Complete program details: concert honouree, artists, repertoire and more.
60th Anniversary Concerts honouree:
DAVID CAROLANE OAM (15 July 1930 - 28 January 2022)
The 60th anniversary concerts pay tribute to founder of the Tudor Choristers, DAVID CAROLANE OAM, who died in 2022 at the age of 91. David led the choir as its music director for 25 years, as well as many other choirs around Melbourne. Music historian Dr Peter Campbell wrote in 2003: In Melbourne, David Carolane, an important figure with wide-reaching influence, established the Tudor Choristers in 1962, originally and eight-voice ensemble; by 1969, it was already forty strong. The Tudors made their reputation with performances of works of the Byrd and Tallis generation, but in recent years have significantly expanded this repertoire. (Campbell, P. J., 2005. 'And there Came all Manner of Choirs': Melbourne's Burgeoning Choral Scene since 1950. Journal of Music Research. Context, 25, pp.41-54. Previously presented in 2003, Symposium: Choral Music in Melbourne).
Upon retirement from his "day job" as a pharmacist in the Melbourne suburb of Ivanhoe, David moved to north-eastern Victoria and in 1984 was invited to direct the Murray Conservatorium Choir and the Murray Conservatorium Consort (Albury, NSW). Seeing opportunity to expand community choral music in the region, in 1985 he launched the Wangaratta Choristers (now known as Vocal Dimension), and for a time also led the Beechworth Singers. He also served as the music director at St Matthew's Anglican Church in Albury, and established a Three-Choirs Festival, which continues today. He was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in 1992. He was honoured to conduct a choir for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II during her visit to Albury.
David's widow, Sue Carolane, sang in several of his choirs. She said: "He could form some pretty ordinary raw material into something really, really good because he was so inspiring. He inspired his choristers first and orchestras, and the audience as a result." In a 2014 interview, David remarked: "Singing in choirs is a wonderful way of forging friendships and achieving something". (Howie, J. Border Mail, 6 February 2022).
Current conductor of the Tudor Choristers, Dr Kathleen McGuire, was approached by David when she was first appointed as music director in 2017. They soon became friends, with David sharing his ideas about programming and recruitment and other aspects of developing the "Tudors". He offering continued support through frequent phone calls and coming to Melbourne for concerts.
He offered advice prior to Tudors winning the Boroondara Eisteddfod in 2020. David and Kathleen shared similar philosophies around the value of choral music and its relevance in society today.
"I truly appreciated David's many words of wisdom and always felt privileged to receive his encouragement. I was a bit of a DC 'groupie' back in my undergraduate days, often attending his concerts in the 1980s, so it has been a real thrill getting to know him and to receive his mentoring these past five years. He will be sorely missed by the thousands of people whose lives he impacted. I am dedicated to continuing his work through the music-making of the Tudor Choristers." (Kathleen McGuire, 2022).
These anniversary concerts in David Carolane's honour are a testament to his legacy, continuing to forge friendships, inspire beautiful choral music, and delight audiences. The thousands affected will be forever in his debt.
FEATURED ARTISTS
SHAUNTAI BATZKE, Wiradjuri soprano soloist (25 Sept only)  Shauntai is a principal artist with Short Black Opera and an Alumna of the Melba Opera Trust. Shauntai holds a BMus at the Melbourne Conservatorium UniMelb. Has spent two summers in New York in vocal and performance training at Belle Arti Center of the Arts and in 2019 gave a world premiere of her original chamber and orchestral compositions at the Port Fairy Spring Music Festival ‘19. Shauntai made her debut as a solo artist with Melbourne Symphony Orchestra in 2020 singing ‘Long Time Living Here’, A musical Acknowledgement of Country composed by Deborah Cheetham AO and sang this same piece for the opening of each performance of MSO’s 2021 season of Peter and the Wolf at Hamer Hall. In June 2021, Shauntai made her debut performance with Victorian Opera in Deborah Cheetham AO’s new opera 'Parrwang Lifts the Sky'. Noted productions include; Pecan Summer (Short Black Opera), Ragtime, Showboat (The Production Company), Beginning of Nature (Australian Dance Theatre), RICERCAR (Present Tense Ensemble), Fidelio (Melbourne Opera) and Corrugation Road (Black Swan Theatre) | HUGH FULLARTON, organist  Hugh has performed throughout England