When: Saturday 15 July 2023
7:00-10:00PM
What: Enjoy an evening of merriment with the Tudor Choristers, Dr Kathleen McGuire (Music Director), Janette Patton (Piano), Sue Haylock (Percussion) and other Special Guests (full details below).
Included: All tickets include a 3-course rustic feast and entertainment. (Details below).
Optional extras: VIP seating (closer to the "action") and a beautiful souvenir 500 ml glass tankard, etched with the Tudor rose (pictured). While stocks last!
Licensed bar (including mulled wine). Costume contest and raffle, with prizes!
Venue: Mission to Seafarers Main Hall
717 Flinders St, Docklands
Parking: Parking garage next door.
Flat rate $13 on Saturdays.
Public transportation: Tram stop in front (Flinders St). Short walk from Southern Cross Train Station.
Accessibility: Venue is wheelchair accessible.
SPECIAL GUESTS & FEATURED ARTISTS
Andy Payne, Master of Ceremonies
Originally from the UK, Andy is an accomplished actor, singer, educator, playwright, and composer. He is known to Melbourne audiences in recent years through productions at Beaumaris Theatre and various comic roles for Melbourne's Gilbert and Sullivan opera companies. Andy's writing credits include Pillow Talk (2019) and Set Build (2013) for Beaumaris Theatre and the musical, Acquired Taste (2017) for the Melbourne International Singers' Festival. He has written and directed presentations for the School of Hard Knocks and was a co-creator of the oratorio Street Requiem (2014). Andy retired from full time teaching in 2018 and now writes and teaches with the University of the Third Age.
The Courtly Arts Performers of Victoria bring alive the music, dance, song and theatrical arts from palaces of the medieval, renaissance and baroque eras. With choreography and costumes based on meticulous research by Helga Hill OAM and using period instruments, the group aims to recreate a bygone era with passion and authenticity.
THE PERFORMERS
THE COURTLY ARTS: DANCERS & MUSICIANS - click on the arrow (left) to open
Dancers: Sarah Amos, Jennifer Foo, Katya Kalev, Roderick Laird, Natalie Maroki, Sally Ranson
Musicians: Jill Ferris, Michael Noble, Andrew Parkin, Liz Zetzmann
THE CHORISTERS - click on the arrow (left) to open
JANETTE PATTON, Pianist, 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 (and occasional rehearsal conductor and accompanist) for the Tudor Choristers and Star Chorale. Janette accompanies students for University, VCE and AMEB examinations and is the regular accompanist of Victoria Chorale.
SUE HAYLOCK, Percussion, is an experienced percussionist, drummer and instrumental music teacher, well known across Melbourne's band, orchestra and musical theatre scene. Currently performing with the Astor Swing Jazz Band, Radiant Penguin and The Melba Big Band, Sue has taught percussion in schools for many years. A graduate of the Victorian College of the Arts and The University of Melbourne, Sue also teaches guitar and bass.
Dr KATHLEEN McGUIRE, Music Director of the Tudor Choristers, has conducted the choir since 2017. A non-indigenous Australian, born on the land of the Boon Warrung people of the Kulin Nation, Kathleen has enjoyed a stellar career of four decades in seven countries, conducting orchestras and choirs 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, and received mentoring from Simone Young AO, Marin Alsop, Christopher Martin, Sian Edwards and David Carolane OAM. Kathleen lived in the USA for eighteen years, including a decade as Artistic Director and Conductor of the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus and eight years as the Principal Conductor of the Community Women's Orchestra. In San Francisco, “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. Her compositions and arrangements are published by Wirripang, Shawnee Press and Hal Leonard Music. She is a Board Director of the international Women's Philharmonic Advocacy, a member of American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), the Music Arrangers Guild of Australia (MAGA) and the Music Honors Society of Pi Kappa Lamba (US). Kathleen returned to Australia in 2013. In 2022 she was a guest conductor at the Festival of Voices (Tasmania) and in 2023 she was the guest conductor at the inaugural Flinders Fringe Festival and then at the Out and Loud and Proud Choral Festival at Sydney WorldPride. In additional to freelance conducting and composing, she is a full-time Senior Lecturer in Education (Music) at the Faculty of Education and Arts, Australian Catholic University. (Kathleen's Website)
MUSIC PROGRAM
Audience participation songs:
Pastyme with good companye (c. 1513) by Henry Tudor (1491 – 1547)
Words (in modern English):
Pass time with good company I love and shall unto I die; Grudge who lust, but none deny, So God be pleased thus live will I. For my pastance Hunt, song, and dance. My heart is set: All goodly sport For my comfort, Who shall me let? Youth must have some dalliance, Of good or ill some pastance; Company methinks then best All thoughts and fancies to digest: For idleness Is chief mistress Of vices all. Then who can say But mirth and play Is best of all? Company with honesty Is virtue vices to flee: Company is good and ill But every man hath his free will. The best ensue, The worst eschew, My mind shall be: Virtue to use, Vice to refuse, Shall I use me.
