Calendar
Also via Zoom. RCCO members will receive more details by email at a later date.
In person at last! Our 17th annual Halloween concert.
Come in costume! Treats for kids (and the young at heart) after the concert.
Programme:
Event repeated on Saturday, October 29, also at 7:30 pm.
St. Philip’s Director of Music Michael Murray accompanies the classic 1925 silent film The Phantom of the Opera on St. Philip’s booming Casavant organ, in this reprise of his sold-out 2019 show. Michael has composed a tremendous score that incorporates threads of well-known tunes and motifs, interwoven with new passages created just for this show. Thrills! Chills! And Fun! Create an evening out with family and friends. Wear costumes, if you like!
Bring cash for popcorn. This is a fundraiser for our beloved Casavant organ so please buy tickets to help the cause, and come to St Philip’s to enjoy the fun!
Performances by Michael Dirk, Isaac Howie and Isabelle Boersig:
Bach – Toccata & Fugue in D Minor BWV565
Bédard – Introduction et Toccata from Trois Esquisses (for organ pedals alone)
Pachelbel – Chaconne in F Minor
Franck-enstein – Choral No. 2 in B Minor
Bélier – Toccata pour Grand Orgue in D Minor
Free candy!! Make St. Andrew’s-Wesley a stop on your Trick-or-Treat route this year. From 5-7pm on Halloween night, stop by the front steps for a treat, Instagram pic with our building lit in Halloween colours, and enjoy spooky pipe organ music wafting through the rafters (played by organists Tim Woodford and Angelique Po.)
Spend a winter afternoon listening to music played on our Frobenius organ by the organists and musicians of the Danish Lutheran Church, with special guest Angelique Po performing Bruhns’ Praeludium in G major, and Buxtehude’s Chorale Variations on Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern. Steen Larsen will talk about the organ. Admission by donation, with refreshments to follow.
Read more about the history of the Danish Lutheran Church’s organ here: http://www.danishchurch.vancouver.bc.ca/history/organ.html
Internationally-renowned Spanish musician Loreto Aramendi, organist of the Basílica de Santa María del Coro de San Sebastián, brings to Vancouver the music of her favourite composers. She has given many recitals in Europe, Argentina, Japan, Russia, and the United States, and her extraordinary skill and musicianship have been highly praised
Playing and interpretation of a very high standard
thanks to the performer’s stunning technique’ – David Baker
‘A fine example of absolute musicianship, sound
technique and utter command over the instrument’ – Sydney Organ Journal
‘Thrilled by her genius …
She has a unique gift that is very rare’ – JAV Records
What sets Loreto Aramendi’s concerts apart are the symphonic transcriptions of works by Liszt, Fauré, Rachmaninoff, and Saint-Saëns. These transcriptions are not simplified arrangements, but concert versions of great orchestral works which push both the instrument and player to the limit. Assuch,theyshowoff the rich tonal colours of the organ necessary for interpreting orchestral music, which are otherwise unheard in strict organ repertoire. Aswell, the organ transcriptions require a musician of exceptional virtuosic and artistic skill – and that Loreto Aramendi has in spades.
This will be the first time for Spanish virtuoso Loreto Aramedi to perform on Canada’s West Coast as she embarks on a tour in Canada and the USA. A rare opportunity to hear this extraordinarily-talented musician perform on the mighty pipe organ at St James’ Church, this is a concert not to be missed !
Loreto Aramendi at the National City Christian Church in Washington: https://youtu.be/I8hZ4aEUZ0g
St James’ Anglican Church welcomes back The Gesualdo Six ! The vocal ensemble performed at St James’ in 2018 when they started their first Canadian tour in Vancouver.
Comprised of some of the UK’s finest young consort singers, directed by Owain Park, the vocal consort was formed in March 2014 for a performance of Gesualdo’s Tenebrae Responsories for Maundy Thursday in the chapel of Trinity College, Cambridge. Since then, the group went on to give over one hundred performances around the United Kingdom and abroad in its first four years.
Though initially focusing on early music, concert programmes began to reflect a desire to include more modern repertoire and now renaissance polyphony is often juxtaposed with works by composers including György Ligeti and Joanna Marsh amongst others. In 2016, The Gesualdo Six curated its first Composition Competition, attracting 174 entries from around the world. In 2019, a second Composition Competition attracted entries from over 300 composers, with the winning works by Alison Willis and Jacob Beranek receiving their world premieres at Cadogan Hall in London.
Their debut album of English renaissance polyphony ‘English Motets’ was released in April 2018, followed in 2019 by their second recording ‘Christmas.’
The incredibly atmospheric church of St Bartholomew the Great in London was the perfect location to launch their third album in 2020 ‘Fading,’ which features a variety of music inspired by the service of compline. And in 2022, The Gesualdo Six released two more albums : Tenebrae Responsories and Lux Aeterna.
The Gesualdo Six return to St James’ as part of their 2023 North American tour, and the programme will include selections from their most-recent CD Lux Aeterna , including
Communio : Lux aeterna Cristóbal de Morales
Peccantem me quotidie William Byrd
Funeral Ikos Sir John Tavener
In remembrance Eleanor Daley
Lumen Donna McKevitt
The Gesualdo Six concert at St James’ in 2018 was a sold-out event, and we expect the same for their 2023 appearance.
The choirs at Douglas College led by Eric Hannan will be performing a concert of all-classical works, joined by organist Angelique Po. Featured pieces include Arvo Pärt’s Salve Regina, Ned Rorem’s Three Motets, Herbert Howells’ Like As the Hart, Fauré’s Tantum Ergo and Brahms’ Ave Maria.
