Christmas in July

Chrissy in July is not a thing for me but Handel Messiah is usually something we hear at Christmas but this was winter, unseasonably cold outside.  Canberra Symphony Orchestra put on Messiah with its Messiah Chorus auditioned and convened by Tobias Cole.  The numbers were not huge, ~35 instrumentalists and ~40 chorus and four soloists.  The program didn't say, but the solo singers were Chloe Lankshear and Andrew Goodwin and Adrian Tamburini along with Tobias.  The basses were old mates Kyle and David and Hayley but only Kyle and Hayley on the night.  Kyle played most as solo when the front lines played.  The work is a dream, of course, and well known and loved and it's deserved.  Quite a few fugues (I love a fugue) and plenty of rich choral passages and those soloists with harpsichord or organ or solo violin or often a smaller ensemble, but the extravagance and delirium of the choral passages and full orchestras are what really does it for me and most.  We duly stood for the Hallelujah chorus, but we had to be goaded / invited.  I was not the only one who'd forgotten that rite of passage.  And the choir was good.  First up I thought the women were good, but the lower voices are always less appreciated or obvious but they showed their colours and impressed.  So impressive all round.  The trumpet passage (aptly in The trumpet shall sound) was lovely; the solo violin was satisfying, the parts were convincing.  I felt just a little discomfort in timing or perhaps some rushing in the tricky bits early on but that settled.  As for the bass, I was surprised by some tricky parts and look forward to printing the part for a gander. Anthony Hunt from State Opera of SA was upfront and led comfortably.  And that lovely scalar semiquaver stuff by voice (paralleled by instruments, too, of course), is demanding and tricky and a real test.  I was surprised how capably the chorus carried this out.  We expect it from the soloists, but it seems more difficult for massed voices who are perhaps less trained.  So we all left with joy and excitement and satisfaction after 2 hours and interval for a pretty long night of music.  Just such a pleasure: nicely done and such joyous music.

Canberra Symphony Orchestra with the CSO Messiah Choir under Anthony Hunt (conductor) with soloists Chloe Lankshear (soprano), Tobias Cole (countertenor), Andrew Goodwin (tenor) and Adrian Tamburini (bass).  Kyle Ramsey-Daniel and Hayley Manning (bass) played the low end.

Sprawl

It's a big sprawling concoction that perhaps only a composer's mother could love. That's the way we'd all been talking of it, from the orchestra and from the choir, but we'd come to love it as we understood it better ... or at least as we recognised its complexities and movements. Someone mentioned that the parts don't obviously fit together. Perhaps that's an explanation: certainly it was hard to play along with a recording; Lenny's role was central. But the outcome could be sublime. This is Vaughan Williams Symphony no.1 that talks of the sea and seafarers. It's turbulent and sea-like and it runs for 4 movements over ~70 minutes. The final movement alone is 30mins. We'll be unlikely to play it again and probably unlikely to hear it but it was great. Again, the ole "she'll be right on the night" came through. I could see it on Lenny's face towards the end, that sense of satisfaction with work done well. And the first half was similarly special: the Australian premiere of On the beach, a suite taken from the film score by Christopher Gordon. Sparse and intriguing and telling a story of tragedy that we are coming to understand in our climate changing days. And not just the premier but also the conductor in the building. Along with 130 players and choral singers and two vocal soloists of note on stage. This was a big show and overwhelmingly satisfying in full flight.

National Capital Orchestra and Canberra Choral Society performed Vaughan Williams Symphony no.1 and Christopher Gordon On the beach suite at Llewellyn Hall. Leonard Weiss (conductor); vocal soloists were Chloe Lankshear (soprano) and David Greco (baritone). Dan Walker (chorus master) prepared the CCS. The bass end was covered by Kate Murphy, Geoff Prime and Eric Pozza (basses).

The eternal glory of JS

This being the run-up to Christmas, these were for Advent and again we were regaled with a generous program of four Bach cantatas. It was Andrew Koll's return with his rebirthed Canberra Bach Ensemble and it was several hours of great beauty and order and often of spine-chilling thrills. I can only hear the choral segments as a thrill, especially at the end of a cantatas, after the more subdued recitatives and arias. For when the chorus releases, all hell breaks loose. No, that's certainly the wrong metaphor, for Bach composed for the glory of God and these are clearly and transparently glorious, as well as gorgeous. I don't bother to follow the text (sung in German with an English translation). Perhaps I should. Just once I did, when soprano Emma and bass Andrew were singing to each other with quizzical smiles. I discovered he was Jesus and she was the Soul and they were pledging that their love would never part and committing to graze together amongst the roses of Heaven. Apparently, this cantata associates with a Gospel reading (Matthew 25:1-13) of virgins awaiting the arrival of the bridegroom. These are celebrating a central Christian feast, after all, and it is of a different era, even if the music doesn't sound out of place for modern ears. But I just listened. Enjoying the interplay of solo voices, the engulfing chorus parts, the structure and counterpoint of instruments with their ever-forward baroque motion. And it all sat so well. Andrew has drawn together a wonderful cast of performers so there was so little to query. I loved that double act of soprano and bass towards the end of the performance. I admired Leanne's busy violins and Dave's excellent bass part, sometimes doubled by Kristen on bassoon or Anthony on organ or Gillian and Clara on cello. I enjoyed the solo arias but especially the sparse, spacious recitatives, where story is told with minimal orchestration, just one or two instruments, continuo organ with cello or perhaps violin. And the choir of 27, occasionally featuring the tenors alone, or a soloist who walked out front for a role. They performed four cantatas, BWV 61,36,62 and 140. Someone commented that a concert of one composer is to be preferred. I'm not sure (I don't mind Beethoven with Mozart or even Glass). But this was just Bach and it was wonderful. Congrats to Andrew for a successful outing and for the renewed CBE. A great pleasure to be enveloped in several hours of such glory.

Andrew Koll (musical director) conducted the Canberra Bach Ensemble playing four Bach advent cantatas at St Christopher's Cathedral. Leanne Bear (violin) led the orchestra. Vocal soloists were Emma Griffiths, Chloe Lankshear and Keren Dalzell (sopranos), Maartje Seventer (alto), Paul Sutton (tenor) and Andrew Fysh (bass).