Little Match Girl Passion

Experience the intimacy, immediacy, and profound beauty of a modern masterpiece.

Luminescence Chamber Singers perform David Lang's groundbreaking and Pulitzer-Prize winning work, The Little Match Girl Passion for solo voices and percussion.

Based on Hans Christian Andersen's 1845 tale, 'the Little Match Girl', it tells the sad story of a girl who freezes to death, selling matches on the street on a cold winter's night. Modelled on Bach's St Matthew Passion, Lang alternates between narrative and commentary, but there is no Bach in this piece and there is no Jesus. Rather, the tragic story of the Little Match Girl is transformed into moving reflection on suffering, poverty, and sacrifice - it is a passion for our times.

Realised in delicate vocal lines that weave and unravel into moments of intimate homophony, The Little Match Girl Passion holds horror and hope in both hands.

The Little Match Girl Passion will be alongside renaissance polyphony for Passiontide, including music by Tomás Luis de Victoria, Pierre De la Rue, and Carlo Gesualdo.

Luminescence Chamber Singers is Canberra's premier vocal ensemble. Comprising 5 professional singers, Luminescence uses human voices to tell stories that move, inspire, and uplift.

Artists: AJ America (mezzo-soprano), Dan Walker (tenor), Veronica Milroy (soprano), Rachel Mink (soprano), Jack Stephens (Bass)