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Posts by David M.

Oct 20

Lords of Misrule: A Pocket Score Christes Maesse

The Pocket Score Company presents Lords of Misrule: A Pocket Score Christes Maesse. Festive music for the Christmas season by William Byrd, Michael Praetorius, Hans Leo Hassler, and J.S. Bach, as well as traditional carols and contemporary compositions by Pocket Score singers David Yardley and David Mackay.

Tickets

Tickets: $30 (full) | $20 (concession) — prices include post-concert refreshments.

Please follow this link to book tickets at trybooking.com.

Details

When: Sunday 15 December 2013 at 4pm

Where: Wesley Music Centre, Forrest

Performers

We’re delighted to welcome guest artist Andrew Fysh to the Pocket Score Company for this concert, as Ian Blake will be overseas.

Feb 12

Welcome

Welcome to the new website for the Pocket Score Company. In addition to information about the group and our upcoming performances, this new site gives us the opportunity to provide archives of previous concerts, links to our broader musical activities, as well as to present recordings (both audio and video) of the group in action.

No matter how good the website, though, there’s no substitute for live performance—and we look forward to welcoming you to a Pocket Score gig soon!

Feb 10

1 Comment

Australia’s Renaissance Blokes visit the High Court

“These are confident blokes singing olde music and it’s popular.”

We presented MILLENNIUM, a selection of music from the last ten centuries, at the High Court of Australia on Sunday 24 March 2013 at 2.30pm.

We were delighted to see so many of our supporters there, and had a lovely afternoon performing for you all.

Eric Pozza, of Canberra Jazz, has posted a lovely review of the concert on his blog.

Til next time!

Feb 9

Ian, David Y and Paul Eldon with the Music ACT Awards

Pocket Score wins 2012 Music ACT Award

The Pocket Score Company won the Best ACT Choral/Vocal Group award at the MusicACT Annual Music Awards (MAMA) 2012. We were nominated for our performance of Tomás Luis de Victoria’s Taedet Animam Meam (which you can listen to online). 2012 was a great year for PSC; we were also finalists in ABC Classic FM’s Vocal Romp Comp.

MAMA - 2012 Winner's Badge

Feb 9

CD launch: New Carols and Songs for Chaucer’s Pilgrims

We are delighted to announce the launch of New Carols and Songs for Chaucer’s Pilgrims, the brand-new medieval-inspired CD composed by countertenor David Yardley and performed by some of Australia’s finest choral musicians and soloists, featuring members of the Pocket Score Company.

It has been 600 years since many of the songs known to Geoffrey Chaucer have been heard. Although the music was lost, their words have survived and now, after centuries of reluctant silence, they can sing again.

Songs of ale and love; of saints and of war and of doomsday; carols of Christmas and sweet lullabies. All re-imagined with original music composed by David.

CDs are available now from David’s website.

Dec 4

Singers, young actors lovely mix

The Polyphonic Bard

The Street Theatre. November 30 to December 2.

Reviewer: Janet Wilson, The Canberra Times

“The performance intermingled music with scenes that illustrated love in many forms: playful, despairing, cynical, combative and seductive.

“There was excellent balance between the five singing voices and a nice variation in mood as the ensemble moved from the sweetness of Palestrina’s Vestiva I Colli, a wistful expression of love in springtime, to the outrageous Je Ne Menge Point de Porc, complete with porky grunts, and on to the spiritual O Nata Lux by Tallis. David Yardley’s rollicking rendition of Bryng us Home Good Ale was a temptation to clap and toe-tap along and there were well-controlled changes of rhythm and mood in Thomas Morley’s Farewell Disdainful.”

Read the full review at The Canberra Times.

 

Dec 4

In Dulci Jubilo

Here’s a blast from the past—the Pocket Score Company rehearsing In Dulci Jubilo in June 2009.

And, in response to several requests, here’s the score. It’s arranged to fit within the PSC vocal range (i.e. Alto, Tenor, Tenor, and Bass), and has four verses as follows:

  1. Traditional arrangement
  2. Harmonised by Michael Praetorius
  3. Harmonised by Dieterich Buxtehude
  4. Harmonised by J.S. Bach

It’s a public domain performing edition, and you’re welcome to use it without a fee. Please add a comment below if you use it!

In Dulci Jubilo (PDF download)

Dec 3

Len Power’s review of The Polyphonic Bard

A lovely review from Len Power of the Canberra Critics Circle of The Polyphonic Bard, which featured PSC regulars Ian Blake, Paul Eldon and David Yardley, and welcomed guest artists Daniel Sanderson and John Virgoe.

“the five men of The Pocket Score Company thrilled with their intricate harmonies and choice of music. Commencing with ‘If Music Be The Food Of Love’ from ‘Twelfth Night’, set to music by Henry Purcell, they followed with works by Thomas Tallis, Claudio Monteverdi, Giovanni Palestrina, Thomas Morley and others.”

Read the full review on the Canberra Critics Circle website.

Dec 2

Music and Shakespeare in our time

Cathy Bannister from “Stage Whispers” reviews The Polyphonic Bard:

“The Pocket Score Company all-male ensemble is superb, and has particular strengths at the bottom (bass Ian Blake) and top, with countertenor and harpist David Yardley’s beautiful clear voice providing perfect balance to the rich harmonies. We were treated to Purcell (including the favourite If Music Be the Food of Love), Tallis, Palestrina and Monteverdi. Variously using only two, three, four, or all five voices, they easily filled the room with beautiful resonance.”

Read the full review on the “Stage Whispers” site.

Dec 1

Shakespeare gets a soundscape

The Polyphonic Bard reviewed by Joe Woodward in the Canberra City News:

Polyphonic Bard“The vocal effect is truly stunning. The voices blend so well that, in an age of digital enhancement, it was bliss to realise the power of human sound crafted through an ancient art form. Apart from some pre-recording of the final piece, it was live and perfectly balanced.”

Read the full review on the City News website.

 

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