Royal Melbourne Philharmonic Choir - The Bells; Miraculous Mandarin
The Bells; Miraculous Mandarin
Royal Melbourne Philharmonic Choir
Melbourne University Choral Society with
VCA Symphony Orchestra
5pm Sunday October 2 Melbourne Town Hall
Royal Melbourne Philharmonic Choir on October 2, presents two twentieth-century masterpieces: Rachmaninov’s choral symphony The Bells, and The Miraculous Mandarin - Bartok’s brutal and erotic ballet music. Australia’s oldest choir teams with many of Melbourne’s finest budding musicians and artists, to give audiences a unique opportunity to hear two thrilling works and to see new digital animations.
For the first time RMP Choir with Melbourne University Choir will join forces with the full Victorian College of the Arts Symphony Orchestra. RMP Musical Director and Conductor Andrew Wailes says “this collaboration of 220 voices with a full 90-piece orchestra has made it possible to present two thrilling masterpieces which have not been performed in Melbourne for over 20 years.”
The Bells Op. 35, by Rachmaninov uses a Russian translation of a poem by Edgar Allan Poe, set to a score for soprano, tenor and baritone soloists, large chorus and orchestra. The work depicts the seasons of life from exuberant youth to the tolling of the death knell. Its inspiration is not only Poe’s poetry, but also the sounds of bells that Rachmaninov calls Œthe birthright of all Russians¹: “The sound of church bells dominated all the cities of the Russia I used to know - Novgorod, Kiev, Moscow. They accompanied every Russian from childhood to the grave, and no composer could escape their influence”.
Wailes describes it as lusciously symphonic and unmistakeably Russian. “It was Rachmaninov¹s favourite work - he considered The Bells to be his finest work and its premiere in Moscow in 1913 to be the greatest triumph of his career.”
Soloists in The Bells will be renowned operatic tenor Richard Greager, baritone Douglas McNicol and soprano Mylinda Joyce. Originally from New Zealand, Greager has sung a wide variety of roles in opera houses all over the world. Of his Peter Grimes for Wellington City Opera, a critic wrote: “Richard Greagher’s portrait of Grimes must be one of the finest of an illustrious career, beautifully catching the complexity of the
tormented fisherman. One felt the expressive weight of every note of Britten’s line.”
The Miraculous Mandarin, to be conducted by Marco van Pagee, shows Bartok at his most brutal and erotic, using unusually large orchestral forces. The clarinet portrays the erotic dances of a young girl to entice the Mandarin. This is some of the most lascivious concert music to be found it makes Salome’s Dance sound very tame. Composed between 1918 and 1919 and orchestrated in 1923, the work shows a marked intensification in Bartok¹s mastery as a composer. Brilliant in its colours and dazzling in its rhythmic complexity, this work promises to provide a stunning contrast to Rachmaninov¹s work.
VCA¹s School of Fine Art, School of Film and Television and School of Production have specially created a sequence of new images (stills and animated film) to be projected at the concert.
Conductor VCA Symphony Orchestra Marco Van Pagee says this upcoming event is a world first for the Bartok ballet music- “this is the first time the Miraculous Mandarin has been visualised through multimedia. The ballet is both violent and erotic and lends itself to this type of collaborative project.”
According to Andrew Wailes, the concert promises to be a highlight on the musical calendar in Melbourne this year: “It is rare that two such technically demanding and spectacular works are presented on the one program:
The Bells, and The Miraculous Mandarin will be performed at 5pm Sunday October 2, Melbourne Town Hall Tickets are $39 (adult) or $50 (premium), $32 (sen/con), $30 (student), $15 (15 years and under). Bookings: Ticketek 132 849 or direct on 03 9419 1582.
