Friday 22 April at 7:30pm Melbourne Town Hall

Schubert’s

Unfinished Symphony

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WHAT’S ON APRIL – JUNE 2016

BACH SUITES Thursday 28 April Friday 29 April Saturday 30 April

Two of the most popular suites of the Baroque period, featuring the famous Badinerie and Air in D major, are paired with two of Haydn’s finest symphonies: ‘La Passione’, so-called because of the fierce intensity of the music, and the ‘Oxford’, considered one of the pinnacles of Haydn’s symphonic output.

BRAHMS’ FOURTH SYMPHONY Friday 27 May Saturday 28 May

German conductor Christoph König directs a program of three masterpieces. Ravel’s Le tombeau de Couperin is followed by Bartók’s rarely performed Viola Concerto with British virtuoso Lawrence Power. Brahms’ Symphony No.4 completes the program.

PROKOFIEV’S ROMEO AND JULIET Friday 3 June Saturday 4 June Monday 6 June

Diego Matheuz returns with this program of three Russian classics, including Rachmaninov’s beloved Piano Concerto No.2, with Korean pianist Joyce Yang, and Mussorgsky’s ominous Night on Bald Mountain. It concludes with excerpts from Prokofiev’s ingenious and complex ballet score Romeo and Juliet.

RACHMANINOV’S PAGANINI RHAPSODY Thursday 16 June Friday 17 June

Music of three distinct ages and styles – Haydn’s Symphony No.6, Le matin, is followed by Rachmaninov’s famous Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, with the spectacular French pianist Jean-Efflam Bavouzet. Then, a work Sir Andrew Davis believes is one of the greatest of the 20th century – Ives’ Symphony No.4.

METROPOLIS NEW MUSIC FESTIVAL Saturday 14 May Wednesday 18 May Saturday 21 May

The 2016 Metropolis New Music Festival is especially metropolitan in content and spirit. Its theme, Music of the City, will examine all facets of city life, through time, place and history. The director of Metropolis 2016 is dynamic American conductor, pianist and composer Robert Spano.

MENDELSSOHN’S VIOLIN CONCERTO Thursday 9 June Friday 10 June Saturday 11 June

MSO Concertmaster Eoin Andersen directs the Orchestra in Stravinsky’s Suite from Pulcinella and Brett Dean’s arrangement of Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks. Also on the program is Strauss’ Serenade for Winds and Mendelssohn’s evergreen Violin Concerto.

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Welcome back to Melbourne Town Hall for this wonderful program of works by Schubert and Fauré.

Tonight’s program opens with something of a rarity, Schubert’s choral work for male voices and lower strings: Gesang der Geister über den Wassern. The Orchestra then takes on the composer’s Symphony No.8 – famously left unfinished. Often called the first ‘Romantic’ symphony, this is music well ahead of its time so I hope you enjoy this remarkable piece.

Our final work this evening is Fauré’s heavenly Requiem, for which we are joined by stellar Australian soloists Jacqueline Porter and James Clayton, as well as the Melbourne Symphony Chorus in all their glory.

Benjamin Northey Patricia Riordan Associate Conductor Chair

Melbourne Symphony Orchestra

Benjamin Northey conductor Jacqueline Porter soprano James Clayton bass Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Chorus Anthony Pasquill chorus master

Schubert Gesang der Geister über den Wassern

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Schubert Symphony No.8 ‘Unfinished’

–

Interval

– Fauré Requiem

This concert has a duration of approximately 1 hour and 40 minutes, including a 20-minute interval.

This performance will be recorded for broadcast on ABC Classic FM on Thursday 5 May at 8pm.

Pre-Concert Recital 6:30pm, Friday 22 April, Melbourne Town Hall

Ticket-holders are invited to attend a free pre-concert recital by Dr Calvin Bowman, on the Melbourne Town Hall grand organ.

WELCOME TO SCHUBERT’S UNFINISHED SYMPHONY

The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Land on which we perform – The Kulin Nation – and would like to pay our respects to their Elders and Community both past and present.

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MELBOURNE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra is funded principally by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body, and is generously supported by the Victorian Government through Creative Victoria, Department of Economic Development, Jobs, Transport and Resources. The MSO is also funded by the City of Melbourne, its Principal Partner, Emirates, corporate sponsors and individual donors, trusts and foundations.

MELBOURNE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA CHORUS

The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Chorus has built an international reputation for the highest standards and for bold artistic planning. Known as the Melbourne Chorale until 2008, it has since then been integrated with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and in 2015, celebrated its 50th anniversary.

The Chorus sings with the finest conductors, including Sir Andrew Davis, Edward Gardner, Mark Wigglesworth, Bernard Labadie, Stephen Layton, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Masaaki Suzuki and Manfred Honeck. Recent highlights include Britten’s War Requiem, Kancheli’s Styx, Brett Dean’s The Last Days of Socrates, Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius, Rachmaninov’s The Bells, and Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman.

The Chorus is committed to developing and performing new Australian and international choral repertoire. Commissions include Brett Dean’s Katz und Spatz (commissioned with the Swedish Radio Choir), Ross Edwards’ Mountain Chant (commissioned with Cantillation), Paul Stanhope’s Exile Lamentations (commissioned with Sydney Chamber Choir and London’s Elysian Singers), and Gabriel Jackson’s To the Field of Stars (commissioned with the Netherlands Chamber Choir and Stockholm’s St Jacob’s Chamber Choir).

The Chorus has also premiered works by many composers including James MacMillan, Arvo Pärt, Hans Werner Henze, Alfred Schnittke, Gavin Bryars, Valentyn Silvestrov, Arturs Maskats, Thierry Machuel and Pēteris Vasks, and others. The Chorus has made critically acclaimed recordings for Chandos and for ABC Classics. It has performed across Brazil and at the Cultura Inglese Festival in Sao Paolo, in Kuala Lumpur with the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra, with The Australian Ballet, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, West Australian Symphony Orchestra, Barbra Streisand, at the Melbourne International Arts Festival, at the 2011 AFL Grand Final, and the Sydney Olympic Arts Festival.

