Sydney Conservatorium of Music on Tuesday March 24th at 7.00pm.  The work is the subject of research by Lecturer at the Conservatorium, Carolina Estrada, and will be performed again on Saturday May 9th as part of the Choir’s own concert at the Cardinal Cerretti Chapel, Manly.

Although entry to the performance on March 24th is free, audience members are encouraged to book in advance and to make a donation towards the funding for Carolina’s research.

For full details of the performance on March 24th, click here.

For details of the performance and links to further details of Carolina’s research project, click here.

For an article on how the music was lost and then was found again, click here.

Last Thursday’s rehearsal focused on Granados’ Song of the Stars. The choral score is intimidating at first sight (three choirs and sub-divisions within each voice), but it made a lot more sense once we had sung it through a few times.

The piano part at the concerts will be played by Carolina Estrada, who is researching Granados’ lesser known works at the Sydney Conservatorium.  She came to give a flavour of the piano part, and to assist our pronunciation of the Catalan text.

Thank you to Choir member Linde Macpherson for sourcing more information on the piece and a translation of the text.

Noteworthy Issue 10 has been published, with topical articles on the music for the next concert, reflections on singing Messiah, a concert review and other items of MWC interest.

If you have not received a copy by email, you can download it here.