A journey across time: from the sublime, soaring melodies of the 12th-century abbess and mystic Hildegard von Bingen, to the sunshine of J.S. Bach’s motet 'Be Not Afraid' (Fürchte dich nicht), and on to Benjamin Britten’s enchanting cantata Saint Nicolas:

Nicolas was the original Santa Claus, but this is no story of fat men in white-trimmed red suits! The saint’s gifts were of a different order altogether: calming the crashing seas to save a boat from shipwreck, feeding a starving crowd with a single sack of corn, and bringing back to life three murdered boys whose pickled flesh was about to be served up as dinner!

Britten tells this larger-than-life tale of miracles and legends in music bright with colour, bold in vision, and full of wonder and joy.

Hildegard von Bingen – Selections from Canticles of Ecstasy
Bach – Motet: Fürchte dich nicht
Buxtehude – Magnificat
Britten – Saint Nicolas

Richard Butler Tenor
Richard Gill Conductor
Sydney Chamber Choir
Santa Sabina Chamber Choir
NSW Public Schools Singers and Percussion Ensemble

Pre-concert talk commences at 2.30pm.