The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (MSO) was established in 1906 and is Australia’s oldest orchestra. It currently performs live to more than 250,000 people annually, in concerts ranging from subscription performances at its home, Hamer Hall at Arts Centre Melbourne, to its annual free concerts at Melbourne’s largest outdoor venue, the Sidney Myer Music Bowl. The Orchestra also delivers innovative and engaging programs to audiences of all ages through its Education and Outreach initiatives.

Sir Andrew Davis gave his inaugural concerts as the MSO’s Chief Conductor in 2013, having made his debut with the Orchestra in 2009. Highlights of his tenure have included collaborations with artists such as Bryn Terfel, Emanuel Ax, Truls Mørk and Renée Fleming, and the Orchestra’s European Tour in 2014 which included appearances at the Edinburgh Festival, the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festival and Copenhagen’s Tivoli Concert Hall. Further current and future highlights with Sir Andrew Davis include a complete cycle of the Mahler symphonies. Sir Andrew will maintain the role of Chief Conductor until the end of 2019.

The MSO also works with Associate Conductor Benjamin Northey and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Chorus, as well as with such eminent recent guest conductors as Thomas Adès, John Adams, Tan Dun, Charles Dutoit, Jakub Hrůša, Mark Wigglesworth, Markus Stenz and Simone Young. It has also collaborated with non-classical musicians including Burt Bacharach, Nick Cave, Sting, Tim Minchin, Ben Folds, DJ Jeff Mills and Flight Facilities.

The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra reaches a wider audience through regular radio broadcasts, recordings and CD releases, which include recent discs of Strauss’ Four Last Songs, Don Juan and Also sprach Zarathustra with Sir Andrew Davis and Erin Wall on ABC Classics. On the Chandos label the MSO has recently released Berlioz’ Harold en Italie with James Ehnes and Ives’ Symphonies Nos. 1 and 2, both led by Sir Andrew Davis.

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What is your unfinished project? I keep promising to alphabetise and catalogue my large collection of orchestral and operatic scores…it’s a disaster really. I never know where anything is.

If you could start all over again and finish a project from start to finish, what would you do? I would absolutely build a two-level fort style cubby house in the backyard for my kids, with a sand pit underneath and a nice little ladder to climb. I’m thinking treated pine, but open to suggestions.

What were you obsessed with as a kid? As well as music, I LOVED cricket and had a pretty serious stamp collection.

Are you from a musical family? My mum Wendy is a fine pianist and my dad Bob played guitar and sang to us a lot. My younger brother Blaise sang and played the clarinet and my older sister Emma is also a pianist who runs music education programs for children in Canberra.

What is your greatest fear? Probably sharks. My wife Jo swears I walked on water once while snorkelling. I thought I had seen a shark…it was a tuna. Irrational really. I love sushi, so the tuna had much more reason to be afraid.

What’s the most magical place you’ve been? New York City, closely followed by the Freycinet Peninsula in Tasmania.

What is the process you follow to practice, rehearse and perform a concert? The study process is continual and involves long periods of time with the score analysing and thinking.

Even for works which we have performed many times, we always need to build them again and explore possibilities in rehearsal. Energy levels need to be considered to ensure we are all primed for the performance. I usually arrive at the venue early, making sure to eat and hydrate well (chocolate comes in handy too!). I think music is nearly always performed better in a state of relaxed confidence, alertness and focus. Winding down afterwards can be a long process, sometimes even days long.

How do you prepare for Schubert? Like any masterpiece, a large amount of time spent studying the score is required. Schubert occupies a special sound world which informs the approach to this symphony. Schubert was able to look forward to the romantic period and back to the classical masters. It’s too much of a simplification to say his greatest strength was in melodic invention. Of course his extraordinary writing for voice has implications in the approach to the treatment and character of this work’s long-lined themes. Schubert is truly a magician in this case. This symphony casts a spell from the first notes, it’s all about finding ways to sustain lines, atmosphere and letting the extraordinary structure unfold naturally.

The uplifting spirit of Fauré’s Requiem has caught the imagination of millions of concertgoers, what was your most uplifting moment this month? Hearing my daughter Eva speak so excitedly about her first piano lesson. Music is such a special gift for us all. It’s amazing to see someone being empowered by discovering the joy of making music.

Unfinished ProjectsFrom stamps to sandpits: MSO’s Associate Conductor Benjamin Northey is determined to complete a project from start to finish,

but first he must conquer Schubert’s Unfinished Symphony.

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Since returning to Australia from Europe in 2006, Benjamin Northey has rapidly emerged as one of the nation’s leading musical figures. Since 2011, he has held the position of Associate Conductor of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. In 2015, he became Chief Conductor of the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra.

Engagements in 2015 included returns to all the major Australian orchestras, the Hong Kong Philharmonic, the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, and Turandot for Opera Australia. In 2016, he will lead both the MSO and Christchurch Symphony on several occasions – as well as appear with Hong Kong Philharmonic, the Adelaide and West Australian Symphony Orchestras, and throughout New Zealand.

Benjamin studied with John Hopkins at the University of Melbourne Conservatorium of Music and then with Jorma Panula and Leif Segerstam at Finland’s prestigious Sibelius Academy where he was accepted as the highest placed applicant in 2002. He has appeared with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg, Hong Kong Philharmonic, National Symphony Orchestra of Colombia, New Zealand and Christchurch Symphony Orchestras, Auckland Philharmonia and the Southbank Sinfonia of London.

In Australia, Benjamin has made his mark through his many critically acclaimed appearances as a guest conductor with all the Australian state symphony orchestras as well as opera productions including L’elisir d’amore, The Tales of Hoffmann and La sonnambula for State Opera of South Australia, and Don Giovanni and Così fan tutte for Opera Australia.

BENJAMIN NORTHEY CONDUCTOR

Jacqueline Porter holds an honours degree in Music Performance and a Bachelor of Arts (Italian) from the University of Melbourne, and was the recipient of the 2010 Dame Nellie Melba Opera Trust Scholarship.

