Motets at Montsalvat

In its first program of 2017, Polyphonic Voices continues to explore the vast repertoire of choral motets with well-known (and not so well-known) selections from throughout the history of Western Art Music. The unique program juxtaposes different settings of the same pieces of text: Eric Whitacre’s and Thomas Tomkins’ settings of “When David Heard”, Olivier Messiaen’s and Tomás Luis de Victoria’s “O Sacrum Convivium”, Samuel Scheidt’s and Tarik O’Regan’s “Surrexit Christus”, Orlando di Lasso’s and Francis Poulenc’s “Videntes stellam Magi”, and Tomás Luis de Victoria’s and Andrew Baldwin’s “O vos omnes”. Of course, an exploration of motets wouldn’t be complete without some Johann Sebastian Bach, and the choir will be only too happy to oblige with “Fürchte dich nicht” and “Komm, Jesu, Komm”.

Polyphonic Voices is delighted to return to Sacred Heart Cathedral in Bendigo for the first concert of this program on Saturday the 20th May, and on the following Sunday 28th May will perform again at Australia’s oldest artists’ community, Montsalvat. Founded in 1934, Montsalvat is a collection of gorgeous old buildings situated on picturesque grounds in Eltham, northeast of Melbourne, and is home to various painters, sculptors, woodworkers, luthiers, and musicians.