Based on Hans Christian Andersen's 1845 tale, The Little Match Girl Passion tells the sad story of a girl who freezes to death, selling matches on the street on a cold winter's night. David Lang's musical realisation of this classic fable is a groundbreaking, genre-defining and Pulitzer Prize-winning work. Modelled on Bach's St Matthew Passion, Lang alternates between narrative and commentary, but as the composer himself put it, 'there is no Bach in this piece and there is no Jesus'. Rather, the tragic story of the little match girl is transformed into a moving reflection on suffering, poverty, and sacrifice - it is a passion for our times. Realised in delicate vocal lines that weave and unravel into moments of intimate homophony, The Little Match Girl Passion holds horror and hope in both hands.

Luminescence Chamber Singers perform the Little Match Girl Passion alongside renaissance polyphony for Passiontide, including music by Tomás Luis de Victoria, Pierre De la Rue, and Carlo Gesualdo.

PROGRAMME

Tomás Luis de Victoria, O Vos Omnes (1572)

Giovanni Battista Casali, Improperium expectavit (1715-1792)

Tomás Luis de Victoria, Animam Meam Dilectam (1585)

Pierre De la Rue, Miserere Mei (1545)

Carlo Gesualdo, O Vos Omnes (1603)

Handl - Ecce Quomodo Moritur Justus (1587)

INTERVAL

David Lang, Little Match Girl Passion .(2007)

ARTISTS

Rachel Mink

Veronica Milroy

AJ America

Dan Walker

Jack Stephens

ABOUT LUMINESCENCE CHAMBER SINGERS

The Luminescence Chamber Singers is a professional vocal consort based in Canberra, Australia. Since the ensemble’s earliest iteration in 2013 Luminescence has quickly gained a reputation for presenting exciting and excellent singing, performing a wide range of repertoire from the Renaissance to the 21st century. Luminescence seeks to give voice to human experiences of all kinds and to champion to vocal arts as a uniquely human mode of creation and communication.

In addition to a diverse annual concert season, Luminescence appears regularly for the Canberra International Music Festival and for the Four Winds Festival, and has presented performances in some of our most iconic national institutions, including the National Portrait Gallery, the High Court of Australia, and the National Portrait Gallery. Luminescence is also a regular collaborator with Artistic Mentor Roland Peelman, and has performed alongside many of Australia’s leading ensembles, composers and conductors, including Ensemble Offspring, the Song Company, Gondwana Choirs, Four Winds Festival, Elliott Gyger, Alice Chance, and Carl Crossin.

More info: http://luminescence.org.au/