Appearances on the concert platform include Grieg’s Peer Gynt, Prokofiev’s The Ugly Duckling, Bachianas Brasileiras No.5, and Mélisande’s song by Fauré with Sydney Symphony Orchestra; Mahler’s Symphony No.4, Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy, Rachmaninov’s The Bells, and a Mozart/Haydn concert tour with Melbourne Symphony Orchestra; Tavener’s Song of the Angel (Dark MOFO Festival) and Last Night of the Proms with Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra; and Mahler’s Symphony No.4 and a New Years’ Eve gala with Adelaide Symphony Orchestra.

Equally at home on the opera stage, Jacqueline’s roles include Susanna (Le nozze di Figaro); Despina (Così fan tutte); Drusilla, La Virtù and Pallade (L’incoronazione di Poppea); L’Amour (Orpheé et Eurydice); Saskia and Hendrickje Stoffels (Rembrandt’s Wife); Clorinda (Il combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda) and Momus (Der Streit Zwischen Phoebus und Pan) for Victorian Opera; and Gretel (Hansel and Gretel) for State Opera of South Australia.

This year Jacqueline returns to Melbourne Bach Choir (St. Matthew Passion), Sydney Symphony (Mozart’s Litaniae Lauretanae), Canberra Choral Society (Handel’s Jephtha) and debuts with Brisbane Baroque in Purcell’s King Arthur.

JACQUELINE PORTER SOPRANO

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JAMES CLAYTON BASS

ANTHONY PASQUILL CHORUS MASTER

Praised for his vocal phrasing and colour, James Clayton is one the most versatile singers to emerge from Australia in recent years.

In 2016, he sings Tonio (Pagliacci) for Victorian Opera and The Speaker (The Magic Flute) for New Zealand Opera, as well as appearing as soloist with the Melbourne and New Zealand Symphony Orchestras.

Most recently, he has sung Escamillo in Carmen for Opera Australia and several roles for West Australian Opera – the title roles in Rigoletto, Le nozze di Figaro and The Barber of Seville, Leporello in Don Giovanni, Iago in Otello and Conte di Luna in Il trovatore.

James made his Opera Australia debut as Baron Douphol in La traviata – in Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour – and his Japanese debut as Don Alfonso in Così fan tutte for Biwako Hall. He has appeared as soloist with the West Australian, Tasmanian and New Zealand Symphony Orchestras, the Auckland Philharmonia and the Wellington Orchestra.

Recently listed by Limelight Magazine as a Rising Star in Australia’s choral scene, Anthony Pasquill is a regular collaborator with leading choirs across a broad repertoire. Recently appointed Associate Chorus Master at the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, he is also Musical Director of Sydney based Chamber Choir Bel a cappella.

Anthony commenced his musical training as a chorister in the choir of Lichfield Cathedral before reading music at Leeds University. He also holds a Masters of Music in conducting from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.

Between 2012 and 2014 Anthony was Assistant Chorus Master of the Sydney Philharmonia Choirs and has prepared choruses for noted international conductors such as Vladimir Ashkenazy, David Robertson, David Zinman, Eric Whitacre and Paul McCreesh. He has chorus-mastered or conducted first performances of many works by composers such as Pēteris Vasks, Gabriel Jackson, David Briggs and Bernat Vivancos.

2014-15 saw Anthony conduct works by Ockeghem, MacMillan, Handel, Monteverdi and Veljo Tormis as well as the Australian Premiere of Dixit Dominus by Swedish composer Thomas Jennefelt. He has recently led Bel a cappella on their first international tour to Europe, having conducted in venues such as St. Peter’s Basilica (Rome), St Mark’s Basilica (Venice), Melk Abbey (Vienna) and the Schönbrunn Palace (Vienna).

In the current season, he will be conducting works by Grigorjeva, Vivancos, Bryars, MacMillan, Rachmaninov and Schnittke in Sydney, in addition to major choral projects in his first season with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Chorus.

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Des Menschen Seele gleicht dem Wasser: Vom Himmel kommt es, zum Himmel steigt es, und wieder nieder zur Erde muss es, ewig wechselnd.

Strömt von der hohen, steilen Felswand der reine Strahl, dann stäubt er lieblich in Wolkenwellen zum glatten Fels, und leicht empfangen, wallt er verschleiernd, leis’ rauschend zur Tiefe nieder.

Ragen Klippen dem Sturz entgegen, schäumt er unmutig stufenweise zum Abgrund.

Im flachen Bette schleicht er das Wiesental hin, und in dem glatten See weiden ihr Antlitz alle Gestirne.

Wind ist der Welle lieblicher Buhle; Wind mischt vom Grund aus Schäumende Wogen.

Seele des Menschen, wie gleischst du dem Wasser, Schicksal des Menschen, wie gleichst du dem Wind

The soul of man Is like the water: It comes from heaven, It returns to heaven, And down again To earth must go, Ever changing.

When from the high, Sheer wall of rock The pure stream gushes, It sprays its lovely vapour In billowing clouds Towards the smooth rock, And lightly received, It goes enshrouded, Softly hissing Down to the deep.

Cliffs tower, Opposing its fall. Annoyed, it foams Step by step Into the abyss.

In a flat bed It slinks down the grassy vale, And in the waveless lake All the stars Feast on their likeness.

Wind is the wave’s Handsome suitor; Wind stirs up from the depths Foaming billows.

Soul of man, How like the water! Fate of man, How like the wind!

Like its distant ancestor, the madrigal, the part-song was composed for musically literate amateurs, coming into its own in Germany in the first half of the 19th century. In Berlin, the composer Carl Friedrich Zelter (later Mendelssohn’s teacher) founded a Liedertafel, or men’s singing group, in Berlin in 1809 and cities throughout the German-speaking world soon followed suit. In Vienna, Schubert was especially intrigued by the possibilities of such an ensemble. Many of the works written for such groups – even Schubert’s – are drinking songs of one kind or another, making the ‘Song of the Spirits over the Waters’ something of a rarity.

