Well – yet again – a great success! And this time a ‘double whammy’!
We had two very successful performances of Ralf Vaughan Williams’ A Sea Symphony. Members of the Cape Town Philharmonia Choir joined us here at the Linder Auditorium, Johannesburg, and the week after it was our turn to go to Cape Town joining them for a repeat concert at the City Hall.
A Sea Symphony is in all respects a monumental work: a large orchestra, a large choir – a ‘large’ sound. The audiences were blown away from the very start which is a fantastic brass fanfare followed by the choir’s excitement at the view of the sea ‘Behold the sea itself’! After that there was no letting up, the listeners were gripped by the brilliant way Vaughan Williams paints the sea, the waves, the ships and sailors with his music. We were told they could literally feel the waves in the forte/pianissimo changes of the dynamics.
The beautiful, deep words of Walt Whitmans’ poetry, around which Vaughan Williams wrote the piece, added another perspective to the concert. Whitman describes our life-journey as a ships’ voyage across the sea – variously calm, turbulent, with little ripples and enormous crashing waves but in the end, we’re calmly sailing away like a ship disappearing over the horizon.
This work is not the easiest in the concert repertoire and a lot of work went into getting it to the level of perfection which meant that the choirs were confident and on top form, as was the orchestra, at the performances. The soloists were both new to us here in Jo’burg and both were brilliant – Ondelwa Martins’ beautiful voice especially stood out.
Our next concert is the traditional, very popular
Christmas with Richard Cock
Sunday 10th December 2023 @ 3 pm
Linder Auditorium, Parktown
Special guest, internationally acclaimed tenor
Siyabonga Maqungo
The Phoenix Orchestra
Conducted by Richard Cock
The ‘Christmas with Richard Cock’ concert is a must for many Jo’burgers. As the saying goes: ‘Without it it’s not really Christmas’. So come and join us for a wonderful afternoon of joyful singing – some of it with audience participation, some of it choir only – we can guarantee you a wonderful mixture of the well-known and traditional plus some new and not so well-known carols. This year’s concert will feature a number of fabulous carols by South African composers which will make you think: ‘Yes, that’s Christmas in South Africa’.
The fact that Siyabonga is joining us again is an added bonus – where else would you be able to enjoy or sing along with a world class operatic tenor? We’re thrilled he’s joining us, and you should make sure you don’t miss out.
So – book now to avoid disappointment – use this link:
https://www.quicket.co.za/events/215868-christmas-with-richard-cock/
On behalf of the Symphony Choir of Johannesburg
Kate Pape