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The Collegium Symphonic Chorus at North Perth Monastery

At the monastery ANZAC Day, 2012, started with the celebration of Mass at 6.30 am. There was a further Mass at 11.00 am. The afternoon, however, was the occasion for an ANZAC Day concert presented by the Collegium Symphonic Chorus under the direction of Dr. Margaret Pride.

The two works presented were ‘Dona nobis pacem’ by Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) and Requiem by Gabriel Fauré (1845- 1924)

Since its inception in 1997, the Collegium Symphonic Chorus has impressed and mesmerised audiences throughout Australia and overseas, including New York, Salzburg and Vienna. For the ANZAC Day concert at the monastery the chorus was joined by soloists Stephanie Gooch and Robert Hofmann, and was supported by a forty one piece orchestra led by first violinist, Shaun Lee-Chen.

On a pleasant autumn day the monastery church was packed to capacity, so much so that in 2013 the chorus is looking to present a total of two concerts for ANZAC Day.

The monastery was the perfect setting for the two presented works with the Fauré Requiem fitting the church’s acoustics hand in glove. Williams’ stronger ‘Dona nobis pacem’ with its cry for peace encased in the sounds of war was poignant on ANZAC Day, and the medal-wearing veterans sprinkled through  the audience felt that more than anyone. Neville Cohen, reviewer in the West Australian newspaper, claimed he couldn’t recall ‘a more moving listening experience’. Click HERE to read a review.

The ANZAC Day concert was recorded by ABC Classic FM and will be broadcast at a later date. Watch this space for further details on that broadcast.

Coming concerts from the Collegium Symphonic Chorus are

• Rachmaninoff Vespers
  Saturday October 20th, 8.00 pm
  Redemptorist Monastery, North Perth
• Handel’s Messiah
  Saturday, December 15th, 7.30 pm
  Perth Concert Hall

Photos courtesy of Terence Boylen Photography and Design.