Sydney Philharmonia Choirs Presents Joby Talbot's PATH OF MIRACLES

Sydney Philharmonia Choirs presents the Sydney premiere of renowned contemporary British composer Joby Talbot's acclaimed acapella choral masterpiece Path of Miracles, for two shows only, August 17 and 18.

Inspired by Europe's Camino de Santiago, the ancient Christian pilgrim route across Northern Spain to the town of Santiago de Compostela, this "mesmerising journey in sound" mirrors the pilgrim's progress, with each of the four choral movements taking listeners further along the way: from 'Roncesvalles' through 'Burgos' and 'León' to finish at 'Santiago' itself.

Described by Gramophone UK as having an "epic, mystical quality - charged with... sacred energy", Path of Miracles represents "musical mysticism at its richest and most greedy", drawing on a rich tapestry of traditions and sources, from Gregorian "plainchant to Taiwanese Pasiputput... and minimalism's obsessive repetitions and slow-phase shifts".

This stunning hour-long concert will be performed by Sydney Philharmonia's celebrated Chamber Singers, a 32-voice choir comprising some of the company's finest voices, conducted by Brett Weymark, in the stunning setting of two of Sydney's oldest churches, St Patricks Cathedral in Parramatta, and The Crypt of St Mary's Cathedral Sydney.

One of the UK's most in demand music talents across instrumental and vocal concert music, film and television scores, pop arrangements and works for dance, Talbot was awarded a music scholarship to Kings College School in Wimbledon, London at eight years of age, and seemingly never looked back.

His personal inspiration for Path of Miracles he says, dates back to a dreary South London afternoon in the late '80s when he "happened to hear a BBC radio program about choral music of the aboriginal peoples of Taiwan". Drawn in by the haunting sounds of the Bunun tribe's unique Pasiputput, "the idea of trying to recreate something similar in a piece of my own must have lodged at the back of my brain."

It was a decade and a half later before Nigel Short of the English choir Tenebrae approached Talbot with the idea of writing a piece about the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela; and at that time that the Pasiputput sprang to mind.

One of the themes of Talbot's composition is "the dissemination of story - and transmogrification into myth, which has parallels with the way information is globally broadcast, muddled, reinterpreted and redisseminated through the media and internet today."

"I was fascinated with how the story of St James as presented in the bible... became entangled with a folk myth of the transportation of his body (in a stone boat the legend says) all the way to north-western Spain, where it was conveniently 'discovered' at a time where pilgrimages to Jerusalem and Rome had become inadvisable."

Three years in the making, Path of Miracles was originally intended to be performed as part of a Tenebrae Choir pilgrimage along the Camino de Santiago route, and was written with this in mind, with stand-alone movements which could be performed at different places along the trail.

However, logistical and timetabling problems rendered the singing-pilgrimage scheme temporarily unworkable, and the premiere was scheduled to take place on July 7, 2005, as part of the City of London Festival. This fateful day proved to be one of incredible sorrow, with 52 people killed, and more than 700 injured, in a series of bombings in the London Underground.

Path of Miracles eventually had its London premiere on July 17, 2005, and was immediately hailed as a healing balm for a shattered community. In Talbot's words, 'The ultimate message of this music and music generally, is hope for humanity and love for this beautiful world in which we live.'

Book now for one of two Sydney concerts - Friday August 17, St Patrick's Cathedral, Parramatta; Saturday August 18, St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney. Tickets from $30. Book now at http://www.sydneyphilharmonia.com.au/path-of-miracles/

Ticketholders are also invited to learn more about Joby Talbot and Path of Miracles at a free pre-concert talk, 45 minutes prior to the performance, presented in association with Fine Music FM.

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