Classical treat at Leisureland

Date Published: 04-Jun-2010

GALWAY Baroque Singers and RTÉ Concert Orchestra will perform Durufle’s beautiful and moving Requiem, and a Mass by Puccini in a concert in Leisureland on Thursday next, June 10 at 8 pm.

They will be joined by Icelandic tenor Gardar Thor Cortes – described by Newsweek as having “the voice of Pavarotti and the looks of Brad Pitt – and two of Ireland’s leading singers, bass-baritone John Molloy and mezzo-soprano Sharon Carty who left her job as a PE teacher to study singing in Vienna.

Durufle’s Requiem was written in memory of his father and is filled with images of rest and peace rather than visions of hell and damnation found in other Requiems. It combines the purity of Gregorian chant with lush, gorgeous harmonies – a gem of sacred music.

Meanwhile, the young Puccini’s Messa di Gloria shares the invention, drama and expressiveness of the operas he went on to compose; the Gloria in particular is a tour de force.

The Puccini Mass features John Molloy and Gardar Thos Cortes, while John and Sharon Carty join the choir and orchestra for Durufle’s Requiem.

The orchestra also performs Puccini’s Preludio Sinfonica and Ravel’s Le tombeau de Couperin with movements dedicated to friends who had died in World War 1. Just as Durufle combined old and new in his Requiem, Ravel created a gracious tribute to Baroque music that also has his own quirky musical personality.

The Baroque choir has been working on this programme since early this year, guided by Musical Director Audrey Corbett. The conductor once again is Proinnsias Ó Duinn. The concert will be repeated in the National Concert Hall, Dublin on Friday, June 11.

Tickets €22 and €15 (concession) are on sale at Charlie Byrne’s Bookshop, The Cornstore, Middle Street, Galway, tel. 091-561766. Doors open at 7.30 pm.