Advent themed Marian music from the northern hemisphere, juxtaposing the colours of Eastern Europenan 20th and 21st century music of Rachmaninov, MacMillan and Pärt, with the works of 20th century English composer Britten, and with renaissance composers, Victoria and Padillaa.
In this Advent programme we shall explore musical ideas from different times and places, all praising Mary, the Mother of Christ.
The Eastern Orthodox church’s attachment to ikons, symbolising the incontrovertible faith of its subjects, inspires music from composers such as Rachmaninov and Pärt which is unswerving at its core yet fluid in its harmonies. Travel West and into the more familiar traditions of C20th Britain, where MacMillan and Britten demonstrate how faith can be described in God’s creation of the natural world while also acknowledging Mary’s purity of character and demeanour.
Move back in time and a little further south to Mediterranean climes and here Victoria writes in classic Renaissance terms, with gloriously interwoven arcs of harmony. Just a decade or two later, across the Atlantic in Spain and Portugal’s newly acquired dominions in South America, the Catholic Church rapidly establishes itself, opening the door to admit the rhythmic vitality of traditional native music.
Advent here is celebrated with every sign of sheer exuberance and colour!
Come and hear all of these different musical ideas in anticipation of your own very Happy Christmas!