… Perchance to dream

Dusk to dawn ~ the shadowed hours illuminated in song

Directed by Kevin Barker

Step out of a wintry mountains afternoon into a warm enveloping sanctuary of calm and tranquillity, as we explore the music of nighttime, sleep and dreams from across the centuries …

From Dowland’s introspective lute songs, Purcell’s delicate melodies lulling fairies to sleep, and one of J S Bach’s most celebrated sacred cantatas. The refined harmony of Mozart evoking the serenity of twilight. A cornucopia of Romantics – Mendelssohn, Brahms, Rheinberger, Fauré – with their lyrical expression, sweeping melodies and cascading vocal lines. The harmonies of Vaughan Williams and Barber, depicting eternal stillness and natural beauty. To the present day, with Eric Whitacre’s mesmerising, ethereal lullaby, and an atmospheric art song by our very own Kevin Barker, describing the transition from quiet, solitary reflection to a triumphant celebration of hope. All enhanced by the rich, velvety resonance of the cello.

3 pm, Sunday 9 August, Hoskins Memorial Uniting Church, Lithgow