Choir's Spain schedule announced

As most readers of this website will already be aware, Sydney Chamber Choir is on its way to Spain in October 2009 to participate in the 41st Tolosa International Choral Festival.

The festival is a prestigious choral tournament which attracts choirs not only from Europe but from around the world, and we are honoured to be the first Australian choir ever to be invited.

In the fortnight prior to the festival, we will give concerts in a number of towns and cities around northern Spain:

  • 22 October: Concert in Tafalla
  • 23 October: Concert in Santurtzi
  • 24 October: Concert in Borja
  • 25 October: Concert in Zarautz
  • 27 October: Concert in San Sebastian
  • 30 October: Concert in Polanco
  • 31 October – 1 November: Festival appearances
  • 1 November: Concert in Tudela

The repertoire for these concerts includes Australian and Spanish works and, because Tolosa is in the centre of the Basque region of northern Spain, there is a very strong Basque influence in the repertoire.

All choirs participating in the festival are required to sing a number of compulsory works in sacred and secular genres by 20th century Basque composers, including Txantxibirin (a complex arrangement of a Basque folk song by Eduardo Mocoroa) and In Monte Oliveti (a Bruckneresque sacred motet by Javier Bello-Portu).

Singing in Basque has its interests for choristers: there are at least seven distinct Basque dialects, the language is related to no other (certainly not Spanish), and we have to get it right!

We are also obliged to sing works representative of our own country. We have chosen pieces that reflect Australian culture, both Aboriginal and European-influenced. Our selected works include compositions by Ross Edwards and Peter Sculthorpe that draw inspiration from Australia’s rugged landscape and Aboriginal heritage.

In another compulsory genre, folk songs and arrangements from our own country, we have included Stephen Leek’s arrangement of South Australia, Elliott Gyger’s masterfully witty arrangement of Waltzing Matilda, and the stunningly beautiful arrangement of Brigg Fair by Percy Grainger.

And on that note, you might spare a thought for our Spanish-speaking tenor, Michael Iglesias, who has taken on the task of providing translations of all our English-language pieces. ‘Jumbuck’? ‘Swagman’? ‘Billabong’? We wish him luck.

Sydney Chamber Choir is proud to be representing our city and our country in Spain. Wish us Buen Viaje!.