This is a weekend of great Christmas themed concerts

As the festive season approaches its climax, one of the most exuberant works of classical music comes alive at a concert this weekend.

Few pieces of music are as instantly recognizable as “Vivaldi’s Gloria” the choral masterpiece that will be performed by the St. Paul Chapel Community Choir together with a visiting ensemble from St Mary’s University of Minnesota this Saturday, the 20th December.

Priest

This well-loved piece by the Italian composer Antonio Vivaldi is performed at many sacred events, including Christmas. Vivaldi who was a priest, music teacher and virtuoso violinist, composed “Gloria,” - his most famous choral piece, between 1713 and 1717.

He was then based at the Ospeldale della Pieta, a children’s orphanage and music school in Venice where he worked as a violin teacher and from where he wrote many of his sacred and instrumental compositions. Vivaldi’s “Gloria” is said to have probably been first performed for Christmas.

For two centuries after the composer’s death, the piece remained relatively unknown until the 1920s, when it was found buried among a pile of forgotten Vivaldi manuscripts. The first modern performance of the piece was not until September 1939 and it was only in 1957 that the now familiar original version was published and given its first performance at the festival of Baroque Choral Music at Brooklyn College in New York.

For this concert, the St Paul’s Choir will be led by guest conductor, Dr Chun Leung, assistant professor of Music Strings and Orchestra from St Mary’s University, Minnesota. Dr Leung is a versatile performer as soloist, recitalist, chamber musician, concertmaster and conductor. Last December, he also conducted a concert at the St. Paul’s Chapel to celebrate Kenya’s 50 years of independence.

Great composers

The native of Hong King began his violin lessons at the age of six and made his concerto debut at 10. He holds a doctorate in Musical Arts in Violin Performance and Orchestral Conducting and his last CD was “Serenity” released in 2011 featuring the works of composers like Mozart, Schumann, Faure and Tchaikovsky.

The other guest musicians are Belgian pianist, Dr Stijn De Cook, playing the organ and Canadian violinist ‘Maureen Yuen-Mathai.
Yuen-Mathai has performed as a soloist and chamber musician in her native Canada, the U.S, Norway, Italy and now in Kenya. She graduated from the University of British Columbia at the age of 21 with a Master of Music Degree in Violin Performance.

She joined the faculty of the School of Music at the State University of New York in 2004 where she maintains a full studio of undergraduate and graduate violin and viola students. She has been involved in many projects at the School of Music, including the Back Brandenburg Concerti and has adjudicated students of string instruments at all levels across North America.

Her active schedule includes solo and chamber music recitals and master classes throughout North America. She received the 2013-2014 SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching from a pool of nominated faculty from 64 campuses.

Dr. Cook also maintains an active career as a soloist, chamber musician, and teaching artist in the U.S and other countries. 
In the current season, he has performed in Taiwan, Italy, France, Belgium, Czech Republic, Greece in solo and collaborative concerts.

He was admitted at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Brussels at the age of 15 and trained in the tradition of Russian pianism. He holds a Doctorate in musical Arts and currently serves on the piano faculty of the University of Wisconsin- Stevens Point.

Chamber music

St. Paul’s Chapel Choir will perform an assorted collection of African pieces during the two concerts at the All Saints Cathedral. The choir will also then perform an evening of traditional carols Like “O Come all ye faithful” “O little town of Bethlehem” and “Once in royal David’s city” at the St. Paul’s Chapel on Sunday the 21 December at 7pm.

The three guest musicians will then hold a chamber music recital titled “A Christmas Symphony” at the Goethe Institute on December 23, with a performance of the works of famous classical composers.

The repertoire for this concert includes Ludwig van Beethoven’s Sonata no 31 in A-flat Major, Op. 110, Sergei Prokofiev Sonata for two violins and Reinhold Gliere 12 Violin Duets. The programme of music also includes the five movements in Dmitri Shostakovich’s Gadfly Suite for Two Violins and Piano.

Tickets for both concerts will be on sale at the venues, Goethe Institute and the All Saints Cathedral at Sh1,000 for adults and Sh700 for children.