and Australia, and has had solo recitals broadcast on ABC FM. Locally, he has appeared with Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, The Consort of Melbourne, The Sydney Chamber Choir, Trinity College Choir at The University of Melbourne, Ormond College Choir, The Victorian Arts Centre Trust, Opera in the Alps, and The Australian Choral Symposium, amongst a host of other local ensembles as keyboard artist. He has regularly appeared as organist in music festivals, including the Melbourne Festival, Adelaide Festival, Organs of the Ballarat Goldfields, Port Fairy Folk Festival, Peninsula Summer Music Festival, The St Kilda Festival, Southern Grampians Promenade of Sacred Music, and The Wangaratta International Festival of Jazz. As both organist and pianist his work can be heard on ABC FM Classics and Move Records labels. In his recent role of Organist and Master of the Choristers at Holy Trinity Cathedral, Wangaratta, his high-level directing, soloist and accompanying skills, his numerous arrangements, compositions and imaginative repertoire programming, in addition to the establishment of a concert series engaging and collaborating with a wide range of Australian musicians and ensembles, elevated this regional cathedral music program to amongst the finest of its type nationally. |
JERZY KOZLOWZKI, bass soloist  Jerzy's extensive choral experience began in England, working with The Academy of St Martin in the Fields Chorus, the Collegium Musicum of London and the Saltarello Choir.After moving to Australia, Jerzy worked regularly with the Victoria State Opera and has performed with Opera Australia in every Melbourne season since 1996. He has also worked with Ozopera, Melbourne Opera Company, Operalive, Melbourne City Opera and Victorian Opera in roles such as Sparafucile in Rigoletto, the title role in Nyman’s The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, Grandpa Moss in Copland’s The Tender Land, Dr Bartolo in Barber of Seville and Leuthold in Rossini’s Guillaume Tell. Jerzy has sung solo with all major Melbourne choral groups in repertoire ranging from Handel’s Messiah to Verdi’s Requiem and solo recitals include performances of Shostakovich’s Suite on Verses by Michelangelo and Four Verses of Captain Lebyadkin. He has performed in many premieres of works by Australian composers such as Richard Mills, Johanna Selleck, Helen Gifford and Iain Grandage, including two song cycles written especially for him by Michael Bertram and Lawrence Whiffin. | Dr KATHLEEN MCGUIRE, Music Director, Tudor Choristers  Kathleen has conducted the Tudor Choristers since 2017. Born in Melbourne and with a stellar career spanning more than three decades in seven countries, Kathleen has directed choral and instrumental ensembles on international stages including Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center and Sydney Opera House. She earned her doctorate in conducting at the University of Colorado, Boulder (USA), Master of Music with Distinction at University of Surrey (UK) as a Rotary Ambassadorial Fellow, Graduate Diploma in Education at Monash University, Graduate Diploma in conducting at the Victorian College of the Arts and BMus in composition at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music. She studied conducting with Robert Rosen, Nicholas Braithwaite, Theodore Kuchar, Dr Joan Catoni Conlon, Dr Owen Rees, Nicholas Conran and Robert Spillman, while also receiving mentoring from Simone Young AO, Marin Alsop, Christopher Martin, Sian Edwards and David Carolane OAM. Kathleen lived in the USA for almost two decades, where “Kathleen McGuire Day” was designated on two occasions by mayors of San Francisco. She was named “Local Hero” by ABC-TV, and The American Prize awarded her work several times in the Professional Composer Division. Kathleen returned to Australia in 2013. In additional to freelance conducting and composing, she is a Lecturer in Education (Music) at the Faculty of Education and Arts, Australian Catholic University. |
SALLY MORRIS, soprano soloist (17 Sept only)  Sally Morris first met David Carolane at the age of ten, as the daughter of one of his Murray Conservatorium choristers, and went on to train with him as a treble, chiefly in his Albury-based children's choir. Some 25 years later, after a long hiatus from choral music, Sally sat with 'DC' to at an end of year Christmas party after he insisted she join in with some caroling. By the end of the set, Sally found she had been conscripted into David's a cappella Vocal Consort... and subsequently was talked into singing lessons. Sally has continued musical studies begun with David, and sings in several local choirs. As a part of Albury chamber choir Lux Alba, and the Murray