Programme

• J S Bach: Fantasia & Fugue in G minor (“Great”), BWV 542
• Artley: O Magnum Mysterium
• MacMillan: A New Song
• Mendelssohn: Lobgesang (Hymn of Praise); Symphony No. 2

Featuring Anna Leese (soprano), Catrin Johnsson (mezzo-soprano), Jaewoo Kim (tenor), John Wells (organ) from Auckland Choral and Pipers Sinfonia.

Pre-concert talk at 6.30pm with Heath Lees.

Mendelssohn’s mighty Lobgesang (Hymn of Praise) is also his second symphony. Composed for the 400th anniversary of the Gutenberg Bible, it praises God and the spiritual power of words, so Mendelssohn uses the emergence of words in Beethoven’s “Choral” Symphony as the model for this majestic 'Symphony-Cantata'.

​New Zealand composer Chris Artley sets his spacious music in praise of the birth of Christ in O Magnum Mysterium, and Scottish composer James MacMillan creates new sounds of praise in A New Song.

Opening the concert is the “Great” G-minor Fantasia and Fugue — the most highly praised of Bach’s works in that form: a harmonic revolution in the Fantasia and a masterpiece of counterpoint in the Fugue.

Overall, a complete Festival of Praise!