In 2025 Luminescence Chamber Singers presents two major concert programs, GESUALDO TENEBRAE and GARDEN OF EARTHLY DELIGHTS.
Each project takes as its starting point a Renaissance work that even today strikes the ears and eyes as avant-garde: Gesualdo’s 1611 Tenebrae Responsoria, and Hieronymus Bosch’s 1515 triptych “De tuin der lusten” (Garden of Lust, Garden of Earthly Delights). Both touch on transgressions and subversions; the breaking of artistic, moral, and social norms, and the sometimes-porous borders between the sacred and profane. Where Gesualdo’s responsories offer a radically unorthodox, subversive musical language, contained in a sacred, liturgical vessel, Bosch’s painting might be seen as a deeply pious statement, presented in a surreal, often grotesque tableau of sacrilegious excesses and indulgences. No music is timeless, but both of these programs explore the elasticity of time, and concepts of morality and modernity.
In November, we return firmly to the here and now with RED DIRT HYMNS. Here too, a sacred form takes a secular turn. Red Dirt Hymns are songs of awe and praise, dedicated not to a god, but to the land. On the back of a sold-out premiere performance in May 2024, we are thrilled to share Red Dirt Hymns with audiences across New South Wales, this time working closely with local choirs and singers across the state. Hymns were intended to be sung in community, after all.
Amidst these touring projects, we have a milestone to celebrate. In June, we invite audiences to join us in celebrating LUMINESCENCE’S 10th BIRTHDAY – an occasion to reflect upon Luminescence’s growth and transformation, and to look toward the future. As is tradition, we’ll herald the holidays with A LUMINOUS CHRISTMAS, featuring the combined forces of Luminescence Chamber Singers and Children’s Choir alongside long-time collaborator Roland Peelman.
Purchase a 2 concert package, exclusively available in Canberra.
Secure your tickets now and receive a 10% discount on the following performances:
GESUALDO TENEBRAE
Saturday 29 March, 7.30pm Wesley Uniting Church, Canberra
GARDEN OF EARTHLY DELIGHTS
Sunday 12 October – 6.00pm, Wesley Uniting Church, Canberra
When you purchase a 2 concert package, e-tickets for each concert will be emailed to you. You will receive your e-tickets in February 2025.
2025 SEASON: AT A GLANCE
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“It is as if this work would constantly extend over its boundaries and transgress its time and setting, immediately addressing modernity” Mladen Dolar, Out of Joint (2020)
Gesualdo’s 1611 Responsories for Maundy Thursday is music of unmatched intensity; an evocation of abandonment, betrayal, and death. Translating literally to ‘darkness’, the plural form of ‘Tenebrae’ is fitting; it implies a multiplicity, all-encompassing shadows; a plunge into darknesses of both deeply personal grief and of universal sorrow.22 March - 5 April
Canberra - Sydney - Braidwood - Moruya - Wollongong -
Join Luminescence Chamber Singers and Children’s Choir as we reflect on 10 years of music making, and look toward the next chapter. This 10th Birthday Fundraising Gala features the premiere of a new work by Elena Kats-Chernin, commissioned in celebration of this milestone.
15 June
3pm, Albert Hall, Canberra -
A garden teeming with temptation and desire, grotesque creatures and improbable scenes of surrender: the uninhibited world of Hieronymus Bosch’s 500-year-old triptych “De tuin der lusten”. Trust Luminescence Chamber Singers to turn this surreal feast of the senses into an aural tapestry as pleasurable and perilous as Bosch’s vision.
20 September - 12 October
Canberra - Sydney - Kangaroo Valley - Bundanoon - Batehaven - Wollongong -
A living songbook more than four years in the making, Andrew Ford’s hymnal offers songs of awe and praise, dedicated not to a god, but to the land.
9 - 21 November
Orange - Bowral - BermaguiAdditional performances to be announced.
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Luminescence Chamber Singers and Children’s Choir join forces with long-time collaborator Roland Peelman to herald the holidays with our annual tradition: a mini-festival for the festive season.
12 - 14 December
Canberra