Allegri Ensemble is proud to present Madrigals & Spirituals in the beautiful Hobart Town Hall.

Madrigals & Spirituals features the subtle word-painting and sometimes extraordinary harmony of sixteenth century madrigalists from Gibbons to Gesualdo, in secular part-songs dealing with love, death…and birds. Some are well-known, others rarely performed. These are partnered with familiar Spirituals in perhaps not-so-familiar settings. Musical Director Andrew Bainbridge, Organist of St Mary’s Cathedral and Assistant Chorusmaster of the TSO Chorus, formed the ensemble in 2010 delivering highly acclaimed performances of Handel’s Messiah in 2010 and 2011. The handpicked Allegri Ensemble has grown into a tightly-knit group of committed singers drawn from many choirs, some of whom are soloists in their own right.

The program includes Jannequin’s extended and masterful Le chant des oiseaux, full of French bird-song; Tromboncino’s frottola Non val acqua; the frothy fa-la-la refrain of Morley’s ballet April is in my Mistress’ Face; the serpentine part-crossings of Thomas Weelkes’ O Care, Thou Wilt Despatch Me and Carlo Gesualdo’s Moro lasso; and the sombre moral contemplations of Orlando Gibbons’ The Silver Swan. Also included is one modern madrigal, Phyllida and Corydon by E J Moeran. Written in 1939, this is the opening movement of a suite of the same name, in what is possibly its first ever Hobart performance.

After interval, the mood changes and the emotions are set free in Spiritual settings by pioneers Harry T Burleigh and William H Dawson; two British arrangements by Michael Tippett from his cantata ‘A Child of Our Time’; and modern American settings by Rollo Dilworth and short-lived genius and hero of the genre, Moses Hogan.

A concert not to be missed, tickets to Allegri Ensemble’s Madrigals & Spirituals are available from Centertainment, 53 Elizabeth Mall, Hobart ph 6234 5998, www.centertainment.com.au, or at the door. Official website: allegriensemble.com
Caroline Miller Allegri Ensemble