The great German poet Goethe had written his Des Menschen Seele (The Soul of Man) while touring the Swiss Alps in 1779. Schubert made three attempts at setting the poem. The first two are for four-part male chorus, one with piano; the surviving third version dates from 1821 and is scored for eight-part male chorus and a string ensemble of violas, cellos and double bass.

Goethe’s poem was inspired particularly by spectacular pools and cataracts near Interlaken. It is an extended metaphor likening the soul of man to water. It comes down from heaven and returns there, passing through states of deep calm and violent agitation thanks to fate, which is symbolised by the wind. Schubert responds with music that closely mirrors the poem’s imagery: passages of limpid, hymnal calm open and close the piece, while the vocal and instrumental writing charts the distance from heaven to earth, capturing in turn the towering cliffs, angry turbulence, the gentle flow over flat ground and caress of wind on wave. The audience and critics, expecting something more like Gaudeamus igitur, were bewildered by the music’s flux, and less impressed than by another new song on the program: Erlkönig.

© Gordon Kerry 2016

This is the first performance of this song by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.

Text: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

English translation © Shawn Thuris reprinted with permission of the LiederNet Archive

FRANZ SCHUBERT (1797-1828)

Gesang der Geister über den Wassern, D714

Gentlemen of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Chorus

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Schubert made something of a habit of not finishing symphonies; the B minor work is one of four of which sections or whole movements were begun and then abandoned at various times, beginning in 1811, over Schubert’s life. In the case of the B minor Symphony, though, the two movements we have were completed in full, and there exists a 20-bar sketch for the scherzo.

These were composed in October 1822, at a time when the 25-year-old Schubert was enjoying the first intimations of success. His vocal works – solo and part-songs – were enjoying public performances, and he was actually earning decent fees from the publication of various songs beginning with Erlkönig and Gretchen am Spinnrade. Other large-scale works from this time include the opera Alfonso und Estrella and the Mass in A flat.

There are several possible explanations for Schubert’s leaving the work aside. He may have seen little opportunity for performance of symphonic music, though he did go on to complete the ‘Great’ C major Symphony. He wanted to pursue opera composition, though such dreams would go unfulfilled. The aesthetic and social milieu of poets and singers in which Schubert mixed may have encouraged him to concentrate on songs. It is possible, though we can’t know, that he had begun to suffer from the disease that would kill him.

While there have been attempts to complete the scherzo and then tack on a bit of the incidental music to Rosamunde by way of finale, the piece arguably works best as a two-movement ‘torso’. In many respects it is unusual for its time. B minor, for instance, was not a common key for orchestral music (certain keys suiting

certain instruments, especially brass, better than others) and an opening movement in 3/4 was relatively unusual (Beethoven’s Third and Eighth Symphonies are exceptions). Then there is the mood created by deft, and ‘unclassical’, touches of orchestration: the brooding bass-register melody at the start, answered by the shimmer of higher strings; the risky (then as now) doubling of oboe and clarinet to create the distinctive timbre of the first theme, and the sudden retraction of lavish to simple textures – a single note or throbbing syncopation, as in the transition to the cello’s second theme. Schubert is quite capable of the sort of contrapuntal elaboration that we might find in a work of Mozart, Haydn or his teacher Salieri, but in his often terse and highly gestural rhetoric we can hear his assimilation of the lessons of Beethoven.

Marked Andante con moto, the second movement is hardly slow, and in its range from weightless lyricism to the hammering of short motifs, from lucid textures to passages of intricate counterpoint, it provides a kind of mirror to the opening movement. Its final achievement of peace in a quietly glowing texture seems a hard act to follow, even if Schubert did start on a scherzo. Perhaps, as conductor Nikolaus Harnoncourt was convinced, the piece remained unfinished because ‘the form is perfect; there is nothing more to say’.

© Gordon Kerry 2016

The first performance of this symphony by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra took place on 15 April 1939 under conductor Bernard Heinze. The Orchestra most recently performed it on 29 November 2013 under Graham Abbott.

FRANZ SCHUBERT (1797-1828)

Symphony in B minor, D759 ‘Unfinished’Allegro moderato

Andante con moto

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It has been said of my Requiem that it does not express the fear of death: someone has called it a lullaby of death. But that is how I feel death: as a happy deliverance, a longing for the happiness of the beyond, rather than a painful experience.

Fauré’s Requiem is his one widely popular work, and indeed the only one of his larger-scale works to have found a secure place in the repertory. This is certainly not because of any lack of merit in his other compositions, but their highly civilised, rather private style makes it unlikely they will ever have wide appeal.

Fauré stood somewhat apart from the musical partisanship of his day – independent of the German tendencies of César Franck and his followers, and of the ‘impressionism’ of the Debussyites. He nevertheless earned wide respect and became Director of the Paris Conservatoire (1905-1920), where he encouraged new music. Ravel was the most famous of his many distinguished pupils.

The Requiem, first performed in 1888 at a funeral in the Church of the Madeleine in Paris where Fauré was organist and director of music, is a comparatively early work which reflects and sums up many of the features of its composer’s early style. It makes a memorable impression of serenity and contemplation, and has been praised by many commentators as highly appropriate to the Mass for the Dead.

It has been said that Fauré’s Requiem is suited to liturgical use rather than concert performance. But it is by and large in the concert hall that it has become known, and special permission had to be obtained from the Church for it to be performed at Fauré’s own funeral. This is because of Fauré’s unconventional choice of liturgical texts – he omits the Dies irae, except for the Pie Jesu, and adds two movements whose words are taken from the order for Burial: the Libera me (also set by Verdi in his Requiem) and the In Paradisum. It has been suggested that Fauré chose his texts to give greater prominence to the word requiem (rest).

Fauré’s father died in 1885. Then his mother died on New Year’s Eve 1887-88, and it may have been this event which prompted him to complete the Agnus Dei, Sanctus, and In Paradisum, which, together with other movements of the original version, were the first performed. The Libera me, the most dramatic part of the work, was composed much earlier (in 1877), but added later – it is the only part which contains reference to the Day of Judgement.

