Once in a red moon, or the rare Great White Thunderstorm on Saturn (if sticking to the feast of astronomical events of late), would describe the frequency with which music lovers in Cape Town will have the chance to hear the Monteverdi Vespers (evening prayers) performed on their own doorstep: a work considered the grandest piece of religious music before the masterpieces of J.S. Bach. Last performed in South Africa around 25 years ago, Martin Berger (head of the choral programme at Stellenbosch University) will assemble top local and international artists to do justice to a magnificent masterpiece that can only come together under extraordinary circumstances due to its rare demands and exquisite ensemble forces.
Monteverdi's Vespers (the full title is: Evening Prayers for the blessed Virgin) is surrounded by the mystery and inspiration shared by all great artworks that unwittingly forged new epochs through the ages. While local audiences will certainly be familiar with the popular Rachmaninov Vespers, this ground-breaking version of “evening prayers" is a 90-minute piece for orchestra, chamber choir and vocal soloists, based on Biblical texts — among others some Psalms, two settings of the Magnificat (The Canticle of Mary) and two settings of love poetry from Solomon's Song of Songs. The inclusion of the latter erotic texts seem ill-fitting for a Marian Feast – it can easily be explained by the fact that the Holy Mother is often seen as the “bride" of the Church.
For these performances, vocal soloists include Caroline Nkwe (soprano - RSA), Lente Louw (Soprano - RSA), Ulrike Malotta (Mezzo Soprano – Germany), Georg Poplutz (Tenor – Germany), Christian Rathgeber (Tenor – Germany) and Felix Rathgeber (Bass – Germany).
The effect will further be enhanced by specialist performers of curious instruments from the Renaissance period seldom heard in a modern-day concert environment (although familiar to the growing early music fraternity in Cape Town). The Vespers has never been performed on period instruments in South Africa. As an example, Arno Parduch (Germany) will be performing on a rare Renaissance cornetto – a wind instrument made out of wood, covered with leather and played with a brass mouthpiece, using recorder fingerings. The resultant sound is a pleasing mix between woodwind and brass, similar to a human voice. He will be joined by three sackbut players (an early version of the trombone): Stuart Scott (Head of Music at Bishops Court in Cape Town - Tenor sackbut), Ryan Kierman (lecturer at Stellenbosch University - Alto sackbut), and David Langford (Bass trombonist of the CPO - Bass sackbut).
This performance is proudly sponsored by the Goethe Institute, ProCoroAfrika Foundation, and ASK Afrika.
The performances take place on Saturday 1 September at 8pm and on Sunday 2 September at 4:30pm in the Endler Hall, Stellenbosch. Tickets for R140 (regular) and R100 (students and pensioners) are available now through Computicket and at the door. For more information contact Fiona Grayer at concerts@sun.ac.za or 021 808 2358.
