Vocal Purity
Illawarra Mercury
Friday May 5, 2000
IN a time marked by heavily synthesised music, the purity of voices raised in a cappella song is as haunting as it is fascinating.
With no backing instrumentation, there is no room for error but the rewards for both performer and listener are unprecedented.
There are no distractions from the songs and vocal clarity is impeccable as a carefully selected group of singers capture the emotional intensity of a songwriter's tale.
Arguably Australia's best in the field is The Song Company, a full-time, six-member ensemble with an international reputation of stylistic versatility.
Established in 1984 and boasting a repertoire of music that extends from the 12th century to the present day, The Song Company has established itself firmly in the urban arts scene. This year it will extend its focus into regional areas.
With supplementary funding from the NSW Arts Ministry, The Song Company will present concert series in Wollongong and Newcastle as well as embarking on a regional touring program.
The Song Company's general manager Eugene Ragghianti said Wollongong boasted a superb venue for a cappella music in the City Gallery and the company would make full use of it.
``The Wollongong City Gallery is probably one of the best venues acoustically. It is rich and fabulous and people are in for a treat," he said.
``We sing in all sorts of places and we are trying to extend our audiences further afield with the regional tour but what we're finding is that the tradition of a cappella music is very strong everywhere.
``People come to hear the music, the six voices each taking on a line of music and we aim to give them something spectacular."
While The Song Company was part of a residency program at Wollongong University in 1994, this three-concert season marks the group's first concert performances in the region. The opening event runs under the title of Magnificat, a religious program devoted to the Virgin Mary.
As part of the company's 2000 Old Masters Series, the concert presents The Canticle of Mary in five exquisite settings by Dufay, Fayrfax, Morales, Lassus and Stadimayr with motets by Josquin, Senfl, Obrecht and Victoria.
It will be followed throughout the year by concerts devoted to The Elements (Monteverdi, Marenzio, Morley, Lassus, Lejeune and Flecha) and The Swansong, Heinrich Schutz's setting of Psalm 119 crowned by Psalm 100 and a final Magnificat.
Ragghianti hopes the year's concert tour, coming hot on the heels of the company's performance at the Basilica Santa Maria Sopra Minerva as part of the Vatican's Jubilee celebrations and a live BBC broadcast in England, will be the first of many involving the Illawarra.
The Song Company is led by artistic director Roland Peelman and features sopranos Ruth Kilpatrick and Nicole Thomson, mezzo-soprano Jo Burton, tenor Paul McMahon, baritone Mark Donnelly and bass baritone Clive Birch.
The concert will be held on Friday, May 12 at the Wollongong City Gallery from 8pm. For information and bookings, contact Irene Tognetti on 42299930 or The Song Company on 93517939.
© 2000 Illawarra Mercury
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