O Nata Lux - September 14 and 21
We are looking forward to presenting our latest programme O NATA LUX to audiences in Featherston and Wellington in September!
O NATA LUX is a celebration of light across space and centuries. Diverse settings of familiar texts explore light as a timeless muse - including a world premiere of O Nata Lux by David Griffiths (Wellington performance only) as well as the well-known setting of Thomas Tallis that was sung at the first ever Tudor Consort concert back in 1986! The music reaches the majestic in William Walton’s Cantico de Sole - an untamed invocation to Brother Sun and Sister Death, celebrating the splendours of life-giving light. We round the programme out with works by Eric Whitacre, Thomas Tallis, David Hamilton, and Ross Harris.
Click here for Featherston bookings and here for Wellington.
Monday 26 August, 2024
2024 Subscription Series
We are pleased to be offering a three concert subscription for our 2024 series!
This ticket is offers a 20% discount off the Tudor Consort's three headlining concerts! Individual tickets are available through clicking the title of each concert via our profile on Humanitix.
Please purchase season subscriptions here for each person in separate orders (our automatic discount only works up to 5 tickets under 1 name!).
Please note that purchases must be completed before March 29th 2024. Season subscriptions are not transferrable or refundable unless given extenuating circumstances.
Wednesday 14 February, 2024
Alone to Sacrifice - Music for Holy Week
Join the Tudor Consort in our commemoration of Holy Week. This year our programme is based around Sir James MacMillan’s powerful ’Cantos Sagrados’, a setting of three poems on political repression, violence, and redemption in Latin America. The theme of sacrifice is explored in Kenneth Leighton’s ‘Solus ad Victimam’, and we round out the programme with Lenten works by Byrd, Gibbons, Purcell and Weelkes.
Tickets available through Humanitix and at the door.
Featherston (4pm 23/03):
Tickets: https://events.humanitix.com/featherston-alone-to-sacrifice
Facebook event: https://fb.me/e/1YrlwpluM
Wellington event (7:30pm 29/03 - 7pm pre-concert talk):
Tickets: https://events.humanitix.com/wellington-alone-to-sacrifice
Facebook event: https://fb.me/e/1jygljabh
Season subscription: https://events.humanitix.com/tudor-consort-2024-season
All 2024 tickets (linktree): https://linktr.ee/tudorconsortÂ
Wednesday 14 February, 2024
Hodie! Christmas with The Tudor Consort
Dear Tudor Consort supporter,
What better way to get into the Christmas spirit than a feast of carols old and new from Wellington’s premier choir?
Based around Francis Poulenc’s Quatre motets pour le temps de Noël, we will present an attractive programme of Christmas music ancient and modern, featuring works by Byrd, Victoria, Palestrina and Howells. There will even be an opportunity to sing with the choir in some well-known carols, led from the organ by yours truly!
Join us as we crown a busy year with some gorgeous a cappella music - a nice antidote to Snoopy’s Christmas!
Hodie! Christmas with The Tudor Consort
Saturday 9 December, 7.30pm (NB - no pre-concert talk)
Wellington Cathedral of St Paul
Cnr Hill and Molesworth Streets
Tickets from Humanitix
And if you can’t wait that long for a Tudor Consort fix, we are also featured in what promises to be one of the most exciting concerts of the 2023 season - the NZ premiere of Alban Berg’s opera Wozzeck, presented in concert performance by Orchestra Wellington under Music Director Marc Taddei on Saturday 11 November. For further information see https://orchestrawellington.co.nz/event/red-moon
Wednesday 14 February, 2024
Sing Joyfully - Saturday 1 July
Dear Tudor Consort supporter,
I warmly invite you to our next concert, marking the 400th anniversary of the death of William Byrd, arguably the greatest English composer of all time.
William Byrd composed during the reign of Elizabeth I, when even refusal to attend Anglican services was enough to bring individuals to the notice of the authorities. Indeed, both Juliana (his wife) and then Byrd himself were on recusancy lists. Byrd was also involved in sending money to Catholics abroad, which led to restrictions on his movement, and his house being placed on a search list. And he was involved with prominent Catholics, including Father Henry Garnett, later executed for his complicity in the 1605 Gunpowder Plot.
Byrd's involvement with Catholicism, with the very real risks that this created, did not limit his immense output of choral, consort, and keyboard music. For this concert, The Tudor Consort presents a grand programme of his music for the church, both for the newly-established Anglican service and for the Catholic Mass. The featured works are his justly-famous Mass for Four Voices and Ave verum corpus, smaller scale and more intimate works to be sung in secret Catholic worship, and the ‘Great’ Service, a monumental collection of music in English for the Anglican rite.
We are delighted to be joined by cornetti, sackbuts and chamber organ for this opulent music, last heard under the direction of Simon Ravens in 2006 when we celebrated our 20th anniversary!
I warmly invite you to join us for this concert celebrating one of the great geniuses of this or any age.
Best regards,
Michael Stewart
Music Director, The Tudor Consort
Online bookings at events.humanitix.com/sing-joyfully
Wednesday 14 February, 2024
St Matthew Passion - 25 March 2023
Dear friends of The Tudor Consort,
We are excited to announce that New Zealand’s premier early music choir The Tudor Consort is presenting J S Bach’s monumental oratorio St Matthew Passion on Saturday 25 March 2023.
Tickets available now via Humanitix.
The Tudor Consort will be accompanied by the Chiesa Ensemble and directed from the harpsichord by Music Director Michael Stewart.