Gloucestershire Wassail - traditional tune and words
Wassail, wassail all over the town!
Our bread it is white and our ale it is brown,
Our bowl it is made of the white maple tree;
With the wassail bowl we'll drink unto thee.
So here is to Cherry and to his right cheek,
Pray God send our master a good piece of beef,
A good piece of beef as e'er I did see;
With the wassail bowl we'll drink unto thee.
Come butler, come fill us a bowl of the best,
And we pray that your soul in heaven may rest;
But if you should bring us a bowl of the small,
Then the devil take butler, bowl and all!
Then here's to the maid in the lily white smock
Who trip'd to the door and slip'd back the lock;
Who trip'd to the door and pulled back the pin
For to let those jolly wassailers walk in.
When Icicles Hang - a cycle of choral settings by John Rutter (1973): 50th anniversary
The Tudor Choristers - singers
Janette Patton, piano
Sue Haylock, percussion
Dr Kathleen McGuire, conductor
I. Icicles
II. Winter nights
III. Good ale
VI. Hay, ay
Lyrics:
I. "Icicles" from Love's Labour's Lost by William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
When icicles hang by the wall, And Dick the shepherd blows his nail, And Tom bears logs into the hall, And milk comes frozen home in pail, When blood is nipp’d and ways be foul, Then nightly sings the staring owl, Tu-who; Tu-whit, a merry note, While greasy Joan doth keel the pot.
When all aloud the wind doth blow, And coughing drowns the parson’s saw, And birds sit brooding in the snow, And Marian’s nose looks red and raw, When roasted crabs hiss in the bowl, Then nightly sings the staring owl, Tu-who; Tu-whit, a merry note, While greasy Joan doth keel the pot.
II. Winter nights by Thomas Campion (1567-1620)
Now winter nights enlarge
The number of their hours;
And clouds their storms discharge
Upon the airy towers.
Let now the chimneys blaze
And cups o’erflow with wine,
Let well-turned words amaze
With harmony divine.
Now yellow waxen lights
Shall wait on honey love
While youthful revels, masques, and courtly sights
Sleep’s leaden spells remove.
This time doth well dispense
With lovers’ long discourse;
Much speech hath some defense,
Though beauty no remorse.
All do not all things well;
Some measures comely tread,
Some knotted riddles tell,
Some poems smoothly read.
The summer hath his joys,
And winter his delights;
Though love and all his pleasures are but toys,
They shorten tedious nights.
III. Good ale (15th century)
Refrain:
Bring us in good ale, and bring us in good ale; For our Blessed Lady's sake, bring us in good ale.
Verses:
Bring us in no brown bread, for that is made of bran, Nor bring us in no white bread, there therein is no game; But bring us in good ale.
Bring us in no beef, for there is many bones, But bring us in good ale, for that goes down at once; And bring us in good ale.
Bring us in no bacon, for that is passing fat, But bring us in good ale, and give us enough of that; And bring us in good ale.
Bring us in no mutton, for that is often lean, Nor bring us in no tripes, for they be seldom clean; And bring us in good ale.
Bring us in no eggs, for there are many shells, But bring us in good ale, and give us nothing else; And bring us in good ale.
Bring us in no butter, for therein are many hairs; Nor bring us in no pig's flesh, for that will make us boars; And bring us in good ale.
Bring us in no puddings, for therein is all God's good; Nor bring us in no venison, for that is not for our blood; And bring us in good ale.
Bring us in no capon's flesh, for that is often dear; Nor bring us in no duck's flesh, for they slobber in the mere; And bring us in good ale.
IV. "Blow, blow thou winter wind" from As You Like It by William Shakespeare
Blow, blow, thou winter wind,
Thou art not so unkind
As man's ingratitude;
Thy tooth is not so keen,
Because thou art not seen,
Although thy breath be rude.
Heigh-ho! sing, heigh-ho! unto the green holly:
Most friendship is feigning, most loving mere folly:
Then, heigh-ho, the holly!
This life is most jolly.
Freeze, freeze, thou bitter sky,
That does not bite so nigh
As benefits forgot:
Though thou the waters warp,
Thy sting is not so sharp
As friend remembered not.
Heigh-ho! sing . . .
