The title of Resurgam's June concert might be used aptly for an up-market dining club; in fact it alludes to the feast of Corpus Christi, which takes place two days before. Much wonderful music has been written in honour of the "sacred feast", as a vehicle for the colourful metaphysical poetry found in its liturgy. This hour long programme is indeed a feast, with music from the sixteenth, nineteenth and twentieth centuries, a variety of different vocal groupings, and the added richness of harp and organ.
From the Renaissance comes two very different approaches to the feast - the introvert intensity of recusant Catholicism in England as heard in motets by Byrd and Tallis, and the full-blooded continental exuberance of Victoria. These works the constitute a foil to the rich harmonic language and texture of French late-ninteenth and early-twentieth centuries, as heard in works by Fauré, Roger-Ducasses and Messiaen.
The programme concludes with Gerald Finzi's Lo the Full Final Sacrifice, presented in its original 1946 version for organ and choir. This extended festival anthem is a minor masterpiece of English twentieth century music and sets a text by Richard Crashaw, itself based on propers for the feast by Thomas Aquinas (some of which appear earlier in the programme). In contrast to the long polyphonic lines of the earlier works, here words and music have an intimate relationship, the syllabic flexibility of the vocal writing subtly resonating and amplifying the texts heard earlier, forming a fascinating counterpoint to the dark intimacy with which the programmer begins.
Convivium: a banquet of music with something for all tastes! (And there's still time to go out for dinner afterwards...)
Tickets €10, €8 (conc) will be available on the door and in advance from:
The Central Ticket Bureau
Liberty Hall
33 Eden Quay
Dublin 1
0818 205 205
www.ctb.ie