Most of us are fascinated by the sea. Its danger, its vastness, its restlessness, its ever-changing colours have inspired artists, poets and composers for centuries. And the characters for whose adventures it provides the setting are just as fascinating.
The Australian Boys Choir and The Vocal Consort devote their next concert to the sea and some of its characters, to be given in the Hawthorn Arts Centre at 3.00 pm on Sunday, June 18.
The high tide mark is established by two major works – Charles Villiers Stanford’s Songs of the Sea and Michael Hurd’s Hip-Hip! Horatio – the latter a light-hearted scrutiny of the life of Admiral Lord Nelson, and the former a setting of five poems by Henry Newbolt exploring the adventures of Sir Francis Drake and his trusty mariners who saw off the Spanish Armada.
As guest artists, we are proud to welcome two founding members of Songmakers Australia, international pianist Andrea Katz and bass-baritone Nicholas Dinopoulos.
Not insubstantial eddies are provided by Matthew Orlovich’s Tides of Ocean, Aulis Sallinen’s Songs from the Sea, and Veljo Tormis’s Incantatio Maris Aestuosi, a prayer to calm a stormy sea.