Soprano Helen Hancock, cellist Yue Tang and organist David Leigh, Sandford Church

Soprano, Helen Hancock, one of the West of Ireland’s most notable talents in Classical music; cellist Yue Tang, of the RTÉ Concert Orchestra; and David Leigh, Organist of St Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin, on piano, will perform music by Schubert, Brahms, Haydn, Berlioz, Fauré, Strauss, Brey, and Amy Beach, in a concert entitled Journey.

The concert takes place on Saturday 4 November at 19.30 in one of Dublin’s most popular locations for classical music concerts, Sandford Parish Church, Ranelagh, Dublin.

Book your tickets on eventbrite

An evening of music by Schubert, Berlioz, Brahms, and others, for voice, cello and piano

THE CELLO is often said to be the instrument closest in tone, timbre, and range to the human voice, and voice and cello will combine – with piano – for a special concert in Dublin in November.

Thematically, the concert represents the journey of life, from the moment of creation until death. A second theme is the journey of travel to foreign lands.

The centrepiece will be Schubert’s evocative and beautiful Auf dem Strom for high voice, horn/cello, and piano. Written in 1828 – the year Schubert died – it explores the journey at the end of life. It is also one of the few pieces of chamber music specifically written for the human voice with a cello obbligato line.

By contrast, another piece to be performed at the concert, Verdure Clad from Haydn’s Creation, celebrates the beginning of life’s journey. Two other works by Schubert also feature, Die Forelle and An Die Musik.

Different kinds of journeys will be explored in La Captive, with lyrics by Victor Hugo and music by Berlioz. For voice, cello and piano, it focuses on the complex emotions of a young woman exiled in Asia. Meanwhile, Carter Brey’s lively tango for cello, Tango Para Llaria, and Fauré’s Mandoline – written after the composer’s stay in Venice – celebrate the sounds and cultures of foreign lands.

Two songs, Morgen by Strauss – written for piano, but often performed on violin or cello – 

and Chanson d’Amour by Amy Beach, will be presented in arrangements for voice, cello and piano, and there will be a cello arrangement of Brahms’ Wie Melodien Zieht Es Mir. 

“This programme is a celebration of the wonderful pairing of the human voice with the voice-like tone of the cello,” says Helen Hancock. “For centuries, the cello’s sound has been compared to the human voice, which is why, I think, it sounds so appealing to our ears. The cello’s range is quite similar to a person’s vocal range – it can really sing!”

The Journey of Life concert takes place on Saturday 4 November 2023 in Sandford Parish Church, Ranelagh, Dublin 6 from 19.30 to 21.30. Tickets are available from:

https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/journey-of-life-tickets-724038307067?aff=oddtdtcreator