V. Winter wakeneth all my care (14th century)
Winter wak'neth all my care, Now these leaves waxeth bare; Oft I sigh and mourne sore When it cometh in my thought Of this worldes joy, how it goth all to nought. Now it is and now it is not, As if it never were, y-wis; What many man saith, sooth it is: All goeth but Goddes will; All we shall die, though us like ill. All the grove groweth green, Now it falloweth all bidden. Jesu, help that it be seen, And shield us from hell! For I not whither I shall, ne how long here dwell.
VI. Hay, ay (Anon., c. 1500)
Hay, ay! Make we merry as we may!
Now is Yule comen with gentil cheer; Of mirth and gamen he has no peer; In ev’ry land where he comes near Is mirth and gamen I dare well say.
Now is comen a messenger of your Lorde, Sir New Year, Bids us all be merry here And make as merry as we may.
Therefore ev’ry man that is here, Sing a carol on his manere; If he can none, we shall him lere So that we be merry alway.
Whosoever makes heavy cheer, Were he never to me dear; In a ditch I would he were To dry his clothes till it were day!
Mend the fire and make good cheer! Fill the cup, Sir Botelere! Let ev’ry man drink to his fere. This ends my carol with care away!
MUSIC SELECTIONS, THE COURTLY ARTS PERFORMERS OF VICTORIA
Suite (c. 1540) by Jacque Moderne
Belfiore (c. 1450) by Domenico da Piacenza
Cascarda Fidelta (1581) by Fabritio Caroso
Fantasia by Matthew Locke (1621–1677)
Cecilia Almaine (1600) by John Ramsay
Bizzarria d’Amore (1602) by Cesare Negri
ABOUT THE TUDOR CHORISTERS
The Tudor Choristers was founded in Melbourne in 1962 by David Carolane OAM and has been directed by Dr Kathleen McGuire since 2017. Specialising in unaccompanied music, the choir has performed for many of Australia's leading concert organisations including the ABC, Musica Viva, the Victorian Arts Centre, and the Victorian Arts Council. In its 60+ year history, the Tudor Choristers has been heard on radio broadcasts and appeared on national television and in feature film. Performances under such notable guest conductors as Sir David Willcocks and Philip Ledger, and tours of New Zealand and North America, have confirmed the Tudor Choristers' ranking as one of Australia's preeminent choral ensembles. Recent achievements include winning the A Cappella Choirs section of the Boroondara Eisteddfod (2020), producing a Christmas CD: Sing Nowell! (2021) and several videos, launching regular livestream performances, and touring to New South Wales in 2022 in celebration of the choir's 60th (Diamond) anniversary. The Tudor Choristers Inc is an incorporated association under the Victorian Associations Incorporations Act 1981 and is governed by a committee according to its Rules. The choir is also a member of the Australian National Choral Association. Website: https://www.tudorchoristers.org.au
JOIN THE CHOIR
Do you read music and sing harmony confidently? We encouraged interested singers to experience an open rehearsal prior to auditioning. We usually rehearse on Wednesday evenings in Hawthorn. Visit our website for more information or speak with our Front of House team at the concert. Choristers aged 18 to 30 at the time of joining are eligible to apply for a Choralship. More information about becoming a Tudor Chorister is available here: Interested in joining the choir?
SEASON '23
SAVE THE DATES FOR THESE FORTHCOMING PERFORMANCES:
ELIZABETH THE GREAT - MUSIC OF MAJESTY
Commemorating the end of second Elizabethan era with music created for royal occasions. Sunday 1 October, St George's Anglican Church, East Ivanhoe.
SING NOWELL!
Featuring Magnificat by J.S. Bach (300th anniversary).
Tuesday 12 Dec, Our Lady of Victories Basilica.
Friday 15 Dec, St George's Anglican Church, East Ivanhoe.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Daria Wray and staff, Mission to Seafarers - Victoria
Chef Wayne Motton and Sue Young
MC Andy Payne
Sally Ranson, David Hanson, Andrew Perkin et al from The Courtly Arts Performers of Victoria
Sue Haylock, percussionist
Janette Patton, pianist
Su Rogerson, clarinet
Bunnings Warehouse, Oakleigh South
Front of House
Joy Sharp, ticket manager
Event Team
Audrie Sexton-McGuire, Event Manager
Stephen Goodwin
Suzie Hill
Melissa Laird
Merle Lamb
Cindy and Roger Maddison
Katrena Mitchell
Su Rogerson
David Sharp
Waiters
Raffle and prize donations
Bunnings Warehouse, Hawthorn
La Mama Theatre, Carlton
Private / anonymous donations
Committee of Management
Stephen Goodwin, president
Melissa Laird, vice-president
David Sharp, treasurer
Kay Matthieson, secretary
Grant Furneaux, ordinary member
Christine Hall, ordinary member
David Robinson, ordinary member