Upcoming Concerts 
Music for Christmas
Saturday December 13th, 7:30pm at St George's College Chapel
Works include: Missa O Magnum Mysterium (Victoria) and Columba Aspexit (Hildegard von Bingen).
 
This stunning work explores the mystery surrounding this special time of the year.  Sick of tinsel and commercials?  Come and enjoy the sublime beauty of Christmas with the Giovanni Consort and revel in exquisite unaccompanied singing.  We promise there won't be a reindeer or elf in sight!
 
Recent Concerts
Hymns from the British Isles
Saturday August 30th, 7:30pm, Perth College Auditorium
Works include: Hymn to St. Cecilia (Britten) and Hymns from the Rig Veda (Holst).
This concert features two stunning pieces of music from the UK.  Britten's masterpiece is a cornerstone of the choral repertoire.  His depiction of the life and nature of this extraorginary woman deonstrates the wondrous variety of colour of the hujan voice set perfectly to the words by Auden.
Holst's collection of four pieces for Harp and upper voices shows this composer at his best.  Don't miss the opportunity to hear this ownderful work accompanied by Australia's most acclaimed harpist: Marshall McGuire.
Pre concert talk by Geoff Lowe.
 
Reviewer Neville Cohn of the West Australian had this to say:
"With its imitations of blameless but dull music, a choral programme with the prosaic title of Hymns of the British Isles might well have been a turn-off for more adventurous concertgoers. In the event, both program and performance by the Giovanni Consort provided untrammelled listening pleasure.
 
St Paul’s Chapel has excellent acoustics which enhanced the fine corporate tone of the choir. Simon Lawford presided over events, ever-attentive to the subtleties of tasteful and refined singing.
 
Britten’s Choral Dances from Gloriana were given an exquisite reading. As well, the robust, macho quality of Rustics and Fishermen could hardly have been bettered. Tenor Andrew Sutherland’s declamatory contributions were beyond reproach.
 
Gustav Holst’s Hymns from the Rig Veda were as memorable for Marshall McGuire’s harp playing as for the finesse of the sopranos and altos.
 
Britten’s Hymn to St Cecilia was a model of its kind, with quality of harmonic tissue beyond reproach, as was diction. Much of the singing of the second section of the work had an aerial, spring-heeled dimension which was entirely appropriate. Has the Consort considered putting this on CD?
 
Its performance on Tuesday night certainly warranted preservation. Here, as in much of the programme, Lawford brought a wealth of understanding to his direction and his brief linking commentary was an example for other more garrulous commentators."
 
June 2008 - Body & Soul
Saturday June 7th, 7:30pm, Perth Town Hall
Works by Lassus, Monteverdi, Palestrina, Tevernew, Janequin, Franck, Schein, Ramsay, and many more!
Fascinated with the human body, the Renaissance inspired texts and music that was intriguing and sometimes humorous.  The skin, heart, nose, eyes and more intimate parts are all dissected and explored!  The second half draws on a wealth of wonderful texts inspired by the human soul.  Be prepared for music of unspeakable beauty.
 
Reviewer William Yeoman of the West Australian had this to say:
"A madrigal recital can be a bit like village fete on TV's Midsomer Murders - seemingly innocuous and more than a little twee but scratch the surface and there's sex and death everywhere.  This superb concert by Perth's premiere vocal ensemble, the Giovanni Consort, was no exception.
 
True, there were fewer of those Italian Mannerist madrigals that conflate death with the orgasm than one might have wished.  But by structuring his program around the theme of Body and Soul, conductor Andrew Sutherland was able to explore that troublesome dichotomy between the sacred and the profane without recourse to gimmicky innuendo or exaggerated pathos.
 
The Eurpean Renaissance madrigal was usually sung by unaccompanied voices and almost certainly one-to-a-part; the Giovanni Consort's dozen or so singers therefore adopted various configurations throughout the evening, from solo and duo through five or six singers to full enemble.
 
Taking a leaf from British ensemble I Fagionlini's book, the Consort began its recital by singing Domenique Finot's Lynote seated among the audience.  This had the immediate effect of a greater intimacy that returned only towards the end of the evening when the singers arranged themselves in a semi-circle between the stage and the audience for a work Sutherland called "possibly the most beautiful piece ever written": Robert Ramsay's Sleep Fleshly Birth.  One wished that the entire concert had been sung from here, such was the resultant warmth and richness.
 
In between these two works were so many delights that it would be impossible to mention every one.  Chief among them, though, was Claudio Monteverdi's delicious Anima del cor mio.
 