There has been considerable discussion as to whether Fauré’s Requiem is more pagan than Christian in tone. It has been called (wrongly) ‘a Requiem without the Last Judgement’, and one critic has gone so far as to describe it as ‘a paradisiacal imagining, with no trace of torment or doubt, scarcely even of mourning’. This goes too far, but Fauré, though a church organist, was more drawn to Greek stoical ideals of contemplation and resignation than to the Christian sense of sin, judgement and hope for the afterlife. His is the unperturbed vision, says biographer Norman Suckling, ‘of one whose attention was just then fixed on death, since it was then that he had lost his parents’.

The musical style of the Requiem shows the influence on Fauré of his training at the École Niedermeier, founded to train organists and choirmasters. This school promoted the study of the masters of church music of the past, and even of the ecclesiastical modes used in Gregorian chant. This musical source is evident throughout the Requiem, most strikingly in the monotoned chant of the solo baritone in the Hostias. These sober passages are contrasted with long phrases of sinuous melodic curve, such as the themes of the Domine, Pie Jesu, Libera me and In Paradisum. The originality of the melodic outline sets Fauré’s Requiem apart from the sacred works of Gounod, which Fauré admired and which influenced his early sacred compositions.

Fauré’s great restraint is particularly evident in the orchestration of his Requiem. Several of the pieces which constitute it were first conceived as choruses with organ, and even in the final version with enlarged orchestra, the organ, with double basses, plays a kind of continuo role.

David Garrett

© Symphony Australia

The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra first performed the Requiem on 17 July 1965 with conductor Thomas Mayer, the Royal Melbourne Philharmonic Choral Society, and soloists Heather Harper and Morris Williams. The Orchestra’s most recent performance took place on 23 October 2009 with conductor Richard Gill, the MSO Chorus, and soloists Antoinette Halloran and Samuel Dundas.

GABRIEL FAURÉ (1845-1924)

Requiem, Op.48 Introït et Kyrie

Offertoire

Sanctus

Pie Jesu

Agnus Dei

Libera me

In Paradisum

Jacqueline Porter soprano James Clayton baritone Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Chorus

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TEXT OF GABRIEL FAURÉ’S REQUIEM

I. Introït et Kyrie Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis. Te decet hymnus, Deus, in Sion, et tibi reddetur votum in Jerusalem. Exaudi orationem meam ad te omnis caro veniet.

Kyrie eleison. Christe eleison.

II. Offertoire O Domine Jesu Christe, rex gloriae, libera animas defunctorum de poenis inferni et de profundo lacu; de ore leonis ne absorbeat Tartarus; ne cadant in obscurum.

Hostias et preces tibi, Domine, laudis offerimus. Tu suscipe pro animabus illis, quarum hodie memoriam facimus; fac eas, Domine, de morte transire ad vitam; quam olim Abrahae promisisti et semini ejus.

Amen.

III. Sanctus Sanctus, sanctus, sanctus, Dominus Deus Sabaoth. Pleni sunt coeli et terra gloria tua. Hosanna in excelsis.

IV. Pie Jesu Pie Jesu, Domine, dona eis requiem, sempiternam requiem.

V. Agnus Dei Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, dona eis requiem. Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, dona eis requiem sempiternam. Lux aeterna luceat eis, Domine, cum sanctis tuis in aeternum, quia pius es. Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis.

VI. Libera me Libera me, Domine, de morte aeterna, in die illa tremenda, quando coeli movendi sunt et terra, dum veneris judicare saeculum per ignem. Tremens factus sum ego et timeo, dum discussio venerit atque ventura ira. Dies illa, dies irae, calamitatis et miseriae, Dies illa, dies magna et amara valde. Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis. Libera me, Domine, de morte aeterna, in die illa tremenda, quando coeli movendi sunt et terra, dum veneris judicare saeculum per ignem.

VII. In Paradisum In paradisum deducant angeli; in tuo adventu suscipiant te martyres et perducant te in civitatem sanctam Jerusalem. Chorus angelorum te suscipiat, et cum Lazaro quondam paupere, aeternam habeas requiem.

I. Introït and Kyrie Grant them eternal rest, Lord, and may perpetual light shine on them. To you, God, hymns of praise are sung in Sion, and unto you shall vows be performed in Jerusalem. Hear my prayer; to you shall come all flesh.

Lord have mercy. Christ have mercy.

II. Offertory O Lord Jesus Christ, king of glory, Free the departed souls from the pains of hell and from the deep pit; from the jaws of the lion, let them not be swallowed up nor vanish into darkness.

Our sacrifice and prayers, Lord, we offer to you with praise. Receive them on behalf of the souls whom we remember today; make them, Lord, pass from death to life, as you promised Abraham and his seed.

Amen.

III. Sanctus Holy, holy, holy Lord God of hosts. Heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest.

IV. Pie Jesu Merciful Lord Jesus Grant them rest, eternal rest.

V. Agnus Dei Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, grant them rest. Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, grant them eternal rest. May perpetual light shine on them, Lord with your saints throughout eternity, by your grace. Grant them eternal rest, Lord, and may perpetual light shine on them.

VI. Libera me Deliver me, Lord, from eternal death on that terrible day, when earth and heaven are shaken; when you come to judge all things by fire. I am trembling and afraid, until the trial comes, and the wrath; Day of torment, day of wrath, calamity and misery, That day, the greatest and most bitter day. Grant them eternal rest, Lord, and may perpetual light shine on them. Deliver me, Lord, from eternal death on that terrible day, when earth and heaven are shaken; when you come to judge all things by fire.

VII. In Paradisum May angels lead you into Paradise; may you be received by the martyrs and brought to the holy city of Jerusalem. May choirs of angels greet you, and with Lazarus, who was once lowly, may you find eternal rest.