Conservatorium Vocal Consort, she has performed a wide repertoire of intricate one-voice-per-part sacred and secular a cappella arrangements from different periods, from medieval through to modern, featuring the work of early composers Tallis, Byrd, Scarlatti, Monteverdi, Gesualdo, Lotti, though to Whitacre, along with the orchestral grand scale chorus works from greats such as Bach, Handel, Vivaldi and Fauré. Sally also sings regularly within the Anglican tradition and particularly enjoys preparing for Evensong services which feature works by Stanford, Wallmsly, Croft, Britten, Gibbons and Purcell as part of church choir at St Matthew's Albury. She has sung frequently as a guest member of several choirs, local and further afield, including the Melbourne Philharmonic, the Wangaratta Cathedral Choir, Beechworth's Women in Harmony, the Opera in the Alps chorus and in chorus work for Sally Anne Russell and Mario Dobernig at the Albury Chamber Music Festival. As a soloist, Sally has performed as the at the local Tunes on Tuesday recital series, and at local venue Adamshurst, singing arias, lieder and art-songs as well as collaborating on duet work in a variety of traditions, secular and sacred. Fauré's haunting Pie Jesu holds a particularly special place in Sally's heart, as it is one of the first works David selected for her to study. She is honoured to have sung this same work at David's funeral, and now once more, for Albury iteration of Tudor Choristers' Forever memorial tribute concert. | JANETTE PATTON, pianist  Janette is a pianist, organist and flutist. She graduated from the University of Melbourne with a Bachelor of Music degree and works as a piano teacher and accompanist in several Melbourne schools. Her vast experience includes serving as the organist at Trinity Uniting Church and as guest artist for the Tudor Choristers and Star Chorale. Janette accompanies students for University, VCE and AMEB examinations and is the regular accompanist of Victoria Chorale. |
MARGARET PHILLIPS, conductor, the Carolane Choir  | Margaret (pictured left) has been involved in the musical life of the North East region of Victoria since 1989, directing the Beechworth Singers since 1991. Margaret taught voice at the Murray Conservatorium for six years, after several years of teaching in Melbourne, Beechworth and Wangaratta. She has been a soloist for the Wangaratta Choristers, the Murray Conservatorium Choir, the Chamber Choir and the St Matthew's Consort as well as giving solo and duet recitals. She also directs an occasional ensemble, “Women in Harmony”, and other small groups. She has also acted as accompanist for many groups in the region. |
THE TUDOR CHORISTERS
Sopranos
Altos
Tenors
Basses
THE CAROLANE CHOIR - SPECIAL GUESTS
Sopranos
Altos
Tenors
Basses
THE JACOBEANS - Alumni of the Tudor Choristers
Peter Johnson Bruce Macrae Megan McLaughlin | Tim Moore Robynne Moore Helen Summerbell |
PROGRAM
(About Tudor Choristers)
(Translations and lyrics provided below)
Acknowledgement of Country
Dr Melissa Laird (on Bungambrawatha and Yarrawudda country, 17 September)
Shauntai Batzke (on the traditional lands of the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung people, 25 September)
Welcome
Cr Jane Addis, Mayor of the City of Boroondara (25 September)
Wominkeja Birrarunga (2016, rev. 2022)
Words and music by Deborah Cheetham AO (1964 –) Soprano: Shauntai Batzke (Melbourne only).
Piano: Janette Patton. (Lyrics and translation)
Anthems and Madrigals
Sing joyfully
Psalm 81, 1-4. Music by William Byrd (1542/3 – 1623). (Lyrics)
Hide not thou thy face
Psalm 27, 10. Music by Richard Farrant (c. 1535 – 1580) (Lyrics)
The Silver Swan
by Orlando Gibbons (1583 – 1625) (Lyrics)
Adieu, sweet Amaryllis (1598)
Words: anonymous. Music by John Wilbye (1574 – 1638) (Lyrics)
Weep, O mine eyes (1599)
Words: anonymous. Music by John Bennett (c. 1575 – after 1614) (Lyrics)
“Just as the tide was flowing” from Five English Folk Songs (1913)
Traditional words and music, arranged by Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872 – 1958). (Lyrics)
“Brightly dawns our wedding day” from The Mikado (1885)
Words by WS Gilbert (1836 – 1911). Music by Sir Arthur Sullivan (1842 – 1900). (Lyrics)
The Carolane Choir, directed by Margaret Phillips
Never weather-beaten sail (c. 1613)
Words and music by Thomas Campion (1567–1620) (Lyrics)
Thou knowest, Lord, the secrets of our hearts (1695)
Words: Book of Common Prayer (1594). Music by Henry Purcell (c. 1659 – 1695). (Lyrics)
Composed for the funeral of Queen Mary II.
O taste and see (1953)
Psalm 34: 8. Music by Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872 – 1958). (Lyrics)
Composed for the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.