By contrast, Olando di Lasso's hilarious Der Nasentanz, with its catalogue of noses, had many in the audience snorting with delight.  Sopranos Sabra Poole-Johnson and Stephanie Parr also impressed with their ravishing duet Deux que le trait d'Amour, while young baritone Tom Frieberg performed the solo Mi Hart, My Mynde with great expressivity..."
 
Past Concerts
 
1996 Concerts
Duruflé Requiem
Duruflé Tantum Ergo, Poulenc Salve Regina, Fauré Cantique de Jean Racine, Tournemire Fantasy sur le Te Deum.
Conductor – Richard Swann, Organ – Stewart Smith, Cello – Patrick Murphy
St George’s Cathedral

Music for Mother’s Day Rutter Five Childhood Lyrics, Novak Manhatten Transfer (medley), Music from West Side Story and Porgy & Bess.
Conductor – Prue Ashurst
Cottesloe Civic Centre

Schubertide
Exerpts from Schubert’s Winterreise and Schwanengesang, Death & the Maiden (Winthrop Quartet)
Mark Alderson, Robert Hoffman, Andrew Sutherland
Cottesloe Civic Centre

The Music of Benjamin Britten
Hymn to St Cecilia, A Ceremony of Carols, Folksongs and Fanfare for St Edmundsbury.
Conductor – Prue Ashurst, Harp – Jane Geeson
Perth Modern School

Renaissance Masters
Hassler Missa Sine Nomine, Miserere Allegri, Victoria O Magnum Mysterium, Byrd Sing Joyfully, Gibbons O Clap Your Hands Together
Conductor – Simon Lawford,
Burt Hall

Sacred Baroque Masterpieces
Bach Mass in G minor BWV 235, Pergolesi Stabat Mater, Bach Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 BWV 1050 (Ensemble Archangelo)
Conductor – Simon Lawford
St Michael the Archangel, Leederville
1997
Passion Music
De Brossard Stabat Mater, Lotti Crucifixus, Purcell Funeral Sentences, Tallis Lamentations.
Conductor – Simon Lawford
St George’s Cathedral

Dido & Aeneas
Purcell Wecome to all the Pleasures, Chacony in G minor
Conductor – Simon Lawford, St George’s Baroque Consort, Sara Macliver (Dido), Andrew Sutherland (Aeneas) Rachel Gregg (Belinda)
St George’s Cathedral

Lay a Garland
Parsons Ave Maria, Holst Ave Maria, Stanford Beati Quorum Via, Barber Agnus Dei
Conductor – David Gething
St George’s Cathedral

The Flower of the Renaissance
Josquin des Prez Missa Pange Lingua, Power Ave Regina Caelorum, Ockeghem Salve Regina, Josquin des Prez Absalon fili mi, Tallis Audivi vocem de cealo, Gibbons I am the Resurrection
Conductor – Andrew Bushell
Burt Hall

Faire is the Heaven
Vaughan Williams Mass in G minor, Harris Faire is the Heaven, Britten Rejoice in the Lamb, Rutter Choral Pieces
Conductor – Simon Lawford
St George’s Cathedral
1998
Triumph of the Human Spirit
Tippett Five Negro Spirituals from A Child of Our Time, Copland Four Motets, Pärt Magnificat, Allegri Miserere
Conductor – Iain Grandage
Fremantle Prison

Music for Mother’s Day
Gershwin I got Rhythm, The Man I love, Summertime, Love Walked In, Youmans Tea for Two, Porter Night and Day, Delibes The Flower Song, Mozart Laci Darem la Mano, Dvorak Song of the Moon
Conductor – Prue Ashurst
Rachelle Durkin, Tamsyn Stock-Stafford, Luke Gabbedy, Caroline Badnell (piano)
Fremantle Town Hall, Moora Town Hall

German Masters
Schumann, Dichterliebe, Strauss Four Last Songs, Brahms Horn Trio in Eb Op. 40
Robert Hoffman, Tamsyn Stock-Stafford, Piano – Jacinta Jakovcevic
Cottesloe Civic Centre

Monteverdi Vepers (1610)
St George’s Baroque Consort, UWA Choral Society, MLC Choirs
Conductors – Andrew Bushell, Prue Ashurst, Su-Lyn Chong
Winthrop Hall

Splendours of Spring
Bach Mass in F Major, Purcell From Hardy Climbs & Dangerous Toils of War, Scarlatti Dixit Dominus, Vivaldi Spring from The Four Seasons
Conductor – Simon Lawford St George’s Baroque Consort
St George’s Cathedral

The Winds of War
Shepherd Western Wind Mass, Jannequin La Guerre
Conductor – Andrew Bushell
St Michael the Archangel, Leederville
1999
Bach Singet denn Herren, Stanford The Blue Bird
Penrhos College Chapel
Conductor – David Gething
2000
Amore e Guerra
Monteverdi, Beatus Vir, Madrigals of Love and War, Bach, Jesu meine Freude
Conductor – David Gething
Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery, UWA

