Event information
The Symphony Choir of Cape Town presents two collaborative concerts at the Cape Town City Hall for two consecutive nights.
The concerts are staged in collaboration with the SACS Boys High School Choir and the Hershel Chorale with accompaniment by the Windworx and Stellenbosch University Symphonic Wind Ensembles.
“The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace” is the main feature for the event, commissioned for the millennium by Britain’s Royal Armouries Museum and dedicated to the victims of the Kosovo crisis. It is a contemporary mass based on the 15th century French song 'L’homme armé' (The Armed Man) and set in the framework of the Christian Mass.
The work is a subtle but powerful protest with cynical yet poignant undertones which graphically highlights the pain, horror and futility of war. The piece subsequently culminates in a prayerful acknowledgement that peace, healing and comfort are at hand.
To complement the main feature, the programme includes two movements from Gustav Holst’s popular orchestral suite, 'The Planets'. These include 'Mars – the Bringer of War' followed by 'Jupiter – the Bringer of Jollity' both played by the wind ensemble. There is also an additional performance of John Williams’ 'Hymn to the Fallen' from the Steven Spielberg movie, 'Saving Private Ryan'.