ETERNITY IN AN HOUR
To see a world in a grain of sand
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand
And eternity in an hour.
– ‘Auguries of Innocence’ by Willam Blake (1757–1827)
Submerge yourself in a soundbath of the sublime…
Our musical journey follows the arc of the Requiem Mass as we trace a path from lamentation to light during this customarily ascetic season of the church calendar. Anchored in the holy minimalism of the new millennium, we encompass the Venetian polyphony of Lotti’s Crucifixus, the passionate transcendence of Arvo Pärt’s Beatitudes, the visionary poetry of William Blake as interpreted by John Tavener, and a quartet of contemporary composers from the British Isles (Britten, Howells, Tippett and Rutter).
Bathe in the hypnotic organ musings of Philip Glass and Olivier Messiaen and the richness of our own choral heritage (Ndlovu, Burgess, Butlin) as we cast our ears momentarily to the mystical melodies of Middle-Earth. Escape the ‘Mad Rush’ of the mid-week by drinking deeply from our sonic oasis as we present another immersive musical encounter to mark the first decade of VOX.
Wednesday 26 March 2025 at 7 PM
St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, De Waterkant
Featuring Neil Robertson (organ)
Discover if there is more to the music than meets the ear: John Woodland will present a brief pre-concert contextualisation half an hour before the downbeat. Afterwards, savour the lingering serenity with us over a complimentary glass of Quando wine.
What did you hear on our sonic pilgrimage?
- Mad Rush – Philip Glass (b. 1937, United States)
- The Evening Primrose – Benjamin Britten (1913–1976, England)
- Requiem Aeternam I from ‘Requiem’ – Herbert Howells (1892–1983, England)
- The Edge of Night – Billy Boyd, from The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (Soloist: Bevan Timm)
- Lord Jesus, Think On Me – Bradley Burgess (b. 1986, South Africa) (Soloists: Evan Strauss and Matt Beck)
- Crucifixus – Antonio Lotti (1667–1740, Italy)
- The Beatitudes – Arvo Pärt (b. 1935, Estonia)
- Echoes from the Abyss – Hans Zimmer, from Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (arr. Anna Lapwood)
- The Lamb and The Tyger – Sir John Tavener (1944–2013, England)
- Ngothando – Mbuso Ndlovu (b. 1982, South Africa) (Djembe: Fran Laenen)
- Apparition de l’Eglise Éternelle (Apparition of the Eternal Church) – Olivier Messiaen (1908–1992, France)
- Pie Jesu from ‘Requiem’ – Sir John Rutter (b. 1945, England) (Soloist: Lia Hall)
- Vater Unser (The Lord’s Prayer) – Heinrich Schütz (1585–1672, Germany)
- Steal Away from ‘Five Spirituals’ – Sir Michael Tippett (1905–1998, England) (Soloists: Dirk Binneman and Carelize Klopper)
- In Paradisum from ‘Requiem’ – David Butlin (b. 1987, South Africa)
- Juranacht – Eugen Meier (b. 1934, Switzerland)
You can still enjoy our specially-curated ‘taster playlists’ on YouTube and Spotify! On the evening, we provided a digital listening guide for our guests with additional information about the composers and the music, and the full texts of the pieces.
“We enjoyed the performance tremendously. The choir was positioned in the gallery and it was wonderful to have this beautiful music cascade over us. A special evening!”
“Wonderful! Let me spend eternity in Cape Town, since VOX is here!”
“We absolutely LOVED ‘Eternity in an Hour’! We so enjoy every VOX event, but this was tops! John, Kyle and team, you did such a fantastic job crafting that selection of 15 beautiful pieces into such a pleasurable experience. We simply could not stop the applause at the end!”
“It is a privilege to have a sublime choir like VOX in Cape Town. Tonight’s concert was world-class, as are all their concerts. Happy tenth birthday!”
“Beautiful singing in a lovely setting. The informative and enthusiastic introduction by John Woodland enhanced the whole experience.”
“A truly immersive experience, well rehearsed and put together, in a beautiful church. The programme was very international in the countries and languages chosen, so there was a bit for everyone to enjoy. The lights on the organ were also gorgeous. Happy anniversary to VOX!”
Featuring Neil Robertson (organ)
Neil Robertson started his musical journey with piano at the age of eight, expanding to the flute at ten, voice at twelve, and organ at the age of fourteen. He is a graduate of the South African College of Music at the University of Cape Town and holds a BMus in flute and organ performance as well as a BMus Honours in flute performance. In 2019 he graduated with his Master’s in flute performance from the University of Michigan under the tutelage of Amy Porter. In addition to his Master’s, Neil also received a Graduate Certificate in Arts Entrepreneurship and Leadership from the university’s arts administration department, EXCEL.
He was the Orchestra Librarian and IT Manager for the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra from 2021 to 2024 and performs regularly in the orchestra as an ad hoc flautist. An active church organist and educator, Neil currently teaches flute at Bishops Diocesan College and plays organ for its chapel services.
