"Dolor et Gaudium: Renaissance Music for Easter"

Dolor et Gaudium, Sorrow and Joy: these two words capture the essential drama of the Easter story. The prize-winning Orpheus singers, directed by Peter Schubert, will sing masterpieces of Renaissance a cappella choral music for the Easter season by Thomas Tallis, Carlo Gesualdo, and Orlando di Lasso. Tallis’s Lamentations of Jeremiah and Gesualdo’s Responsories provide very different representations of the sorrow, betrayal, passion, and crucifixion of Christ: Tallis works with rich imitative polyphony, while Gesualdo uses tortured chromaticism and dissonance. Lasso’s surging lines and lively settings of “Alleluia!” in celebration of the resurrection provide the perfect musical representation of joy.

Date:Saturday, 25 April, 8 p.m.

Place: St. Matthias’ Church

131, Côte-St-Antoine, (corner Metcalfe) Westmount

Metro: Atwater or Vendôme, bus: 24, 104, 138

Tickets:Adults: $18 ($20 at the door)

Seniors and students: $10 ($12 at the door)

Information/reservations: 514-846-8464

info@orpheusmontreal.org

orpheusmontreal.org

Founded in 1981, The Orpheus Singers is an accomplished chamber choir dedicated to the performance of complex and less familiar works spanning six centuries. Under the baton of Peter Schubert, the ensemble has been a finalist five times in the CBC / Radio-Canada National Radio Competition for Amateur Choirs (1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2004), winning first prize in 1996 and second prize in 2004.