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SUPPORTERS

Artist Chair BenefactorsHarold Mitchell AC Chief Conductor Chair

Patricia Riordan Associate Conductor Chair

Joy Selby Smith Orchestral Leadership Chair

The Gross Foundation Principal Second Violin Chair

Sophie Rowell, The Ullmer Family Foundation Associate Concertmaster Chair

MS Newman Family Principal Cello Chair

Principal Flute Chair – Anonymous

Program BenefactorsMeet The Orchestra Made possible by The Ullmer Family Foundation

East meets West Supported by the Li Family Trust

The Pizzicato Effect (Anonymous)

MSO EDUCATION Supported by Mrs Margaret Ross AM and Dr Ian Ross

MSO UPBEAT Supported by Betty Amsden AO DSJ

MSO CONNECT Supported by Jason Yeap OAM

Benefactor Patrons $50,000+Betty Amsden AO DSJPhilip Bacon AM Marc Besen AC and Eva Besen AO John and Jenny Brukner Rachel and the Hon. Alan Goldberg AO QC The Gross FoundationDavid and Angela LiHarold Mitchell ACMS Newman FamilyJoy Selby SmithUllmer Family FoundationAnonymous (1)

Impresario Patrons $20,000+Michael AquilinaPerri Cutten and Jo DaniellMargaret Jackson ACMimie MacLarenJohn McKay and Lois McKay

Maestro Patrons $10,000+John and Mary BarlowKaye and David BirksPaul and Wendy Carter Mitchell ChipmanJan and Peter ClarkSir Andrew and Lady Davis Future Kids Pty Ltd Gandel PhilanthropyRobert & Jan GreenIn memory of Wilma CollieDavid Krasnostein and Pat Stragalinos Mr Greig Gailey and Dr Geraldine LazarusThe Cuming BequestIan and Jeannie Paterson Onbass FoundationElizabeth Proust AORae Rothfield Glenn Sedgwick Maria Solà, in memory of Malcolm Douglas Drs G & G Stephenson. In honour of the great Romanian musicians George Enescu and Dinu LipattiLyn Williams AMKee Wong and Wai TangAnonymous (1)

Principal Patrons $5,000+Linda BrittenDavid and Emma CapponiTim and Lyn EdwardJohn and Diana Frew Susan Fry and Don Fry AODanny Gorog and Lindy Susskind Lou Hamon OAMNereda Hanlon and Michael Hanlon AMHans and Petra HenkellHartmut and Ruth HofmannJenny and Peter HordernJenkins Family FoundationSuzanne KirkhamVivien and Graham KnowlesDr Elizabeth A Lewis AM

Peter LovellAnnette MaluishMatsarol FoundationMr and Mrs D R MeagherWayne and Penny MorganMarie Morton FRSA Dr Paul Nisselle AM Lady Potter ACStephen Shanasy Gai and David TaylorThe Hon. Michael Watt QC and Cecilie Hall Jason Yeap OAM Anonymous (6)

Associate Patrons $2,500+Dandolo PartnersWill and Dorothy Bailey BequestBarbara Bell in memory of Elsa BellMrs S BignellBill BownessStephen and Caroline BrainLeith and Mike Brooke Bill and Sandra BurdettOliver CartonJohn and Lyn CoppockMiss Ann Darby in memory of Leslie J. Darby Mary and Frederick Davidson AMNatasha DaviesPeter and Leila DoyleLisa Dwyer and Dr Ian DicksonJane Edmanson OAMDr Helen M FergusonMr Bill FlemingMr Peter Gallagher and Dr Karen MorleyColin Golvan QC and Dr Deborah GolvanCharles and Cornelia GoodeSusan and Gary HearstColin Heggen in memory of Marjorie HeggenGillian and Michael HundRosemary and James Jacoby John and Joan Jones Kloeden Foundation Sylvia LavelleH E McKenzieAllan and Evelyn McLarenDon and Anne MeadowsAndrew and Sarah NewboldAnn Peacock with Andrew and Woody KrogerSue and Barry Peake

Mrs W Peart Ruth and Ralph Renard S M Richards AM and M R RichardsTom and Elizabeth RomanowskiMax and Jill SchultzJeffrey Sher Diana and Brian Snape AMGeoff and Judy Steinicke Mr Tam Vu and Dr Cherilyn TillmanWilliam and Jenny UllmerBert and Ila VanrenenKate and Blaise VinotBarbara and Donald WeirBrian and Helena WorsfoldAnonymous (12)

Player Patrons $1,000+Anita and Graham Anderson,Christine and Mark Armour, Arnold Bloch Leibler, Marlyn and Peter Bancroft OAM, Adrienne Basser, Prof Weston Bate and Janice Bate, Dr Julianne Bayliss, Timothy and Margaret Best, David and Helen Blackwell, Michael F Boyt, Philip and Vivien Brass, Charitable Foundation, M Ward Breheny, Lino and Di Bresciani OAM, Mr John Brockman OAM and Mrs Pat Brockman, Suzie Brown, Jill and Christopher Buckley, Lynne Burgess, Dr Lynda Campbell, Andrew and Pamela Crockett, Jennifer Cunich, Pat and Bruce Davis, Merrowyn Deacon, Sandra Dent, Dominic and Natalie Dirupo, Marie Dowling, John and Anne Duncan, Kay Ehrenberg, Gabrielle Eisen, Vivien and Jack Fajgenbaum,Grant Fisher and Helen Bird, Barry Fradkin OAM and Dr Pam Fradkin, Applebay Pty Ltd, David Frenkiel and Esther Frenkiel OAM, Carrillo and Ziyin Gantner, David Gibbs and Susie O’Neill, Merwyn and Greta Goldblatt, Dina and Ron Goldschlager, George Golvan QC and Naomi Golvan, Dr Marged Goode, Philip and Raie Goodwach, Louise Gourlay OAM, Ginette and André Gremillet, Max Gulbin, Dr Sandra Hacker AO and Mr Ian