This historically-informed performance will draw soloists from the choir in the manner in which the work was intended to be heard, alongside tenor Lachlan Craig as the Evangelist.
Join us for this powerful setting detailing the last days of Christ’s life, retold by solo voices, double orchestra and double chorus. Book today to hear this sacred choral work brimming with drama, performed by the region’s finest singers.
You will see we are using a new ticketing method for this concert. Should you have any issues using Humanitix to purchase your ticket, please email tickets@tudor-consort.org.nz and we will be happy to assist you with your purchase. We hope that this new ticketing platform will offer a smoother user experience for our audience, and thank you for coming along with us on this change.
We are offering the opportunity to pre-purchase programmes when you buy your tickets. Programmes will also be for sale for $5 each at the concert.
We thank you for your ongoing support of The Tudor Consort through what has been such a difficult time for Aotearoa and the arts. We look forward to sharing the beauty of Bach’s famous passion oratorio with you in March next year.
Ngā mihi nui,
The Tudor Consort
Monday 28 November, 2022
Missa Papae Marcelli
The Tudor Consort is excited to present Palestrina’s legendary Mass for the first time since 2001.
In the mid-16th century, the Roman Catholic Church convened the Council of Trent, to consider and respond to issues of the Protestant Reformation. One of the issues discussed was the ‘lasciviousness and impurity’ of Mass settings based on popular secular melodies, and the difficulty of understanding the text clearly amidst such highly intricate polyphony. In reaction to the Council, Palestrina composed the Mass; the simple and declamatory style (known as imitative polyphony) of the Missa Papae Marcelli is a direct response to the latter injunction, which has led to the legend that Palestrina ‘saved polyphony’ from being banned by the Council.
The mass is named after the short-lived Pope Marcellus II, who clocked in at a mere 22 days as Pope, making him the 6th shortest reigning Pontiff.
This is Palestrina’s most famous mass, and has been studied for centuries as a prime example of Renaissance polyphony, with its vocal interplay. The legend of this Mass has even inspired an opera - Hans Pfitzner’s Palestrina (1917).
This performance will take the form of a liturgical reconstruction, a practice developed by our founding director Simon Ravens. Rather than performing the Mass movements one after the other, they will be set within the original framework of Gregorian chant, in this case the Propers for the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Wednesday 10 August, 2022
Times of Penitence
We hope you are staying well and safe in what has been another turbulent year! The cancellation of our much-loved Good Friday concert in April was so disappointing, and it seems amazing that we are only just about to present our first solo concert of 2022. Fresh from a wonderful collaboration with Camerata of Haydn’s Nelson Mass, we are delighted to invite you to Times of Penitence on Saturday 9 July.
This Times of Penitence concert is a somewhat reordered version of what we would have loved to have performed on Good Friday. Based around Francis Poulenc’s Quatre motets pour un temps de pénitence (Four Penitential Motets), the programme will feature works by Lassus, Victoria, Mauersberger, Zelenka, and New Zealand’s own Dorothy Buchanan.
“I’ve always been a huge admirer of The Sixteen and particularly their amazing director, Harry Christophers”, says Music Director Michael Stewart. “In his view, Victoria and Poulenc are among a trio of the very greatest composers of sacred music, and I would have to agree. I do hope you can come along and savour some of this incredible music, and perhaps quiz me on who the third composer is!”
Do mark your diaries for our other concerts for this year: a mass reconstruction for the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin featuring Palestrina’s Missa Papae Marcelli on 3 September, and our next appearance with the NZSO to perform Handel’s Messiah on December 10. We’re pleased to attach a small season poster which reaches to early 2023 where we look forward to performing St Matthew Passion with the Chiesa Ensemble.
We look forward to seeing you on Saturday 9 July.
Sunday 3 July, 2022
2022 Performance Series
Tēnā koutou katoa,
We hope you are staying safe and well so far in 2022. The Tudor Consort is excited to share its programme for 2022, outlining a year of breathtaking choral music as we move from polyphony to Poulenc.
However, the Omicron outbreak has put a spanner in the works for the first quarter of the year, and we are sorry to share that we will not be presenting our usual Good Friday concert. It has not been possible for us to rehearse safely in recent weeks. We also made this decision with the welfare of our audience in mind.
Looking ahead, there are exciting concerts and collaborations on the horizon:
On Monday 9 May (Europe Day), The Tudor Consort will be taking part in a special Ukraine fundraising concert which is being organised by the Delegation of the European Union to New Zealand. This concert will be held at Wellington Cathedral of St Paul. This is a Concert for Peace, an opportunity to showcase the musical creativity and beauty that has come from Eastern European countries. The concert will also feature the choir of Wellington Cathedral of St Paul and players from the NZSO. Keep an eye out for further details about this concert.
Later in May, The Tudor Consort will present a joint concert with chamber music orchestra Camerata. We are excited to be performing Haydn's Nelson Mass on Saturday 28 May at 7.30pm. Haydn's Missa in Angustiis (Mass for Troubled Times), also known as the "Nelson Mass" is one of the six great Mass settings that form the crowning glory of his vocal music. Entry to this event is by koha, and details about how you can make your contribution will be available upon entry to the event or in your programme. We hope to see you there.
We look forward to sharing this wonderful music with you.
Ngā mihi nui,
The Tudor Consort
Monday 4 April, 2022
Cancellation of MESSIAH
We are disappointed to announce that our planned performance of Messiah on 11 December with Baroque Voices and the New Zealand Baroque Soloists has been cancelled, due to uncertainty regarding COVID-19.
