ORPHEUS with Guest Director Grete Pedersen
Event Information
About this event
Grete Pedersen, Artistic Director of the Norwegian Soloists’ Choir, joins Chamber Choir Ireland as Guest Director for this concert of works around the story of the ancient Greek hero Orpheus, who mourns the loss of his beloved Eurydice and, with his beautiful song, moves the god of death to tears to be reunited with her.
The concert explores music inspired by the Orpheus myth through the centuries:
- Henze’s restrained yet dramatic Orpheus Behind the Wire (1983) is a setting of poems by Edward Bond, written to accompany his libretto for the dance drama Orpheus.
- Ørjan Matre’s Orphic Songs (2016) deals with the centuries-old Orphic belief system, which reveres mythological figures that transcend death.
- Henry Purcell’s Music for a While (1692) was composed as incidental music for the Restoration-age reworking of Sophocles' Greek tragedy, Oedipus by John Dryden and Nathaniel Lee, and was published posthumously as part of Orpheus Britannicus.
Tracing the impact of this story on composers from such vastly different time periods, we see how this story about the tremendous power of music—seemingly an endless font of inspiration—is perhaps as transcendent as Orpheus himself.
Programme
Orpheus Behind the Wire - Hans Werner Henze (Germany, 1926- 2012)
Orphic songs - Ørjan Matre (Norway, b. 1979)
Music for a While - Henry Purcell (England, 1659-1695)
Doors open at 6:45PM, concert to begin at 7:30PM. Please arrive at least 30 minutes before the beginning of the concert to allow time for seating.
Chamber Choir is funded by the Arts Council / An Chomhairle Ealaion and Dublin City Council, is a resident ensemble at the National Concert Hall, and associate artists at Dublin City University.