Celestial Harmonies
Pärt Summa, Tavener Song for Athene, Britten Rejoice in the Lamb, Górecki Totus Tuus, Duruflé Requiem, Messian Le Banquet Celeste
Conductor – David Gething, Organ – Simon Lawford
St Patricks Basilica, Fremantle

A Pastoral Farewell
Parry Songs of Farewell, Vaughan Williams In Windsor Forest, Brahms Part-songs, Fauré Madrigal, Pavanne, Cantique de Jean Racine
Conductor – David Gething
Burt Hall
2001
Voices of the Renaissance
Anonymous Non Vos Relinquam, Josquin des Prez Absolom Fili Mi, Tallis O Nata Lux, Gibbons I am the Resurrection, Byrd Gaudeamus Omnes
Conductor – Andrew Bushell
Hale School Performing Arts Centre

Songs for the Ages of Man
Howells Requiem, Vaughan Williams Three Shakespeare Songs, Messiaen O Sacrum Convivium, Tippett Five Negro Spirituals, Rutter Five Childhood Lyrics, Ravel Trois Chansons, Murray Ecce Dominus Veniet/Sribhagavan uvaca, Grainger Brigg Fair
Conductor – Daniel Hyde
St George’s Cathedral

Heaven and Back – Glories of the Baroque
Bach Mass in A Major, Vivaldi Gloria (RV 588)
Conductor – Simon Lawford
St Patrick’s Basilica, Fremantle
2002
Music from a Deeper Place
JC Bach Unsers Herzens Freude, Charpentier Salve Regina à 3 choeurs, De Brossard Stabat Mater, Monteverdi Magnificat a 6 voci, Purcell Behold, now praise the Lord, Buxtehude Ad Genua and Ad Manus (from Membra Jesu Nosti), Bach Lobet den Herrn, Harpsichord Concerto in D BWV 1054
Conductor – David Gething
Hale School Performing Arts Centre

Elevation of the Heart
Vaughan Williams Serenade to Music, Elgar Lux Aeterna, Schumann Dichterliebe
Conductor – David Gething, Baritone – Andrew Moran
Hale School Performing Arts Centre

Tales of Tragedy and Passion
Handel Acis & Galatea, As Pants the Heart, Harpsichord Suite No. 3
Conductor – David Gething, Katja Webb (Galatea), Stuart Haycock (Acis), Andrew Sutherland (Damon), Andrew Moran (Polythemus)
Hale School Performing Arts Centre
2003
Chansons de Nuit
Ninot le Petit Et la la la, Josquin des Prez Mille Regrets, En L’ombre d’un Buissonet, Petit Camusette, Sermisy Il me Suffit, Tant que Vivrai, Bataille C’est aujhord’hui, Anonymous Second Chant de Ballet, Douce Beauté, Certon Je suis désheritée, Claude le Jeune Susanne un Jour, Revoice Venire du Printemps, Ce n’est que Fiel, Passereau Il est bel et Bon, Clereau Comme un qui Prend, Caurroy Las! Amour, Phinot Pleurez mes Yeaux, Jannequin La Guerre
Conductor – David Gething
Burt Hall

Sacred Baroque
Graziani Missa S. Maria de Victoria concertata à 5, Charpentier Magnificat, La Reniement de Saint Pierre, Purcell Funeral Sentences, JC Bach Fürchte Dich Nicht Schütz Jauchzet dem Herren, Wohl dem, der den Herren fürchtet, Selig sind die Toten, JS Bach Der Geist hilft unser Schwachheit auf
Conductor – David Gething
Burt Hall

Pax Aeterna
Vierne Messe Solonelle, Fauré Cantique de Jean Racine, Brahms Geistliches Lied, Hakim Fantasia on Adeste Fidelis, Barber Agnus Dei, Harris Faire is the Heaven, Elgar Give unto the Lord, Walton The Twelve
Conductor – David Gething
St Patrick’s Basilica, Fremantle
2004
Praise
Palestrina Missa Papae Marcelli, Turnemiere Improvisations for Organ, Allegri Miserere, Duruflé Requiem
Conductor – David Gething, Organ – Stewart Smith
St Patrick’s Basilica, Fremantle

Passion
Parry Blest Pair of Sirens, Fauré Tantum Ergo, Pavane, Brahms & Schubert – Lieder.
Conductor – David Gething, Piano – Lea Hayward
Australian Opera Studio, Callaway Music Auditorium, UWA

