The Leisure and Cultural Services Department will present appreciation talks in June to introduce English madrigals from their origin to their heyday. The talks will be hosted in Cantonese by Patrick Chiu with live a cappella music by SingFest Choral Academy. Details are as follows:
June 13 (Wednesday)
Topic: "Sing we and chant it" – The genesis of English madrigal
English madrigals flourished in England in the late 16th century. This lecture traces the history and origin of English madrigals with demonstrations to illustrate the stylistic changes from Italian madrigals to English madrigals.
June 20 (Wednesday)
Topic: "The Triumphs of Oriana" (1601) – Songs for Queen Elizabeth I
"The Triumphs of Oriana" is an extravagant musical compliment paid to Queen Elizabeth I by Thomas Morley, Gentleman of the Chapel Royal. Published in 1601, it consists of 25 madrigals by 23 different composers including some of the most well-known ones. Attendees will listen to the story of this brilliant collection and see how it captured the musical imagination of the time.
June 27 (Wednesday)
Topic: Oriana's story continues – "Choral songs in honour of Her Majesty Queen Victoria" (1899)
In 1899, imitating the idea of "The Triumphs of Oriana", another collection of madrigals was published to mark Queen Victoria's 80th birthday. This lecture will look at how these secular part-songs continued to intrigue composers in the 19th century, a time when England entered its great age of industrial expansion and economic progress.
Born in Hong Kong, Patrick Chiu is a choral conductor and is dedicated to the promotion of choral music and education on the topic. During his period of residency in Vienna, Chiu participated in various local professional performances and received tuition from professors at the Vienna Conservatory. Later he earned a scholarship to study at the University of Cincinnati's College-Conservatory of Music, where he received his master's degree in choral conducting. During his stay in Europe and the United States, he worked with and studied under world-renowned maestros including Helmuth Rilling, James Levine and Harry Christophers. Chiu won two Gold Awards in the World Choir Games with the Hong Kong Melody Makers in 2010 and was a recipient of the Award for Young Artist in the Hong Kong Arts Development Awards 2012. Chiu is the founder of Hong Kong SingFest.
All talks will be held at 7.30pm at the Lecture Hall of the Hong Kong Space Museum. Tickets priced at $50 (for each lecture) are now available at URBTIX (www.urbtix.hk). For telephone credit card bookings, please call 2111 5999. For programme enquiries and concessionary schemes, please call 2268 7321 or visit www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/CulturalService/Programme/en/music/programs_562.html.
Follow this news feed: East Asia