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SUPPORTERS

Kennedy AM, Jean Hadges, Paula Hansky OAM and Jack Hansky AM, Tilda and Brian Haughney, Julian and Gisela Heinze, Penelope Hughes, Dr Alastair Jackson, Basil and Rita Jenkins, Stuart Jennings, George and Grace Kass, Irene Kearsey, Brett Kelly and Cindy Watkin, Ilma Kelson Music Foundation, Dr Anne Kennedy, Bryan Lawrence, William and Magdalena, Leadston, Norman Lewis in memory of Dr Phyllis Lewis, Dr Anne Lierse, Ann and George Littlewood, Violet and Jeff Loewenstein, The Hon Ian Macphee AO and Mrs Julie Mcphee, Elizabeth H Loftus, Vivienne Hadj and Rosemary Madden, In memory of Leigh Masel, John and Margaret Mason, In honour of Norma and Lloyd Rees, Ruth Maxwell, Trevor and Moyra McAllister, David Menzies, Ian Morrey, Laurence O’Keefe and Christopher James, Graham and Christine Peirson, Margaret Plant, Kerryn Pratchett, Peter Priest, Eli Raskin, Bobbie Renard, Peter and Carolyn Rendit, Dr Rosemary Ayton and Dr Sam Ricketson, Joan P Robinson, Zelda Rosenbaum OAM, Antler Ltd, Doug and Elisabeth Scott, Dr Sam Smorgon AO and Mrs Minnie Smorgon, John So, Dr Norman and Dr Sue Sonenberg, Dr Michael Soon, Pauline Speedy, State Music Camp, Dr Peter Strickland, Mrs Suzy and Dr Mark Suss, Pamela Swansson, Tennis Cares- Tennis Australia, Frank Tisher OAM and Dr Miriam Tisher, Margaret Tritsch, Judy Turner and Neil Adam, P & E Turner, Mary Vallentine AO, The Hon. Rosemary Varty, Leon and Sandra Velik, Elizabeth Wagner, Sue Walker AM, Elaine Walters OAM and Gregory Walters, Edward and Paddy White, Janet Whiting and Phil Lukies, Nic and Ann Willcock, Marian and Terry Wills Cooke, Pamela F Wilson, Joanne Wolff, Peter and Susan Yates, Mark

Young, Panch Das and Laurel Young-Das, YMF Australia, Anonymous (17)

The Mahler SyndicateDavid and Kaye Birks, John and Jenny Brukner, Mary and Frederick Davidson AM, Tim and Lyn Edward, John and Diana Frew, Francis and Robyn Hofmann, The Hon Dr Barry Jones AC, Dr Paul Nisselle AM, Maria Solà in memory of Malcolm Douglas, The Hon Michael Watt QC and Cecilie Hall, Anonymous (1)

MSO RosesFounding RoseJenny Brukner

RosesMary Barlow, Linda Britten, Wendy Carter, Annette Maluish, Lois McKay, Pat Stragalinos, Jenny Ullmer,

Rosebuds

Maggie Best, Penny Barlow, Leith Brooke, Lynne Damman, Francie Doolan, Lyn Edward, Penny Hutchinson, Elizabeth A Lewis AM, Sophie Rowell, Dr Cherilyn Tillman

Foundations and TrustsThe A.L. Lane FoundationThe Annie Danks TrustCollier Charitable FundCreative Partnerships AustraliaCrown Resorts Foundation and the Packer Family FoundationThe Cybec FoundationThe Harold Mitchell FoundationHelen Macpherson Smith TrustIvor Ronald Evans Foundation, managed by Equity Trustees Limited The Marian and EH Flack TrustThe Perpetual Foundation – Alan (AGL) Shaw Endowment, managed by PerpetualThe Pratt FoundationThe Robert Salzer FoundationThe Schapper Family FoundationThe Scobie and Claire Mackinnon Trust

Conductor’s CircleCurrent Conductor’s Circle MembersJenny Anderson, David Angelovich, G C Bawden and L de Kievit, Lesley Bawden, Joyce Bown, Mrs Jenny Brukner and the late Mr John Brukner, Ken Bullen, Luci and Ron Chambers, Sandra Dent, Lyn Edward, Alan Egan JP, Gunta Eglite, Louis Hamon OAM, Carol Hay, Tony Howe, Audrey M Jenkins, John and Joan Jones, George and Grace Kass, Mrs Sylvia Lavelle, Pauline and David Lawton, Lorraine Meldrum, Cameron Mowat, Laurence O’Keefe and Christopher James, Rosia Pasteur, Elizabeth Proust AO, Penny Rawlins, Joan P Robinson, Neil Roussac, Anne Roussac-Hoyne, Jennifer Shepherd, Drs Gabriela and George Stephenson, Pamela Swansson, Lillian Tarry, Dr Cherilyn Tillman, Mr and Mrs R P Trebilcock,Michael Ullmer, Ila Vanrenen, Mr Tam Vu, Marian and Terry Wills Cooke, Mark Young, Anonymous (23)

The MSO gratefully acknowledges the support received from the Estates of:Angela Beagley, Gwen Hunt, Pauline Marie Johnston, C P Kemp, Peter Forbes MacLaren, Prof Andrew McCredie, Miss Sheila Scotter AM MBE, Molly Stephens, Jean Tweedie, Herta and Fred B Vogel, Dorothy Wood

Honorary AppointmentsMrs Elizabeth Chernov Education and Community Engagement Patron

Sir Elton John CBE Life Member

The Honourable Alan Goldberg AO QC Life Member

Geoffrey Rush AC Ambassador

The MSO relies on your ongoing philanthropic support to sustain access, artists, education, community engagement and more.We invite our supporters to get close to the MSO through a range of special events and supporter newsletter The Full Score.The MSO welcomes your support at any level. Donations of $2 and over are tax deductible, and supporters are recognised as follows: $100 (Friend), $1,000 (Player), $2,500 (Associate), $5,000 (Principal), $10,000 (Maestro), $20,000 (Impresario), $50,000 (Benefactor).

The MSO Conductor’s Circle is our bequest program for members who have notified of a planned gift in their Will.

