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Amanda Barclay (soprano), Katherine Hodge (mezzo), Maaike Christie-Beekman (alto) Phillip Collins (tenor), Matthew Landreth (bass), Erin Helyard (Organ), Peter Walls (conductor) Nota Bene

Pieces of Eight

Pieces of Eight Photo: Supplied

In tonight’s Music Alive from Wellington Choir Nota Bene you can hear works in eight parts by Bach, Mendelssohn, Brahms and others.

JS Bach’s motets for double choir stand at the pinnacle of works in this genre and Singet dem Herrn ein Neues Lied (Sing unto the Lord a new song) is the most ambitious and virtuosic of them all.

Mozart heard the work on a visit to the St. Thomas School in Leipzig in 1789 and, according to an account of his visit in the local paper: “As soon as the choir had sung a few bars, Mozart started; after a few more he exclaimed: 'What is that?' And now his whole soul seemed to be centered in his ears. When the song was ended, he cried out with delight: 'Now, here is something one can learn from!'“

Peter Walls is guest conductor for this programme, and Erin Helyard provides chamber organ solos to complement the vocal works which also include pieces for double choir by Peter Philips, William Byrd, and Philip de Monte, along with choral favourites such as Purcell’s Hear My Prayer, Lotti’s Crucifixus, Holst’s Ave Maria and Pearsall’s Lay a Garland. (Source: Nota Bene)

Recorded live in Sacred Heart Cathedral, Wellington by Radio New Zealand