Concerted Choral Compositions
- Singpsiel, The Birds
This music theatre composition is based on Aristophanes' comedy The Birds. Scored for soloists, chorus, flutes, clarinets, xylophone, vibraphone, marimba, percussion, timpani, guitars, pianoforte, and strings, this work is suitable for performance by high school students, and professional performance groups. The libretto is by Rachel Le Rossignol.
Instrumentation
2 flutes
2 Bb clarinets
xylophone, vibraphone, marimba maracas, castanets
claves
congas, timpani
guitars
pianoforte
strings
Character List
Humans:
Good Hope (originally Pisthetaerus) Trusty Friend (originally Euelpides)
Priest – the Church
Poet – the media, giving out misinformation
Prophet – market (futures) analyst/forecaster (in marketing)
Town Planner –bureaucrat, town planning
Developer – politician with corrupt developments on the side
Messenger 1
Messenger 2
Youth – disenfranchised generation who will never own a house or have a secure job
Reporter – bard – ‘I am an artiste’ so you have to listen to what I say- blogger? Kardashian? Famous for being famous but stealing others’ works Fundamentalist – member of the religious right
Birds:
Epops (a Hoopoe) – king of the birds
Trochilus – second in command to Epops
Nightingale – Epops’ wife
Bird Fashion Parade (speaking but not singing parts):
Buzzard – wants violence/war
Flamingo – not very bright, or possibly very short sighted
Francolin – perpetually angry because he or she doesn’t have spectacular feathers like the others
Horned Owl – wise
Hummingbird (Costa’s – purple cap) – flighty, speaks fast
Kingfisher – direct, sensible
Partridge – wants food, and lots of it (padded up to look fat) Peacock – wants admiration
Bird Ensemble:
A collection of various birds
Gods:
Iris – a corrupt executive, she is sent by Zeus to try to bribe
Good Hope
Prometheus – not actually a god, maybe a Green politician, or at least one with integrity
Poseidon – representative of the Navy
Triballus – politician – speaks meaningless drivel, but is swayed by what the populace wants
Heracles – representative of the Army
Basileia/Basileos – Zeus’ daughter/son, who represents genuine democracy
Like Mozart’s opera giocoso Don Giovanni, the Singspiel The Birds contains humour, pathos, and some very important political and environmental messages. The chorus of birds is required to sing and dance (conga, jota, tango, Afro-Cuban, fandango, etc): adorned with bird-masks and long sleeves painted with coloured wings, the Singspiel promises to be a spectacle of colour and movement, full of vibrant dance rhythms, mellifluous melodic lines, with harmonies and timbres that evoke timeless Greece.
- Vespers for the Feast of Pentecost
A collection of seven choruses scored for solo soprano, SATB choir, orchestra, and tambura:
I - Deus in Adjutorium;
II - Psalm, Dixit Dominus;
III - Psalm, Laudate Pueri;
IV - Loquebantur;
V - Lucis Creator Optime;
VI - Announcement of the Eternal Gospel;
VII - Magnificat (2012)
A recording of all seven choruses can be heard here.
To view the scores (and thesis), follow this link.
Image: Premiere performance of Christchurch Vespers: Vespers for the Feast of Pentecost by Andrew Perkins, performed by solo soprano Gina Sanders, the Bach Musica choir and orchestra with members of the Auckland Philharmonia, conducted by Rita Paczian, Holy Trinity Cathedral, Parnell, Auckland, New Zealand, July 2012
|
|
- Jubilate Deo
Commissioned by the Baradene College Ltd for the school's 150th Jubilee, this setting of Jubilate Deo is scored for SSATB choir, orchestra (including saxophones) and pipe organ. The music was designed for performance by the school orchestra plus alumni who were invited to join the school orchestra and choir for all the performances during the celebrations.
- Requiem for Peace
A setting of Hone Tuwhare's poem No Ordinary Sun with interpolations of text from the Requiem Mass: scored for solo mezzo-soprano, SATB choir, woodwind, brass, and percussion (1985).
