ICO’s orchestral and choral concerts

THIS is a big week for Irish Chamber Orchestra. First up, the ICO gives its two biggest concerts of the year, Handel’s Messiah in UCH this Thursday 16 at 8pm and again in Dublin’s RDS on Saturday night. 2010’s Messiah features the National Chamber Choir and a top line-up of international soloists directed by Tonu Kaljuste from Estonia, founder the Tallin Chamber Orchestra.

Moved by Handel, we are then invited to a free gig of high note, the Irish Chamber Orchestra Chorus’ concert at Ducartes Restaurant in Hunt Museum on Monday 20, 6pm.
The ICO Chorus, an elite of hand-picked singers under the direction of Máire Keary Scanlon, will perform Beatus Vir by Monteverdi and a selection of Christmas carols to stoke our festive spirits. 
“Monteverdi was the greatest of the Italian Renaissance composers who revolutionised the music of church and theatre,” says Charlotte Eglington of ICO. “Beatus Vir is from his 1641 collection Selva Morale e Spirituali. The motet, a setting of Psalm 112, is a superb example of Monteverdi’s dramatic style. It contrasts small groups of voices with the weight of the full chorus, a technique known as stile concertato – one of the most characteristic features of baroque music”.

Tõnu Kaljuste is best known for his advocacy of contemporary music from Estonia, particularly the choral works of Arvo Pärt, Veljo Tormis, Heino Eller, and Erkki-Sven Tüür.