A celebration of 60 years of choral singing
View(s):The Colombo Philharmonic Choir, one of the oldest performing choral groups in the country, will present performances of classical choral music in Colombo and Galle later this month in celebration of its Diamond Jubilee.
The 60th Anniversary Concerts, generously sponsored by the German Embassy, will take place in Colombo on Friday, May 29 at 7.30 p.m. at St. Andrew’s Scots Kirk, Galle Road, Colombo 3 and in Galle on Saturday, May 30 at 6.30 p.m. at the historic Dutch Reformed Church, Galle Fort. The concert programme will comprise of choral sacred music and preludes for organ by the composers Pachalbel, Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Mendelssohn, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Rutter and others. Entrance will be by Programme priced at Rs.500 each, available at the door.
Soprano Anagi Perera, will be featured in Mozart’s ‘Laudate Dominum’ and Mendelssohn’s ‘Hear My Prayer’ and at the organ will be Denham Pereira, organist and Director of Music at St. Andrew’s Scots Kirk. The Colombo Philharmonic Choir will be under the direction of Manilal Weerakoon.
While the two works by Mozart and Mendelssohn are known for their charming lyricism, Haydn’s ‘Te Deum Laudamus’ combines his consummate classical simplicity with influences of Handel’s great choral works to produce a vocally demanding, yet exuberant composition. Brahms’ ‘How Lovely Are Thy Dwellings’ is an exceptional chorus in terms of bold harmonic writing, from his greatest vocal work, the ‘German Requiem’. One of the highlights of the programme will be ‘The Lord’s Prayer’ written by the well-known Sri Lankan tenor, Asitha Tennekoon. The programme will end with Walmisley’s ‘Magnificat in D Minor’ an outstanding example of English cathedral music.