If you have already bought a ticket to this concert, iTicket will be in touch with you shortly to arrange a refund over the next few days. See here for further details: https://www.iticket.co.nz/events/2021/dec/baroque-messiah
Tuesday 2 November, 2021
O Mors Inevitabilis - this Saturday
We are so looking forward to presenting music by Renaissance masters Josquin des Prez and Robert Fayrfax at Wellington Cathedral of St Paul this Saturday, marking the 500th anniversary of their deaths.
Both composers were revered in their time - Josquin was described as the “Michelangelo of music” and enjoyed an esteemed career in Italy, while Fayrfax was considered the most important English composer of his generation, leading the musical retinue of Henry VIII to the Field of the Cloth of Gold.
Josquin’s lyrical Missa Ave Maris Stella, his immensely popular chanson Mille Regretz, and Fayrfax’s Magnificat Regale feature on the programme.
As usual, we are closely following COVID-19 health guidance: please do check our website www.tudor-consort.org for up-to-date information. We will also keep you informed by email, so if you have not provided us with an email address please do so at feedback@tudor-consort.org.nz.
Stay safe and best regards,
Michael Stewart (Music Director, The Tudor Consort)
Tuesday 2 November, 2021
The Tudor Consort in 2021
Kia ora koutou katoa! We are back and rehearsing for our first concert of 2021 - Music for Holy Week - which will take place on Good Friday April 2.
Due to the uncertainty of these Covid times, we are NOT offering a Subscription for our concerts this year, but each will be a stand-alone concert. This allows us to avoid a situation where we are unable to honour cancelled concerts due to lockdowns, as happened last year.
We do however have an interesting year of music planned: after our Good Friday performance, we will tackle works by John Tavener, Arvo Pärt, Sergei Rachmaninov and Georgy Sviridov in a programme named ICONIC, scheduled for Saturday June 26. 2021 marks the 500th anniversary of the deaths of Josquin Desprez and Robert Fayrfax, and we will present a programme of music from these two illustrious composers on Saturday August 14.
We have two more concerts planned for later in the year too, so stay tuned!
Friday 2 April, 2021
The Tudor Consort returns for 2020
Hello to our wonderful supporters!
Though we have unfortunately had to cancel the 2020 Subscription Series due to Covid-19, we are very happy to announce that we have emerged from lockdown and will perform two concerts over the coming months!
Our first concert, INVOCATIONS, explores music that was written in the midst of plague, reminding us that pandemics have been negotiated by humankind for centuries. This will take place on Saturday 29 August at 7pm at Wellington Cathedral of St Paul - see here for details on Facebook. Note that this concert will NOT feature a pre-concert talk, but Michael Stewart will introduce the pieces during the concert.
The second concert is one that we have taken from the 2020 Subscription Series that is really pertinent to this year - the FIELD OF THE CLOTH OF GOLD celebrates the 500th anniversary of the famous summit meeting between Henry VIII and Francois I of France, and features music by the prominent composers of France and England at that time including Robert Fayrfax, Jean Mouton, and Henry VIII himself. Again this concert will be at Wellington Cathedral of St Paul on Saturday November 7 at 7.30pm (pre-concert talk at 7pm).
And we round out the year with MESSIAH with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra - see here for more details.
Hope to see you at our upcoming concerts!
Wednesday 22 July, 2020
Update re Music for Holy Week
To all our wonderful Tudor Consort supporters,
What a difference a few days can make. Last Thursday I advised that, although we would not open the Good Friday concert to the public on April 10, we were hopeful that the choir could continue rehearsing with a view to either livestreaming or producing some form of recording of our current Music for Holy Week programme. Once PM Ardern announced that the level on the COVID-19 alert system was to be raised to 3 with a complete lockdown of the country tomorrow, we of course had no choice but to suspend our rehearsals to guarantee the safety of our singers and to join the national effort in curbing the spread of the disease.
What I am hoping to do is broadcast an archived recording from The Tudor Consort and make that available to you so you can listen to us on Good Friday. In the meantime, you can access some of our recordings at the MP3 section of our website here.
Kia kaha everyone, stay safe and please do abide by the regulations of the lockdown. We look forward to being able to perform for you in the flesh as soon as we can!
Best wishes,
Michael Stewart
Music Director, The Tudor Consort
Tuesday 24 March, 2020
Good Friday concert
Dear Tudor Consort supporter,
We are very aware of the evolving situation regarding the containment of COVID-19, and how this will affect the arts sector and the likelihood of our performances taking place in the near future.
The Tudor Consort committee and singers of the current ‘Music for Holy Week’ project met a couple of days ago to come up with a plan that we would like to communicate to you now.
We do not feel it is responsible of us to gather together a large crowd, particularly as many of our supporters fall in the most vulnerable bracket. For this reason, we will not be putting on the ‘Music for Holy Week’ programme as a normal, live concert at Wellington Cathedral of St Paul as previously advertised.
However, we also feel that it is important for art to continue as much as possible in these uncertain times. Our proposition is to record the concert in some way (perhaps livestream, but definitely in an audio format) which we can then distribute via email and social media. That way, you can enjoy the concert we have been preparing in the comfort of your own home without running the risk of contamination from others.
Of course, this plan can only proceed if the choir is able to meet and rehearse. The consensus in the group is that we would like to do this until gatherings of this sort are officially advised against.
