Dixit Dominus: a concert of Baroque and modern choral masterpieces

The Canberra Choral Society (CCS) is excited to launch its 2025 concert program with Dixit Dominus, featuring two exquisite and contrasting choral gems, George Frideric Handel’s glorious Dixit Dominus (“The Lord Said”), and Arvo Pärt’s sonorous Berliner Messe (“Berlin Mass”). This unique and uplifting concert of Baroque and modern sacred music will be performed under the direction of Dan Walker, CCS Music Director. Composed in 1707 when Handel aged 22 had moved to Rome, the energetic and dramatic Dixit Dominus, a setting of Psalm 110 for five-part chorus, soloists, strings and continuo, is a virtuosic work for singers and players alike, delighting audiences with its inventiveness and brilliance. Estonian composer Pärt’s Berliner Messe was commissioned shortly after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 for the 90th Katholikentag, a festival-like gathering in German-speaking countries organised by the laity of the Catholic Church. Pärt’s unique ‘sounding bells’ or 'tintinnabulation’ technique and love of Gregorian chant give this work, revised in 2002 and set for SATB choir and strings, a rich, resonant ambience. Joining the CCS for this beautiful program are accomplished soloists Josephine Brereton (Soprano), Rachel Mink (Soprano), AJ America (Mezzo Soprano), Tom Hallworth (Tenor) and Alasdair Stretch (Bass-Baritone), together with an ensemble of select local professional musicians.