Anthology | 2026 Storytellers Season

Presenting: Anthology, a collection of the best pieces of music in our 2026 Storytellers Season exploring the art of storytelling.

Devonport | Saturday 2 May

Waipu | Sunday 3 May

Geraldine | Friday 8 May

Oamaru | Saturday 9 May

Dunedin | Sunday 10 May

Arrowtown | Monday 11 May

To read programme notes for our concerts in Cambridge (30 April), Wellington (6 May), Rangiora (7 May) or Dunedin (10 May), click here.

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PROGRAMME NOTES

Mika Cornelius (NZ)

Universal Veil (2025)

Universal Veil takes us on a journey through the quietly remarkable life cycle of a single mushroom - starting from hyphae, the delicate threads that form the foundation of fungi; autumn rain, the seasonal trigger of mushroom growth; spores, scattered through silent eruptions of energy; and returning to mycelium, the intricate web of underground networks. The presence of fungi gently drapes over the earth like a universal veil, blurring the lines of individual and collective. In a world increasingly concerned with individuality, fungi teaches us that the borders of our bodies are less definite than we thought: we host more microbes in our body than our own cells. So where do 'we' end, and where does nature begin? 

By Mika Cornelius

Franz Schubert (1797–1828)

String Quartet No. 10, in E flat major, D. 87 (1813)

I. Allegro moderato

II. Scherzo. Prestissimo

III. Adagio

IV. Allegro

At 7 years old, Schubert began violin lessons with his father and wrote his first string quartet when he was just 10. In his day, playing string quartets in the home was a popular and commonplace occurrence and he, in fact, had a ready-made family ensemble, with two violin-playing brothers, his father on cello and Franz himself on the viola. 

At 11, Schubert became a choirboy in the Imperial and Royal Court Music Ensemble in Vienna, where he was educated, fed and accommodated free of charge but was only permitted to stay on one further year after his voice broke, when he was 15. He would then return home and receive training to teach at his father’s reputable elementary school, on the ground floor of the house.  In anticipation of the regular family chamber music-making he would embark on once back living with his family, he wrote a set of 6 quartets, of which this one in E flat is the most regularly played today. 

Compared to the drama, emotional intensity and epic nature contained in Schubert’s masterful late quartets, (the great “Death and the Maiden” and final epic work in G major) this early quartet seems full of simple joy, innocence and playfulness, yet with Schubert’s gift for beautiful melodic writing nevertheless in evidence.Unusually, each movement is in E flat, the only variation being the minor trio section of the 2nd movement. The gracious first movement is followed by a short-lived but humorous scherzo, full of high jinks. The slow third movement alternates between chordal writing and simple violin melodies and the work concludes with an Allegro bubbling over with joyous high spirits. 

By Gillian Ansell

Gareth Farr (NZ) (1968–)

Mondo Rondo (1997)

the world is round

the world is a serious place

this string quartet is round

the world is a string quartet

this string quartet is not a serious piece

the world is not a serious place

the world is round

   poem by Gareth Farr

Gareth Farr’s three movement work Mondo Rondo takes its title from its first movement, the later movements being Mumbo Jumbo and Mambo Rambo. Mondo Rondo conjures up the image of Farr as a musical magpie, building a colourfully wonky nest at frenetic speed, and all manner of sounds can almost be identified as they flash past.

Antonín Dvořák (1841–1904)

Movements from String Quartet No. 12 in F major, Op. 96 (The American Quartet) (1893)

I. Allegro ma non troppo

II. Lento

Nicknamed the ‘American Quartet’, Dvořák’s 12th string quartet was written in 1893, during the composer’s time in the United States. Infused with elements of folk music and inspired by the natural wonders of the New World, this beloved work invites listeners on a journey through untamed wilderness.  

In the opening movement, ‘Allegro ma non troppo’, Dvořák’s sweeping melodies and expansive harmonies evoke the vastness of the American prairies, while in the second movement, ‘Lento’, the composer turns his gaze skyward with a tranquil and contemplative melody, leaving listeners uplifted and inspired by the world around them.

One of the most frequently performed string quartets, Dvořák’s ‘American Quartet’ is a testament to the enduring power of music to evoke the wonders of the natural world, enabling us to find solace, joy, and sanctuary in the world around us.

Danish String Quartet

Excerpts from their album Last Leaf (2017)

Shore

(Fredrik Sjölin, 2017)

Shore is a little folk-fantasy written by Fredrik, simply inspired by the vast coastline and the many hundreds of islands that form Denmark. Just as the shore is the last thing you see when leaving, it it is also the first thing you experience when returning. Opening the album, the idea was to create a musical resemblance of the landfall.

Polska from Dorotea

(Swedish traditional)

A famous polska, attributed to Swedish fiddler, teacher and cantor Johan August Andersson (1866-1902), who lived in the village Dorotea in Lapland. Andersson had quite a tragic life, losing his wife and daughter in childbirth, which resulted in a local scandal when he entered the church mid-service to publicly curse God. He was subsequently fired from his teaching position, but was allowed to stay as a cantor, because he was such a good fiddler. Later his mental derangement worsened until he was primarily known in Dorotea as “Crazy Andersson”, spending his last years alone in a small house in the middle of the village.

This tune has a natural sense of gravity and swing, and an almost la follia-like progression. And although the polska dance usually tends to be a tad slower, we like it when played with “sturm und drang”!

Now Found Is The Fairest Of Roses

(German traditional)

Published in 1732 by Danish theologist and poet H. A. Brorson, this is of the most beautiful Danish hymns we know. It is written for Christmastime, but unlike many Christmas hymns, it is not just about Bethlehem and the holy infant - rather, it simply describes a fair rose, growing in a world of thorns and thistles. The hymn is set to a mysterious, somewhat dark melody, a melody that most people were familiar with in 1732. To the surprise of many, Brorson had chosen an old Lutheran funeral chorale to accompany his Christmas hymn, elegantly showing how life and death are always connected.

The Dromer

(Scottish/Danish traditional)

One of the most important collections of Danish tunes was assembled by the Bast Brothers from 1763 - 1782. The two brothers, Christian Frederik and Paul Danchel, grew up on the island of Lolland in the second half of the 18th century. Both of them studied theology in Copenhagen, making their way through their collegiate years by playing music at parties and social occasions. The Dromer is technically an English dance. In the final decades the 18th century, dances from the British Isles were very much in fashion in Denmark and naturally the Bast Brothers had several English dances in their repertoire. The peculiar title of this tune is probably a misspelling of The Drummer, which is a fairly well-known Scottish reel that is identical to the melody notated by the Bast Brothers. The Drummer started to appear in British tune collections around 1700 and it later morphed into the famous Scottish song The Piper o’Dundee, which was used to “stir up the chiefs and their clans” during the Jacobite rising.

By the Danish String Quartet

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MUSICIANS

New Zealand String Quartet

Gillian Ansell – Viola

Peter Clark – Violin

Manu Berkeljon – Guest Violin

Lavinnia Rae – Guest Cello

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