Choral Classics
25 September only: The Tudor Choristers with alumni and friends
“Jesu, joy of man’s desiring” from Cantata 147 (1723)
Music by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 – 1750). Flute: Janette Patton. Organ: John Rivers. (Lyrics)
The Tudor Choristers and alumni, with the Carolane Choir
Requiem in D minor, opus 48 (1888/1893 version) (Lyrics and translation)
Music by Gabriel Fauré (1845 – 1924) Soprano solo: Sally Morris (Albury); Shauntai Batzke (Melbourne). Baritone solo: Jerzy Kozlowski. Organ: Hugh Fullarton. Piano: Janette Patton.
Selected movements:
Sanctus (chorus)
Pie Jesu (soprano solo)
Agnus Dei (chorus)
Libera Me (baritone solo + chorus)
In Paradisum (chorus)
LYRICS AND TRANSLATIONS
Wominjeka Birrarunga English translation, from Boon Wurrung language, by Deborah Cheetham AO
[The] sun [has] returned [from] a long journey [To the] Eastern Kulin Nation River country, Boon Wurrung Know and understand Boon Wurrung Welcome [you to] river country Our beautiful country Promise [has] returned [from] a long journey Promise [has] returned [from] a long journey [To the] Eastern Kulin Nation River country, Boon Wurrung
Sing joyfully to God our strength;
Sing loud unto the God of Jacob! Take the song, bring forth the timbrel, The pleasant harp, and the viol. Blow the trumpet in the new moon, Even in the time appointed, and at our feast day. For this is a statute for Israel, and a law of the God of Jacob.
Hide not thou thy face from us, O Lord,
and cast not off thy servant in thy displeasure;
for we confess our sins unto thee
and hide not our unrighteousness.
For thy mercy's sake,
deliver us from all our sins.
The silver swan, who living had no note,
When death approached, unlocked her silent throat;
Leaning her breast against the reedy shore,
Thus sung her first and last, and sung no more:
“Farewell, all joys; Oh death, come close mine eyes;
More geese than swans now live, more fools than wise.”
Adieu, sweet Amaryllis,
For since to part your will is,
O heavy tiding,
Here is for me no biding.
Yet once again, ere that I part with you,
Amaryllis sweet, adieu.
Weep, o mine eyes, and cease not,
alas, these your springtides me thinks increase not.
O when, O when begin you
to swell so high that I may drown me in you?
Just as the tide was flowing
One morning in the month of May, down by a rolling river,
A jolly sailor, I did stray, when I beheld my lover.
She carelessly along did stray, a-picking of the daisies gay.
And sweetly sang her roundelay, just as the tide was flowing.
O! Her dress it was so white as milk and jewels did adorn her.
Her shoes were made of the crimson silk,
Just like some lady of honour.
Her cheeks were red, her eyes were brown,
Her hair in ringlets hanging down;
She’d a lovely brow without a frown, just as the tide was flowing.
I made a bow and said “Fair maid, how came you here so early?
My heart by you it is betrayed, for I do love you dearly.
I am a sailor come from sea, if you will accept my company
To walk and view the fishes play, just as the tide was flowing.”
No more we said, but on our way we ganged along together; The small birds sang, and the lambs did play, And pleasant was the weather. When we were weary we did sit down Beneath a tree with branches round; For my true love at last I’d found, just as the tide was flowing.
Brightly dawns our wedding day
Joyous hour, we give thee greeting! Whither, whither art thou fleeting? Fickle moment, prithee stay! Fickle moment, prithee stay! What though mortal joys be hollow? Pleasures come, if sorrows follow! Though the tocsin sounds ere long.
Ding dong! Ding dong!
Yet until the shadows fall over one and over all
Sing a merry madrigal, sing a merry madrigal
Sing a merry madrigal, fa la la la la, (etc.)
Let us dry the ready tear though the hours are surely creeping
Little need for woeful weeping, till the sad sundown is near
Till the sad sundown is near. All must sip the cup of sorrow —
I today and thou tomorrow. This the close of every song.
Ding dong! Ding dong!
What, though solemn shadows fall sooner, later, over all?
Sing a merry madrigal, sing a merry madrigal
Sing a merry madrigal. Fa la la la la (etc.)
Never weather-beaten sail more willing bent to shore,
Never tired pilgrim’s limbs affected slumber more.
Than my wearied sprite now longs to fly out of my troubled breast:
O come quickly, sweetest Lord, and take my soul to rest.
Ever blooming are the joys of Heaven’s high Paradise,
Cold age deafs not there our ears nor vapour dims our eyes.