For subscribers, we have a couple of options that we would like to offer you in relation to this concert:
1) CD recording of concert and a donation tax receipt for the concert subscription price
2) Refund of the subscription price
We hope that you are happy with these proposals, and we look forward to being able to perform for you again in person at some point in the near future. For the moment though, please keep yourselves safe.
Yours sincerely,
Michael Stewart
Music Director, The Tudor Consort
Thursday 19 March, 2020
2020 Subscription Series
The 500th anniversary of the most outlandish Anglo-French summit meeting (complete with wine fountains and wrestling kings), an overview of the evolution of the choral Requiem, a salute to Spring and the annual poignant Good Friday meditation…. four good reasons to get your subscription pass to The Tudor Consort’s 2020 season at the bargain price of $100.
Sunday 17 November, 2019
2019 Subscription Series
From Renaissance love madrigals to contrapuntal riddles through the ages; profound works of faith to music’s less savoury characters; our first collaboration with exciting vocal ensemble Aurora IV; and all crowned with the glorious 40-part Spem in alium - 2019 is a great time to purchase one of our Subscriptions, in order to receive discounted prices and preferential seating for all of these fine concerts. Treat yourself or a friend, and we look forward to seeing you!
Wednesday 7 November, 2018
Music for Holy Week broadcasts on Radio New Zealand Concert this week
The Tudor Consort will be on the airwaves a fair bit this coming week as RNZ Concert broadcasts two Good Friday concerts from years gone by. On Monday 26 March at 7.30pm you can hear our Good Friday presentation from 2014, featuring settings of the Lamentation by Lassus, Tallis and Cardoso alongside the stunning ‘Stabat Mater’ of John Browne and William Byrd’s masterpiece ‘Ne irascaris Domine’. And at 1pm on Good Friday (a few hours before our next concert!) RNZ will broadcast last year’s concert - Music for Holy Week: The Desolate City, commemorating the wartime destruction of Dresden and Hiroshima, and the cry of the persecuted Catholic Church, lamenting the loss of the spiritual Jerusalem in Protestant England. Our Music Director Michael Stewart will also be interviewed on Upbeat at 1pm this coming Wednesday to talk about Eternal Sacrifice - stay tuned!Saturday 24 March, 2018
Press release for 'Music for Holy Week - Eternal Sacrifice'
Hello everyone,
We are busy preparing for our next performance, the annual Good Friday presentation of Music for Holy Week. Please see below for the press release which gives some extra information about the concert, and hope to see you at Wellington Cathedral of St Paul on Friday March 30.
1 March 2018 - for immediate release
“The Palestrina…was sung so well it had an other-worldly feel. One felt transported to 16th century Rome.”
-Rosemary Collier, review of ‘Dona nobis pacem’, Saturday 16 September 2017
Music for Holy Week - Eternal Sacrifice
In this the centennial year of the end of World War I, The Tudor Consort puts a twist on its annual Good Friday presentation of Holy Week music to commemorate the fallen with a programme of works written during the Great War.
Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry may be best known for his stirring hymn Jerusalem and the coronation anthem I was glad, but undoubtedly his choral masterpiece was his Songs of Farewell. These profound settings of poems and scripture give voice to Parry’s suffering at the carnage going on over the Channel, as well as his own feelings as he neared the end of his life. Dedicated to ‘the undying memory of those who have fallen’, Harold Darke’s cantata As the Leaves Fall is a poignant setting of soldier-poet Lieutenant Joseph Courtney RAMC.
“Following on from last year’s ‘The Desolate City’, we are looking forward to broadening our Good Friday presentation by acknowledging the final year of the Great War” says Music Director Michael Stewart. “Parry’s Songs of Farewell are works of genius, building from the simple four part My soul, there is a country through to rich eight-part polyphony in the concluding Lord, let me know mine end. This promises to be a real treat for lovers of the best of British choral music.”
Poems from the Front by Wilfrid Owen and Siegfried Sassoon will be interspersed between these major works, as well as Lenten music from the rich treasury of English music including Henry Purcell’s Hear my Prayer, Orlando Gibbons’ Drop, drop, slow tears and Thomas Weelkes’ heartrending When David heard.
Music for Holy Week: Eternal Sacrifice
The Tudor Consort dir. Michael Stewart
Richard Apperley, organ
Wellington Cathedral of St Paul
Friday 30 March (Good Friday), 7.30pm (pre-concert talk at 7pm)
$30/$25
Door sales and online bookings at www.tudor-consort.org.nz
Wednesday 7 March, 2018
A Consort Christmas - Saturday December 16
“The Palestrina…was sung so well it had an other-worldly feel. One felt transported to 16th century Rome.”
-Rosemary Collier, review of ‘Dona nobis pacem’, Saturday 16 September 2017
The Tudor Consort conclude their 2017 Subscription Series with A Consort Christmas on Saturday 16 December at Wellington Cathedral of St Paul.
Christmas music old and new, well-known and gems to discover, this will be a wonderful way to get in the Christmas spirit! Presented with witty readings for the festive season courtesy of Robert Easting and RNZ’s Brian Crump, and sprinkled with some good old fashioned singalong favourites. Featuring Tallis’ opulent seven-part Missa Puer natus est nobis alongside music by Sweelinck, Poulenc, Howells and Byrd.
“We are really looking forward to ending our year with a more informal concert featuring some beautiful Christmas music,” says Music Director Michael Stewart. “This will be a great opportunity for you all to lend your voices with us in some favourite Christmas carols, such as God rest ye, merry gentlemen and Good King Wenceslas”.
