How great thou art

On Saturday the 24th of March the Lowveld Chamber Music Association will be presenting a glorious Easter Concert at the Penryn Chapel. As we have come to expect from the LMCA's concerts, the program will be a blend of classical music and lighter fare, all combined for an uplifting listening experience. Headlining the show will be Clydesdale's gorgeous cantata, which he arranged out of several well known and melodious pieces often sung in our congregations, such as Jesus Christ is risen today. In this specific piece, he took the melody and composed a soaring descant which will be sung by well known tenor Hardus Hartzenberg. Hartzenberg sings the role of The Angel, and other local tenor Walter Fourie will be singing the role of Jesus. Also in the cantata will be mezzo-soprano Gugu Mahlalela (singing Mary Magdelene), tenor Vusi Manana (Pontius Pilate), baritone Daniel Verster (Judas), and soprano Deirdre Blignaut-Rautenbach (Mother Mary), together with the Sempre Vino choral ensemble.
 

In the classical part of the program the Sempre Vino ensemble will be joined by the Lowveld Community Orchestra for what is probably Mozart's most famous easter work, the Ave Verum Corpus. It is a stirring composition of man's prayer to Jesus to have mercy on us. Blignaut-Rautenbach will round out the program with one of Mozart's other famous works, the Exsultate Jubilate. This high flying piece is a staple for any lyric soprano, and Blignaut-Rautenbach navigates the intricate passages with great aplomb.