A description of the music of Cantata Memoria adapted from a review of the 2017 New York performance.

Quoting the composer- “The work is in two distinct sections but performed continuously. The first deals with the tragedy and the immediate aftermath, and the second moves from darkness to light, reliving memories and celebrating childhood, ending with the Lux aeterna.” He also states that it “is not a documentary, nor even a dramatization, but it does include ideas and facts that were relevant and by now part of the legacy.”

The music may not be a dramatization (as per the composer), but there are musical “suggestions” of events, i.e. the rumbling in the opening movement Pitran, patran foreshadowing the collapse of the coal spoil tip.

The names of all the victims are recited in the third movement Cortège (in a chant-like manner on a B-flat throughout). It was a reminder that this tragedy was not just about the numbers lost, but the very real lives snuffed out, the majority of them just beginning. Combined with the footage of the funerals, with countless tiny coffins, it was heartbreaking. Cortège ended with the baritone soloist quoting the denunciation by a victim’s father, “Buried alive by the National Coal Board.”

Lament to the Valley which follows is hauntingly beautiful; the Lament may well be the highlight of the Cantata.
The bird-like soprano piece Did I hear a bird? is delightful.

Of the remaining sections, we should single out And-a half as a favourite, with the child-like “one-upmanship” the theme which only could make one laugh and smile.

The final movement, Lux aeterna, is “borrowed” from the Requiem. Ending with the soprano soloist singing the word “Light,” the circle from darkness to light was closed.

 Cantata Memoria is a work that takes the listener to the depths of despair and heartache, then lifts them back out with a message of hope and light. It is an incredibly moving experience.

Bookings are easiest via the links on this website: go to the “Home” page.
Robert can help with bookings 03 5428 7033.

We give advanced notice of our next concerts in May. We are excited to announce the performance of the Australian premiere of Cantata Memoria by Welsh composer Sir Karl Jenkins.  The work, written in 2016, commemorates the 50th anniversary of the mining tragedy in Aberfan, Wales.  This is the music that 22 of the choir performed at Carnegie Hall, New York in 2017. In the disaster, a coal spoil tip descended on the village, burying the primary school and surrounding houses; resulting in the deaths of 116 children and 28 adults. It was not only the disaster itself, but the following insensitive bungling by authorities, and lack of prosecution of the National Coal Board and employees which has cast this tragedy deep within the Welsh psyche. The work is a deeply moving piece; sensitively and beautifully written. 

The choir will combine with a professional orchestra, a local children’s choir and two soloists. Musical Director Stephen Brockman is delighted to announce that our soprano soloist is a young local former choir member, Rosemary Cocklin, who is returning for her first solo performance with us. The baritone soloist is long time favourite Manfred Pohlenz. Stephen and Margaret Brockman have been working on the mammoth task of reducing the original score to suit a smaller orchestra.  
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2018 Sunday concert dates are 20 May at Gisborne and 27 May at Kyneton; both starting at 3.00pm.

Bookings are easiest via the links on this website: go to the “Home” page.
Robert can help with bookings 03 5428 7033.