So come along and enjoy A Consort Christmas, a fine antidote to Snoopy’s version!
A Consort Christmas
Saturday 16 December 7.30pm (pre-concert talk at 7pm)
The Tudor Consort dir. Michael Stewart
Wellington Cathedral of St Paul, Cnr Molesworth and Hill St
$25/20
Door sales and online bookings at www.tudor-consort.org.nz
Friday 8 December, 2017
Music for Holy Week: The Desolate City
Hiroshima. Dresden. Jerusalem. Three cities laid waste in times of war, their destruction separated by thousands of years. The Tudor Consort’s Good Friday performance this year features music inspired by these tragic events, weaving together themes of alienation, exile, despair and forgiveness.
Rudolf Mauersberger’s motet Wie liegt die Stadt so wüst, written in response to the wartime bombing of his beloved Dresden, bookends a concert that ends with New Zealand composer Douglas Mews’ powerful setting of Ghosts, fire, water, from the poet James Kirkup’s anthology No more Hiroshimas. And in between, you can hear ancient and modern settings of the Lamentations of Jeremiah and Psalm 137 (“By the waters of Babylon, we sat down and wept.”)
Two main themes intertwine in this project: the prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem contrasted with the destruction of the Second World War; and the exile of the Jewish prisoners in Babylon mirrored by the cry of the persecuted Catholic in a violently Protestant England.
The concert also features the late Jack Body’s anguished setting of Psalm 137, his last commissioned work for The Tudor Consort.
The Tudor Consort’s Music for Holy Week presentation is a high point of the Wellington musical calendar. Come and experience this poignant and glorious music amid a candlelit Cathedral, performed by New Zealand’s specialist Renaissance choir.
Wednesday 22 March, 2017
2017 Subscription Series
2016 has been a fantastic year for us as we celebrated our 30th anniversary. Now I am thrilled to present our 2017 Subscription Season, which will mark my tenth year as Music Director of this wonderful ensemble.
I’m particularly looking forward to performing the iconic Ein Deutsches Requiem of Johannes Brahms, in his own piano four-hand arrangement, with the collaboration of the wonderful Richard Mapp and Emma Sayers.
We hope that the season brochure (PDF) inspires you to become a subscriber if you are not already!
Michael Stewart
Director, The Tudor Consort
Monday 12 December, 2016
Alastair Carey interviewed on RNZ Concert
Former Music Director Alastair Carey has just been interviewed by Eva Radich on the popular news and arts programme, Upbeat!
Alastair arrived in New Zealand on Friday, in time for a week of intensive rehearsals prior to our performance, Portal to Paradise, on Saturday 27 August.
Alastair shared his thoughts with Eva on working with the current choir, his insights into the programme he chose, and his experiences performing in the UK.
In case you missed the interview, here it is!
Tuesday 23 August, 2016
Michael Stewart talks to Peter Walls ahead of Good Friday concert
Michael Stewart talks to former director Peter Walls about his time with the choir and preparations for the upcoming Schütz St Matthew Passion, which The Tudor Consort will perform on Good Friday.
For full concert details, click here.
If you haven't booked your tickets yet, there's still time. Book tickets here.
Thursday 10 March, 2016
Simon Ravens talks to Michael Stewart
The Tudor Consort's founder, Simon Ravens, talks to present Musical Director Michael Stewart ahead of the upcoming 30th Anniversary concert series.
Like to hear more from Michael and Simon? Reserve your tickets now for Missa Gloria Tibi Trinitas.
Monday 8 February, 2016
Moving performances of three Tudor composers by The Tudor Consort
Click here for a review of the latest Tudor Consort Consort last month, featuring music by John Sheppard, Robert Wylkynson and Thomas Tallis.
Hope to see you for our next concert on September 5, which will comprise of music for either 16 voices or 16 parts! An epic programme is on offer featuring music by Strauss, Gabrieli and Mendelssohn.
Sunday 5 July, 2015
Miserere concert a 'memorable and illuminating exploration'
We were thrilled with the great turnout to our Good Friday presentation last night, and with Lindis Taylor's review for Middle C!
Unfortunately we had not printed enough programmes for the performance, so here it is in electronic form.
We hope very much to see you all again on June 6 for our next subscription concert, celebrating the 500th anniversaries of John Sheppard and Robert Wylkynson.
Sunday 5 April, 2015
Miserere—Music for Holy Week
Allegri’s setting of the Miserere is one of the most well-known choral pieces in existence—notable for its stratospheric soprano top C. But was this really the piece that Allegri wrote? Come and hear The Tudor Consort present it in both its most familiar setting and an historically-informed edition. The fascinating story of how this piece has transformed over time will be explored in a pre-concert talk. Also, discover how this penitential text has inspired great composers from Gesualdo, Byrd and Josquin, to contemporary Scottish composer James Macmillan.
Friday 3 April, 7:30pm
Pre-concert talk 7:00pm
Wellington Cathedral of St Paul
Cnr Molesworth and Hill St
Wellington
$25/$20 door sales and online booking
Directed by Michael Stewart
Sunday 29 March, 2015
A wonderful review of our Music for Holy Week concert
Thanks to Frances Robinson of Middle C for this great review of our concert from April 12.
Looking forward to our 'By Popular Request' programme, which we will begin rehearsing for once we have got over Easter!
Friday 18 April, 2014
The Tudor Consort on Radio New Zealand Concert
The Tudor Consort's June 2013 concert will be be broadcast on Radio New Zealand Concert tomorrow night, Friday the 22nd of November, at 8pm.