Pleasure
Bernstein I Hate Music, Bolcom Caberet Songs, Grandage Night Camp, The Owl & the Pussy Cat, Stanford Blue Bird, Grainger Londonderry Air, Pearsall Lay a Garland, Bach Requiem Aeternam, Tchaikovsky Danse De La Fee-Dragee, Kern All the Things You Are, Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man, Newman Short People, Porter Miss Otis Regrets, Austin Is You or Is You ‘Aint My Baby
Conductor – David Gething, Piano – Caroline Badnall & Iain Grandage
Australian Opera Studio, Callaway Music Auditorium, UWA
2005
Hope
Tippett Five Negro Spirituals, Holst Ave Maria, Howells Psalm Prelude, Requiem, Britten Hymn to St Cecilia, Rejoice in the Lamb, Taverner Song for Athene.
Conductor – David Gething, Organ – Stewart Smith
St Patrick’s Basilica, Fremantle, Guildford Grammar School Chapel

Heart
Vaughan Williams In Windsor Forest, Rutter Five Childhood Lyrics, Novak Manhatten Transfer Medley, Gershwin Porgy & Bess, Folk Songs – Ciao Bella Ciao, Once a Jolly Swagman, Wade in the Water, Were You There? Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho, Porter Begin the Beguine, Myers She Was Beautiful, Ellington I’m Beginning to See the Light, Garland In the Mood
Conductor – David Gething, Piano – Bradley Gilchrist
Australian Opera Studio, Callaway Music Auditorium, UWA

Heaven
Guerrero Ave Maria Sanctissima, O Sacrum Convivium, Arauxo Tres Glosas el Canto Llano de la Inmaculada Concepción, Byrd Praise Our Lord, All ye Gentiles, Sing Joyfully, Bull Fantasy Sopra Ut, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, Lassus Ave Verum Corpus, Timor et Tremor, Macque Consonanze Stravaganti, Palestrina Sicut Cervus, Tue s Petrus, Bach Lobet Den Herren, Purcell I Was Glad, Remember Not Lord Our Offences, Jehova Quam Multi Sunt Hostes Mei
Conductor – David Gething, Organ – Stewart Smith
Guildford Grammar School Chapel, St Joseph’s, Subiaco
2006
Cantabile
Pergolesi Stabat Mater, Buxtehude Membra Jesu Nostri, Fuga in G, Chorale Partita Auf meinen Lieben Gott
Conductor – David Gething
St Joseph’s, Subiaco, Guildford Grammar School Chapel

Creation
Perotin Viderunt Omnes, Queldryk Gloria, Langlais Messa en Style Ancien, Anon Pia Mater, Cornysh Salve Regina, Gething Four Motets, Murray White Bird, Poston Jesus Christ the Apple Tree, Tavener Love Bade Me Welcome, Gorécki Totus Tuus
Conductor – David Gething
St Joseph’s, Subiaco, Guildford Grammar School Chapel

Christmas
Schütz Historia der Guburt Jesu Christi
Conductor – David Gething
Evangelist - Katja Webb, Angels – Kate Macoboy, Sabra Poole-Johnson, King Herod – James Clayton
St Joseph’s, Subiaco, Guildford Grammar School Chapel
June 2007 - Missa Pange Lingua
The Giovanni Consort performed Josquin desPrez’s masterpiece in a beautiful unaccompanied programme from the French Renaissance including Jannequin’s La Guerre and music by Machaut.
Guest Conductor: Andrew Sutherland
"The Giovanni Consort is a jewel in the crown of Perth's musical environment. Their recent concert of French Medieval and Renaissance music in the appropriate ambience and warm acoustic of the Town Hall showed off the musical skills and presentational confidence of the group to good effect. The programme was imaginatively-devised, presenting a balance of sacred and secular that provided pleasing variety. Only for a blink of an eye in the difficult 'Benedictus' of Josquin's landmark Mass-setting based around the plainsong hymn Pange Lingua did the well-tuned interaction of the voices unravel slightly. For the most part, Josquin's arching lines were beautifully projected, tenors and sopranos ascending to thrilling heights supported by a firm and vigorous bass line and a supple mixture of male and female altos.

In Machaut's ‘He! Dame de Vaillance’, three solo voices enacted a troubador song as if entering a baronial hall from different doors. The cycle of songs by Claudin de Sermisy alternated artful French equivalents to the early Italian madrigal with contemporary keyboard transcriptions performed with poise on a sweetly-piping chamber organ by Jangoo Chapkhana. The concert finished with the dramatic tour-de-force of Clement Jannequin’s 'La Guerre', a setting of warcries, curses and observations about battle that blends language and music to conjure the scene and sounds of conflict. This was brilliantly evoked by these fine young singers, directed by Andrew Sutherland, who has recently returned to Perth after a spell of performing and teaching in Sydney and the UK."
Nick Bannan