Absalom (world premiere)
NOĒMA; Sanders Lau, artistic director
NOĒMA: Under the Pale of Mist
HKU MUSE is delighted to present the Inaugural Concert of NOĒMA. The chamber choir NOĒMA, led by its Artistic Director and founder Sanders Lau, comprises some of Hong Kong’s finest choral musicians. The ensemble is dedicated to advancing the city’s choral scene through the pursuit of performing at an unprecedented level of artistic excellence.
In this debut programme, NOĒMA will perform works by iconic choral composers across the eras, including Bach, Pärt, Vaughan Williams, and Barber. It will also feature the world premiere of a commission written by local talent Adrian Wong. The concert title ‘Under the Pale of Mist’ is taken from the hauntingly beautiful poem ‘There are some men’ by Leonard Cohen. The famed Canadian poet’s near-existentialist words form the inspirational backbone of this programme, which features pieces that were selected according to subject matters presented in the poem, such as Mist, Fathers and Sons, Lovers, Time, and Silence, creating a non-linear narrative that acts as reflections upon the poem in a cohesive aura.
港大繆思樂季為大家介紹薈萃香港合唱精英的 NOĒMA，呈獻他們的創團音樂會。NOĒMA 由藝術總監劉卓熙創立，致力透過精進演出，為本地合唱發展帶來新可能。
NOĒMA 將於是次創團音樂會演唱不同時代的標誌性合唱作曲家的作品，包括巴赫、帕特、佛漢威廉士、巴伯；亦將首演本地新晉作曲家黃子峻的委約作品。音樂會標題「薄霧之下」取自加拿大詩人李歐納．科恩筆下《有某些人》，當中富存在主義色彩的詩詞提供了整場節目的靈感來源。音樂會曲目呼應詩中呈現的主題，例如霧、父子、戀人、時間、寂靜，營造出連綿的氛圍。
Programme
KNUT NYSTEDT Immortal Bach
J.S. BACH Jesu, meine Freude, BWV 227
PHILIP GLASS There are some men
ADRIAN WONG Absalom (World Premiere)
ARVO PÄRT Which was the son of…
HUBERT PARRY There is an old belief
CHARLES VILLIERS STANFORD On Time
SAMUEL BARBER The Coolin
DOMINICK DIORIO I am
RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS Silence and music
BOB CHILCOTT Even such is time
Artists
NOĒMA, choir
SOPRANOS | Alison Lau, Tsz-ying Law, Wing-sum Chung, Winky Wong*, Angela Yiu, Rosella Tang
ALTOS | Ruth Lau, Margaret Sang, Carmen Bat, Bonnie Liu, Heilam Tsui
TENORS | Justin Li, Carmel Tse, Freddie Tsang, Kenny Lam, Jason Li
BASSES | Caleb Woo, Felix Shuen, Wai-ki Wun, Yik-long Lau
* With the kind permission of Yat Po Singers
Sanders Lau, conductor
Felix Yeung, organ
Learn more about the concert here.