Ethereal – March 2025
Ethereal evokes a sense of lightness, mystery, and transcendence—sounds that seem to hover between worlds, dissolving into the infinite. The Lismore Symphony Orchestra, in collaboration with Amatori Choir and supporting organist Warren Whitney, presents a concert that explores that feeling through music that shimmers, soars, and lifts us beyond the everyday. Join us for an afternoon not to be missed.
Sunday the 30th of March at St Carthage’s Cathedral, Lismore, 3pm
Massenet’s Meditation from Thaïs drifts between serenity and longing, its soaring violin lines evoking a dreamlike state. Albinoni’s Adagio in G Minor lingers in haunting beauty, its melodies unfolding like echoes from another world.
Monteverdi’s Toccata from L’Orfeo, performed as a majestic brass chorale, connects us to an era where music was a bridge between the earthly and the divine. Mozart’s The Magic Flute brings an enchanting sense of mysticism and playfulness, leading us deeper into the unknown.
The Amatori Choir takes centre stage with excerpts from two choral masterpieces—Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, a radiant celebration of joy and devotion, and Mendelssohn’s Elijah, a dramatic and stirring work filled with grandeur and intensity.
Holst’s Neptune captures the essence of the infinite, its drifting harmonies and wordless choir dissolving into silence, like a dream fading beyond reach. Sibelius’ Symphony No. 2 surges with orchestral brilliance, its sweeping melodies reaching toward something luminous and transcendent.
Each of these pieces offers a glimpse into the ethereal—where music becomes more than sound, transforming into a gateway to the sublime.
The program:
Jules Massenet – Meditation (Thaïs)
Tomaso Albinoni – Adagio in G Minor
Claudio Monteverdi – Toccata (L’Orfeo art Millar) Brass Corale
Gustav Holst – Neptune (Planets)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – The Magic Flute
Jean Sibelius – Symphony no. 2
Felix Mendelssohn – Elijah (Performed by Amatori Choir)
Johann Sebastian Bach – Christmas Oratorio (Performed by Amatori Choir)