It's a wonderful chance to hear the virtuosic masterpiece Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam again, on the 100th anniversary of Benjamin Britten's birth.
Thursday 21 November, 2013
2014 Subscription Series brochure released
Click here to see our 2014 Subscription Season, featuring a special subscribers-only concert, Handel's Israel in Egypt with the Chiesa Ensemble, and a conceret featuring three of Bach's Six Motets.
Friday 15 November, 2013
Modern Madrigals (and a warning against smoking…)
A musical setting of tobacco warnings features in The Tudor Consort’s upcoming concert Modern Madrigals at St Andrew’s on The Terrace on August 31.
Smoking can kill is the work of contemporary Finnish composer Jaako Mäntyjärvi, whose set of four Modern Madrigals gave the concert its name. In keeping with the Consort’s Renaissance Influences theme, sixteenth century music is juxtaposed with later works in the same vein.
“The vast majority of the music we perform is sacred – masses, motets, Gregorian chant,” says Music Director Michael Stewart. “This programme is entirely secular, which means we can let our hair down a bit more.”
The programme also features Kings Singers arrangements of Lennon/McCartney favourites Blackbird and Yesterday, alongside works by Gesualdo, Ravel, Stanford and Poulenc.
Friday 2 August, 2013
Britten turns 100 - celebrating the centenary in style
2013 marks 100 years since the birth of Benjamin Britten, one of the 20th century’s best-loved composers. The Tudor Consort will celebrate the centenary in style with a feast of Britten’s choral works, served up alongside music by Francis Poulenc and Paul Hindemith.
The programme includes Britten’s effervescent Rejoice in the Lamb and his virtuosic and rarely-performed masterpiece A.M.D.G (Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam), settings of inspired poetry by Gerald Manley Hopkins. Poulenc’s haunting Litanies à la Vierge Noire and Hindemith’s delightful Six Chansons also feature.
“We are really looking forward to performing A.M.D.G, a work that Wellington audiences have not heard since 1998,” says Music Director Michael Stewart. “They very difficult but incredibly beautiful settings of stunning poetry. Britten’s music is as much a joy to perform as it is to listen to.”
Richard Apperley will accompany the Consort on the Cathedral organ, as well as performing Britten’s Prelude and Fugue on a theme of Vittoria for solo organ.
Wellington Cathedral of St Paul will be lit up with candles for this exciting concert, which marks the beginning of the Cathedral’s Great Music 2013 series.
Wednesday 29 May, 2013
CD release: The 'Earthquake' Mass
The Tudor Consort’s eagerly anticipated recording of Antoine Brumel’s Missa Et ecce terrae motus will be released at Wellington Cathedral of St Paul at 7pm on Saturday 7 July. Also included on the recording are two stunning New Zealand works commissioned by Ross Harris and Jack Body. All profits from the recording will be donated to the Music Department of ChristChurch Cathedral.
Come and enjoy a glass of wine with The Tudor Consort to celebrate this great occasion with them while listening to the disc.
If you have already pre-ordered your copy, you can pick this up on the night, along with a complimentary glass of wine. Otherwise, we can arrange to have your copy posted to you.
Wednesday 4 July, 2012
CD Pre-order - Missa Ecce terrae motus The ‘Earthquake’ Mass
The Tudor Consort will be recording Brumel’s Missa Ecce terrae motus (The ‘Earthquake’ Mass) in late May, so pre-order your copy today! All profits from the recording will be donated to the Music Department of ChristChurch Cathedral,
where Music Director Michael Stewart served as an organist and choral scholar while he was an undergraduate at the University of Canterbury.
Friday 18 May, 2012
The ‘Earthquake’ Mass - Brumel: Missa Et ecce terrae motus
The final Kyrie section from Brumel's wondrous Missa Et ecce terrae motus ('The Earthquake Mass'), taken from our rehearsal last night in Wellington Cathedral of St Paul.
Hope to see you there on Saturday night!
Wednesday 16 May, 2012
The Tudor Consort in Palmerston North
We're travelling up SH1 to perform Antoine Brumel's 'Missa Et ecce terrae motus' in Palmerston North on May 12. See below for our press release….
Acclaimed Wellington chamber choir The Tudor Consort’s latest project is very close to the heart of Music Director Michael Stewart – a tour and recording of Antoine Brumel’s renowned ‘Earthquake’ Mass. Proceeds from the recording sales will go directly to the Music Department of ChristChurch Cathedral, where Michael served as organist for many years.
“My training at ChristChurch Cathedral was formative to both my organ playing and choral conducting. I wanted to do something tangible for the Music Department and Brian Law (Director of Music), and thought a recording of Brumel’s fantastic ‘Earthquake’ Mass would be fitting.”
The Mass itself took its nickname from the Easter plainsong phrase ‘Et ecce terrae motus’ (‘And the earth moved’) upon which the Mass is based. Those familiar with the dense polyphony of Tallis’ Spem in Alium will love this masterful work.
The Tudor Consort will also perform two recently-commissioned works by Jack Body and Ross Harris. Don’t miss this opportunity to hear one of New Zealand’s premier choirs in a rare performance in Palmerston North.
Brumel – Missa Ecce terrae motus (The ‘Earthquake’ Mass)
The Tudor Consort dir. Michael Stewart
St Patrick’s Cathedral, 197 Broadway Ave, Palmerston North
Saturday 12 May, 6.30pm
$25/$20
Door sales and online bookings at www.tudor-consort.org.nz
Friday 27 April, 2012
Holy Week with The Tudor Consort
The Tudor Consort will be very present this coming week with performances at Wellington Cathedral of St Paul and a broadcast on Radio New Zealand.