Glory there the sun outshines whose beams the blessed only see:
O come quickly, glorious Lord, and raise my sprite to Thee.
Thou knowest, Lord, the secrets of our hearts;
Shut not thy merciful ears unto our prayer
But spare us, Lord most holy,
O God most mighty,
O holy and most merciful Saviour,
Thou most worthy Judge eternal,
Suffer us not at our last hour
For any pains of death to fall from Thee.
O taste and see how gracious the Lord is:
Blest is the man that trusteth in him.
O taste and see how gracious the Lord is:
Blest is the man that trusteth in him.
Blest is the man that trusteth in him.
Blest is the man that trusteth in him.
The man that trusteth in him.
Jesu, joy of man’s desiring, holy wisdom, love most bright
Drawn by Thee our souls aspiring, soar to uncreated light Word of God, our flesh that fashioned. With the fire of life impassioned. Striving still to truth unknown Soaring, dying round Thy throne Through the way where hope is guiding, Hark, what peaceful music rings. Where the flock in Thee confiding, Drink of joy from deathless springs. Theirs is beauty’s fairest pleasure, Theirs is wisdom’s holiest treasure. Thou dost ever lead Thine own, in the love of joys unknown.
Fauré Requiem
words and English translation (selected movements)
Sanctus (chorus) | English translation |
Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus Dominus Deus Sabaoth Pleni sunt coeli et terra gloria tua Hosanna in excelsis. | Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Sabaoth heaven and earth are full of Thy glory Hosanna in the highest. |
Pie Jesu (soprano) | |
Pie Jesu, Domine, dona eis requiem dona eis requiem sempiternam requiem | Merciful Jesus, Lord, grant them rest grant them rest, eternal rest. |
Agnus Dei (chorus) | |
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi dona eis requiem Lux aeterna luceat eis, Domine Cum sanctis tuis in aeternum, quia pius es Requiem aeternam dona eis Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis | O Lamb of God, that takest aways the sin of the world, grant them rest May eternal light shine on them, o Lord, with Thy saints for ever, because Thou are merciful. Grant them eternal rest, o Lord, and may perpetual light shine on them. |
Libera me (baritone, chorus) | |
Libera me, Domine, de morte aeterna in die illa tremenda Quando coeli movendi sunt et terra Dum veneris judicare saeculum per ignem Tremens factus sum ego et timeo dum discussio venerit atque ventura ira Dies illa dies irae calamitatis et miseriae dies illa, dies magna et amara valde Requiem aeternam dona eis Domine et lux perpetua luceat eis Libera me, Domine, de morte aeterna in die illa tremenda Quando coeli movendi sunt et terra Dum veneris judicare saeculum per ignem | Deliver me, o Lord, from everlasting death on that dreadful day when the heavens and the earth shall be moved when thou shalt come to judge the world by fire I quake with fear and I tremble awaiting the day of account and the wrath to come. That day, the day of anger, of calamity, of misery, that day, the great day, and most bitter. Grant them eternal rest, o Lord, and may perpetual light shine upon them. Deliver me, o Lord, from everlasting death on that dreadful day when the heavens and the earth shall be moved when thou shalt come to judge the world by fire |
In Paradisum (chorus) | |
In Paradisum deducant Angeli in tuo adventu suscipiant te Martyres et perducant te in civitatem sanctam Jerusalem Chorus Angelorum te suscipiat et cum Lazaro quondam paupere aeternam habeas requiem Aeternam habeas requiem | May the angels receive them in Paradise, at thy coming may the martyrs receive thee and bring thee into the holy city Jerusalem There may the chorus of angels receive thee, and with Lazarus, once a beggar, may thou have eternal rest. May thou have eternal rest. |
Acknowledgements
Event sponsors
Special guests
Shauntai Batzke
Hugh Fullarton
Jerzy Kozlowski
Janette Patton
Sally Morris
Fr Peter, Rector of St Matthew’s and Archdeacon of the Hume
David Sutherland, audio-visual technician
The Carolane Choir
Sue Carolane – convenor
Margaret Phillips – conductor
Malcolm Halford – rehearsal organist
Sally Morris - soprano soloist
and all the Carolane Choir choristers
Hawthorn Town Hall performance
Ben Carroll, livestream producer
Ross Sexton Carroll, camera operator
Barry Wilkes, history display
Barry Wilkes, history display
John Craick, program layout and editor
Melissa Laird, flyer designer
Joy Sharp - manager, box office and front of house
The Jacobeans - alumni and friends of the Tudor Choristers
All helpers and volunteers