Enquiries to Justine Knapp: Ph: +61 (3) 9626 1249

Email: philanthropy@mso.com.au

*Guest musician

14

First ViolinsDale Barltrop Concertmaster

Eoin Andersen Concertmaster

Sophie Rowell Associate Concertmaster

Peter Edwards Assistant Principal

Kirsty BremnerSarah CurroPeter FellinDeborah GoodallLorraine HookKirstin KennyJi Won KimEleanor ManciniMark Mogilevski Michelle RuffoloKathryn TaylorJacqueline Edwards*Oksana Thompson*

Second ViolinsMatthew Tomkins The Gross Foundation Principal Second Violin Chair

Robert Macindoe Associate Principal

Monica Curro Assistant Principal

Mary AllisonIsin CakmakciogluFreya FranzenCong GuAndrew HallFrancesca HiewRachel Homburg Christine JohnsonIsy WassermanPhilippa WestPatrick WongRoger Young

ViolasChristopher Moore Principal

Fiona Sargeant Associate Principal

Lauren BrigdenKatharine BrockmanChristopher CartlidgeGabrielle HalloranTrevor Jones Cindy WatkinCaleb WrightDanielle Arcaro*Ceridwen Davies* Gregory Daniel*

CellosDavid Berlin MS Newman Family Principal Cello Chair

Rachael Tobin Associate Principal

Nicholas Bochner Assistant Principal

Miranda BrockmanRohan de KorteKeith JohnsonSarah MorseAngela SargeantMichelle Wood

Double BassesSteve Reeves Principal

Andrew Moon Associate Principal

Sylvia Hosking Assistant Principal

Damien EckersleyBenjamin HanlonSuzanne LeeStephen NewtonJonathon Coco* Esther Toh*

FlutesPrudence Davis Principal Flute Chair - Anonymous

Wendy Clarke Associate Principal

Sarah Beggs

PiccoloAndrew Macleod Principal

OboesJeffrey Crellin Principal

Thomas Hutchinson Associate Principal

Ann Blackburn

Cor AnglaisMichael Pisani Principal

ClarinetsDavid Thomas Principal

Philip Arkinstall Associate Principal

Craig HillRobin Henry*

Bass ClarinetJon Craven Principal

BassoonsJack Schiller Principal

Elise Millman Associate Principal

Natasha Thomas

ContrabassoonBrock Imison Principal

Horns Geoff Lierse Associate Principal

Saul Lewis Principal Third

Jenna BreenAbbey EdlinTrinette McClimontRobert Shirley*

TrumpetsGeoffrey Payne Principal

Shane Hooton Associate Principal

William EvansJulie Payne

TrombonesBrett Kelly Principal

Iain Faragher*

Bass TromboneMike Szabo Principal

TubaTimothy Buzbee Principal

TimpaniChristine Turpin Principal

PercussionRobert Clarke Principal

John ArcaroRobert Cossom

HarpYinuo Mu Principal

OrganCalvin Bowman*

ORCHESTRA

BoardMichael Ullmer Chairman

Andrew DyerDanny GorogMargaret Jackson ACBrett KellyDavid Krasnostein

David LiAnn PeacockHelen Silver AOKee Wong

Company SecretaryOliver Carton

15

CHORUS

Soprano Philippa AllenNaomi HyndmanJulie ArblasterCarolyn ArchibaldAviva BarazaniEva ButcherJessica ChanThea ChristieVeryan CroggonSamantha DaviesLaura FaheyRita FitzgeraldCatherine FolleySusan FoneCarolyn FrancisRashika GomezKarina GoughJillian GrahamKarling HamilJuliana HassettPenny HuggettJasmine HulmeTania JacobsGwen KennellyRebecca KmitJudith McFarlaneRuth McIntoshLynne MuirHelen NikolasCaitlin NobleSusie NovellaKarina OttoJodie PaxtonIsobel PyrkeSusannah Polya

Elizabeth PotterNatalie ReidJo RobinElizabeth RusliJodi SamartgisFreja SoininenLynda SmerdonElizabeth TindallChloe TohEloise VerbeekBeth YlvisakerTara Zamin Ester Litvak Jemima Sim Karin OttoFreja SoineninElizabeth Rusli

Alto Aleksandra AckerRuth AndersonCatherine BickellCecilia BjörkegrenKate BramleyJane BrodieElize BrozgulSerena CarmelAlexandra ChubatyAndrea CliffordJill GieseNatasha GodfreyDebbie GriffithsRos HarbisonSue HawleyJennifer HenryKristine Hensel

Christina McCowanRosemary McKelvieHelen MacLeanSiobhan OrmandySharmila PeriakarpanAlison RalphKerry RoulstonAnnie RunnellsRosemary SaundersHelen StaindlLibby TimckeJenny VallinsEmma Warburton Wilma Smith Jade Leigh Andrea CliffordSerena Carmel

Tenor James AllenTony BarnettSteve BurnettJohn CleghornDenny ChandraAlexander DavieJames DipnallJoshua Erdelyi-GötzSimon GoldmanLyndon HorsburghWayne KinradePeter Duy-Lam Nguyen-HoangDominic McKennaMichael MobachJean-Francois RavatDaniel RileyMalcolm Sinclair

Tim Wright Ed ThengPeter Duy Lam Nguyen

BassMaurice AmorRichard BolithoDavid BrownPaul Alexander ChantlerBarry ClarkeTed DaviesGerard EvansMichael GoughTom GriffithsAndrew HamAndrew HibbardJohn HowardDaniel HouseKee Yoon (Kevin) KimJemly KalangieBenjamin LeskeGary LeveyAndreas LoeweAlastair McKeanAndrew MurrellVern O’HaraEdward OunapuuDouglas ProctorMatthew ToulminMaurice WanFoon WongAllan YapMaciek Zielinski Stephen Pyke Liam Straughan Robert Stove

SUPPORTERS

GOVERNMENT PARTNERS

ASSOCIATE PARTNERS

MAESTRO PARTNERS

Linda Britten Naomi Milgrom Foundation

Hardy Amies

Fitzroys Alpha Feature Investment

Red Emperor

OFFICIAL CAR PARTNER

MEDIA PARTNERS

SUPPORTING PARTNERS

B e a u t i f u l F l o w e r s

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