We are very much looking forward to performing Heinrich Schütz's St Matthew Passion in the glorious acoustic of Wellington Cathedral of St Paul this Saturday evening at 7.30pm. The starkly beautiful Passion will be performed with the aid of surtitles, and with soloists John Beaglehole (Evangelist) and Ken Ryan (Christus). Our Holy Week presentations are always a highlight of the musical year - I do hope to see you at this hauntingly atmospheric event.
The Tudor Consort is also providing the music for a Choral Compline service at Wellington Cathedral on Tuesday 3 April at 7.30pm, where they will perform music for this special liturgy composed by Tallis, Byrd, Sheppard and Lobo.
And finally, our Good Friday presentation from 2011 will be broadcast on Radio New Zealand Concert's 'Music Alive' programme at 8pm on Thursday April 5. The programme includes selections from Victoria's Tenebrae Responsories, Brahms' 'Drei Motteten', and Pizzetti's beautiful 'De Profundis'.
Happy listening!
Wednesday 28 March, 2012
The Tudor Consort on Radio New Zealand Concert
Here's another chance to celebrate Christmas with The Tudor Consort! Radio New Zealand Concert will be broadcasting The Tudor Consort's 2010 performance of Bach's Christmas Oratorio at noon (12 pm) on Christmas Day.
This performance features the Vector Wellington Orchestra and soloists Anna Leese (soprano), Kate Spence (alto), David Hamilton (tenor), and Jared Holt (bass).
Wednesday 14 December, 2011
Presenting the 2012 Subscription Series
We enter our 26th year with four fabulous concerts: from the austerity and controlled pathos of Schütz's St Matthew Passion to the unbridled energy of Latin America with the Missa Mexicana, make sure you get your subscription!
Tuesday 13 December, 2011
Review - A Britten Christmas
A wonderful review from Peter Mechen on Radio New Zealand Concert!
http://www.radionz.co.nz/concert/programmes/upbeat
Tuesday 13 December, 2011
A Britten Christmas - special deal!
The Tudor Consort's final performance on Saturday 10 December features as part of a mini-festival dedicated to the music of Britten. For a special price of $40 ($35 concessions) you can take in The Tudor Consort's performance of A Boy Was Born and A Ceremony of Carols as well as Nota Bene’s performance of Saint Nicolas on Sunday 11 December. Both concerts will be held at Sacred Heart Cathedral.
To take advantage of this special offer, you can buy tickets online or at the door.
Friday 2 December, 2011
Programme for Renassiance Influences IV
Two world premieres by leading New Zealand composers Ross Harris and Jack Body feature in our upcoming concert – Renaissance Influences IV – Made in New Zealand.
The well-known Thomas Tallis motet If ye love me is recontextualised by Harris in his work, Vobiscum in aeternum, while Body’s Hebrew setting of Psalm 137 takes the otherworldly strains of Orthodox Russian chant as its starting point.
The remainder of the home-grown programme includes works by Dame Gillian Whitehead, David Farquhar, Douglas Mews and Tudor Consort choir member Anna Griffiths. The performance is part of the REAL New Zealand Festival 2011.
The full programme is as follows:
Missa Brevis: Kyrie Gillian Whitehead
Winter wakeneth all my care David Farquhar
Missa Brevis: Gloria Whitehead
Vobiscum in aeternum Ross Harris
The Love Song of Rangipouri Douglas Mews (Ken Ryan, Baritone)
Missa Brevis: Sanctus and Benedictus Whitehead
Canary Wine John Ritchie
- Queene and huntress
- Make room for the bouncing belly
Naseby Anna Griffiths
Missa Brevis: Agnus Dei Whitehead
Strochny: Bogospod’i yavisya 17th C Russian Orthodox chant
Psalm 137 Jack Body
Wednesday 5 October, 2011
Made in New Zealand teaser
Check out the teaser video we made for the upcoming Renaissance Influences – Made in New Zealand concert, featuring an excerpt from our last rehearsal of Ross Harris’s commissioned work Vobiscum in aeternum.
Wednesday 5 October, 2011
Ross Harris and Jack Body Interviews
Music Director Michael Stewart interviews composers Ross Harris and Jack Body on their newly commissioned choral works Vobiscum in Aeternum and Psalm 137. The Tudor Consort will premiere these works as part of their upcoming concert Renaissance Influences IV - Made in New Zealand, a programme of New Zealand choral music that will take place at St Mary of the Angels Church on Saturday 8 October as part of the REAL New Zealand Festival 2011.
Tuesday 20 September, 2011
Update on Renaissance Influences IV - Made in New Zealand
“Once more, this superb, world-class choir which is far more than simply
an ‘early music’ ensemble, delivered performances of warmth, precision,
wide-ranging expressiveness, beauty and impressive ensemble.”
Renaissance Influences IV – Made in New Zealand explores the interplay of ancient and modern with New Zealand’s own composers. Join renowned chamber choir The Tudor Consort for a feast of New Zealand choral music, including two world premieres by Ross Harris and Jack Body. This concert is featured as part of the REAL New Zealand Festival 2011.
