Hope, joy, serenity, delight, curiosity, courage and tenderness: this concert celebrates the power of the human spirit – and the human voice! – to come together in community. Discover new worlds of musical wonder with a magical Kyrie and spine-tinglingly radiant Gloria by Latvian composer Uģis Prauliņš, Ella Macens’ captivating When the World Closes Its Eyes, Antony Pitts’ exhilarating Credo from his ‘Mass of Unity’ and an exciting new work commissioned from Australian rising star Elizabeth Younan. And experience the full emotional power of choral music with Joe Twist’s An Australian Song Cycle: an unforgettable journey through the landscape of this unique continent.

The Human Spirit includes the world premiere of Espoir (Hope) by rising star, Elizabeth Younan, drawing on her Lebanese upbringing and the yearning words of Palestinian poet May Ziedah. When the World Closes its Eyes by fellow Sydney composer Ella Macens will be reprised with Macens’ glorious mix of pop, classical, folk and Baltic traditions – and her salute to a famed Latvian song of national resistance.

Central to The Human Spirit concert is An Australian Song Cycle by the prolific screen and symphonic composer Joe Twist, with his evocative visions of our landscape, drawing words from seven of our best poets – and its devastation from bushfires. Applauded for his recent Adelaide Festival oratorio Watershed: The Death of Dr Duncan, Twist says his first inspiration for this major Song Cycle was the vibrant rainforests of his childhood on the Gold Coast.

ARTISTS

Sydney Chamber Choir

Sam Allchurch – Conductor

Jem Harding – Piano

PROGRAM

Ella Macens – When the World Closes its Eyes

Antony Pitts – Credo from Missa Unitatis

Uģis Prauliņš – Kyrie and Gloria from Missa Rigensis

Joe Twist – An Australian Song Cycle

Elizabeth Younan – Espoir (World premiere)

“These outstanding new Australian compositions by Joe Twist, Ella Macens and now Elizabeth Younan were all commissioned by Sydney Chamber Choir,” says conductor and music director Sam Allchurch. “We’re always excited premiering new work, going into unchartered territory. Elizabeth Younan’s Espoir is so beautiful and builds to a thrilling choral tour de force. And we’re even more delighted to oblige when our audiences ask to hear new commissions again – as with Joe and Ella’s work.”