Saturday 8 October, 3pm
St Mary of the Angels
Boulcott Street
Wellington
Adults $25 / Concessions $20 / School children free
Door sales and online bookings at http://tudor-consort.org.nz/order
Saturday 17 September, 2011
The 40-Part Motet pre-sale tickets sold out
We have received a fantastic response in terms of pre-sale tickets to our forthcoming performance of Spem in Alium on Saturday night, and all pre-sale tickets have now sold out.
There will be a limited number of door sales available on the night.
SUBSCRIBERS: A section of the central part of the cathedral will be reserved for you, but it would be prudent to arrive early. Please ensure that your friends prebook their tickets online as above.
CURRENT TICKET HOLDERS: As there is no allocated seating, please ensure you arrive early for the best seats.
DOORS WILL OPEN AT 7.20pm.
The concert will be recorded for future broadcast on RNZ Concert.
Sunday 24 July, 2011
More information on the Forty Part Motet concert
Thomas Tallis’s monumental composition, Spem in Alium, a colossal work of the early Renaissance, was featured in Janet Cardiff’s installation ‘The Forty Part Motet’ in the Wellington Art Gallery as part of the New Zealand International Arts Festival last year. On Saturday 23 July, The Tudor Consort will give Wellington audiences a chance to hear this magnificent work performed live in the beautiful acoustic of Sacred Heart Cathedral.
Just as the eight banks of speakers were arranged ‘in the round’ in Cardiff’s installation, the eight 5-part choirs will be situated in a circle around the audience. “An eyewitness account of the original performance of Spem makes it clear that the performers were arranged in this way,” says Music Director Michael Stewart. “This gives a breathtaking stereophonic experience for the audience, who will be able to hear the choirs pass musical phrases over the top of them, not to mention the overwhelming effect when all forty parts sing together.”
The Tudor Consort will also perform Ecce Beatam Lucem, the 40 voice motet by Alessandro Striggio that spurred Tallis to compose his own masterpiece.
Friday 1 July, 2011
The Tudor Consort raise 6k for Red Cross
Thanks to the enormous generosity of our patrons, Monday's Benefit Concert for Christchurch raised over $6,000. Thanks to Peter de Blois for conducting, to Sacred Heart Cathedral Choir for joining with us to sing Duruflé's Requiem, and to all who attended and gave so generously.
Thursday 10 March, 2011
Benefit Concert for Christchurch, 7th March
The Tudor Consort and Sacred Heart Cathedral Choir will be performing the Requiem by Maurice Duruflé as a tribute to those who lost their lives in Christchurch. The concert will take place at Sacred Heart Cathedral and entry is by koha, with all proceeds going to the Christchurch relief fund.
5.30pm, Monday 7 March
Sacred Heart Cathedral
Hill Street
Wellington
Monday 28 February, 2011
Michael Stewart's Good Morning Interview
Watch Michael Stewart's interview with Brendon Pongia on Good Morning as he talks about The Tudor Consort's upcoming performance of JS Bach's Christmas Oratorio, the history of the work and the choir.
Saturday 11 December, 2010
Performance from Christmas Oratorio on Good Morning
If you missed The Tudor Consort on Good Morning on Tuesday, here is the performance of Herrscher des Himmels, erhöre das Lallen from Bach's Christmas Oratorio.
Tickets to this very special performance are available at Ticketek. Book now to avoid disappointment!
Saturday 11 December, 2010
The Tudor Consort on Good Morning
The Tudor Consort will be appearing on "Good Morning" this Tuesday December the 7th on TV One. Michael Stewart will be talking about the upcoming performance of Bach's Christmas Oratorio and the choir will be singing a couple of excerpts.
The show runs from 9am until midday, but we don't yet know what time we will be appearing.
If you aren't home to see it on Tuesday morning, you've got another chance. The show will remain on the TVNZ website for 24 hours, so you can see it there.
Here is the link - www.tvnz.co.nz - and the keyword is: Good Morning.
Sunday 5 December, 2010
Christmas Oratorio Update
It's now less than a month until The Tudor Consort will perform Bach's Christmas Oratorio with soloists Anna Leese (soprano), Kate Spence (alto), David Hamilton (tenor), and Jared Holt (bass) and the Vector Wellington Orchestra.
The A reserve tickets are proving popular, so if you want to enjoy the best seats, we encourage you to book now.
Ticket prices are $50 A reserve/ $40 B reserve / $30 C reserve (concessions are available in each category). Tickets are available from Ticketek.
Monday 22 November, 2010
New Recordings Online
The Tudor Consort's 1992 recording of Giovanni Animuccia's Missa Victimae Paschali Laudes under Simon Ravens and the recording of Domenico Sacarlatti's Stabat Mater from this year's A German Requiem concert are now available online.
Friday 1 October, 2010
Free Music Archive Curation
We are pleased to announce that The Tudor Consort recordings are now curated by and are available online at The Free Music Archive.
The Free Music Archive is directed by WFMU, the “most renowned freeform radio station in America”.
Recordings will be added to The Free Music Archive as they become available.
Thursday 30 September, 2010
Tickets for the Christmas Oratorio now on sale!
The Tudor Consort is delighted to announce that tickets are now on sale for Christmas Oratorio on Saturday 18 December 2010.
Tickets are available from Ticketek.
Ticket prices are $50 A reserve/ $40 B reserve / $30 C reserve (concessions are available in each category).
If you would like to donate to this performance, we would be grateful to hear from you. Please contact us at feedback@tudor-consort.org.nz, or post a cheque to PO Box 12 516, Wellington 6144, New Zealand.
Thursday 19 August, 2010
