Repeats

Could this become repetitive?  No, never.  Perhaps the greatest excitement I have in music these days in a big orchestral choral concert.  Doubly so in a good location.  This was my second play of Carmina Burana, again with National Capital Orchestra and Canberra Choral Society and the Woden Valley Youth Choir and the soloists, again in Llewellyn, second choral concert in 2 weeks in this our major Canberra concert hall.  What was different was the hall was very close to full with the upper balcony open, and the standing ovation.  I've never had a full hall doing a standing ovation for any work before.  This was something special.  Carmina is like that, though: everyone knows it from Nescafe ad or film Excalibur, or Therion or Nas or Turn up the bass.  There were times it took off in tempo but the restraint just heightened the changes so the excitement and tension.  So the arrival after 60 minutes was ecstatic like much of the work.  But first up was something very different, religious, much reduced in lyrics if again in Latin, Poulenc Gloria.  This as choral, one choir and one soloist, soprano, modern.  It didn't get the recognition, but the worth was there and the performance and musical discovery was satisfying.  At least it had standard notation, unlike the strangely presented Carmina.  But again some tricky pizz/arco changes on bass and plenty of odd and changing meters and rhythms.  So, repeated but not at all monotonous.  Loved it!  Ciao to Jeremy who's off to NYC to study.  And thanks to the NCO FB page for a few pics.

National Capital Orchestra, Canberra Choral Society and Woden Valley Youth Choir performed Orff and Poulenc under Louis Sharpe (conductor) with soloists Rachel Mink (soprano, Orff and Poulenc), Sitiveni Talei (baritone, Orff) and Dan Walker (tenor, Orff).   The bottom enders were Jeremy Tsuei, Greg Perkins, Mel Fung, Juliet Flook and Eric Pozza (basses).

Calm and storm

It's coming close to Canberra Bach Ensemble attending the Leipzig Bach Festival mid-year.  But this is Easter so a Bach passion was in store, this time St John.  But the program referenced Leipzig and advised that the CBE program will be three cantatas, BWV 9,107, 178 and interestingly that they were assigned.  I checked with Andrew afterwards and, yes, they are assigned, partly for some consistency in performances at any one festival.  I also asked who was going.  About 50-75% of the group will be attending and the others will be replaced by local players.  Given the Gevanthaus and students, that should be easy enough.  So again St John Passion, again the glorious big choral sounds and the pensive recitatives and the varied solo voices and the period instrumentation.  Also again the infectious opening that keeps reappearing thoughout.  Dave was on bass and playing beautifully on a 5-string gut strung instrument.  I noted the twisty lines and odd intervals and unexpected harmonies and sometimes followed the bass line on IMSLP and I think I found the opening theme recurring through all manner of rhythms and accompaniments, not just in the obvious recurrences in obvious form.  If I am right, it just extremely extends my understanding of Bach and his brilliance, to pass through these quite unexpected harmonic movements and to hide them throughout in all manner of forms.  Am I right?  Dunno yet but I am intrigued.  As for voices, I must highlight the Evangelist, Richard Butler, who had the most wonderfully expressed, wide ranging voice for some complex lines.  Just a stunner.  And maybe mention the lute which I don't remember hearing in Bach before but here it was (literally) central.  But again this was a huge and successful endeavour by a large group of capable musicians and singers.  And very sensible of them to stage a long interval just when Canberra's recovered Skyfire to  light the local sky and add to the noise of Canberra Ave just outside St Christopher's.

The Canberra Bach Ensemble presented Bach St John Passion BWV245 at St Christopher's Manuka.  Key performers were Andrew Koll (MD, conductor), Bianca Porcheddu (concertmaster), Richard Butler (Evangelist), Sitiveni Talei (Jesus), Grata Claringbould (soprano), Maartje Sevenster (alto), Christopher Warren (tenor) and Andrew Fysh (bass).  David Flynn (bass) held up the bottom end.

Haydn's Canberra Seasons

The concert was on 1 April so our practice in the morning, somewhat stilted and desperate, must have been a trick played on us, because the 3pm concert was an absolute blast.  This was NCO's annual get-together in Llewellyn Hall with CCS and a few singers out front and the music was Haydn The Seasons.  Now, this is a big work (a CSO member suggested "massive") and the orchestra practiced it for perhaps 8 weeks and only met with two of the singers on the Monday before the Saturday, and the other singer and choir only on the Friday night.  The arias and choral pieces were pretty much all there, but the repetitives were mostly removed, I guess to relieve the singers of such a massive task in preparation, and in a nifty and local way, they were replaced by a series of Canberra-related spoken word introductions form no other than Laura Tingle, ABC TV journo but also a member of CCS (I've seen her singing before).  I couldn't hear Laura from my location, but the proxy was well received and a very clever local innovation talking of magpies and trips to the coast and possums the like.  As for the performance, I'm not the only believer in the "she'll be right on the night" line, and the performance just proved the proposition.  It was a blast.  The were some moments of indecision or missed lines (Haydn is full of explosive and hugely challenging phrases, not just for the winds and others, but even for the basses) but the performance was thrilling and the exhilaration from choir and orchestra and singers on song was ever present.  And there were several fugues (3?), one at truly breakneck speed, all thrilling and structurally complex.  I love these things. And the gloriously delicate start to, what, winter?  And plenty more of interest.  Talk of massive, it was 2 hours playing with the repetitives removed!  Massive indeed.  But we did it and, as is the way, we partied and chuckled about it all after.  Just a blast, again, from our NCO/CCS collaboration.

National Capital Orchestra and Canberra Choral Society gather for their annual performance at Llewellyn Hall to play Haydn The Seasons.  Sarahlouise Owens (soprano), Ryan O'Donnell (tenor) and Sitiveni Talei (bass) sang.   Laura Tingle (narrator) replaced the repetitives with a Canberra Seasons theme.  Louis Sharpe (conductor) conducted and Dan Walker (chorus master) prepared the choir.  Our bottom end comprised Juliet Flook, Jennifer Groom and Eric Pozza (basses).

This is CJBlog post no. 2,600

Weekend 2

Sunday was another 3pm mega event.  I was somewhat hassled, having a first go at multitracking recording.  I have most of the gear and the knowledge, but not sure of cables and stands and the like.  In the end, I managed most if not all that I'd like, but it was informative and satisfying.  Super embarrassingly, my phone went off in the performance.  I had "Do Not Disturb" on.  Note to all: check your Android Do Not Disturb settings (and I guess whatever in i-World).  I get few calls and I've never had a call interrupt a concert before, but this was a repeated call, and that was allowed as a default setting on my phone!!!  Suffice to say, not now.  And at the end, a Melbourne mate arrived, unexpected, at the concert, finding me.  Strange events.  But how was the concert?  Just wonderful.  I sat near the Evangelist (tenor) and he impressed.  So did Jesus (as he should)!  Hayley was on bass and did a wonderful job.  I enjoyed following the violins and always enjoy bassoon.  Why are they always so capable and clear toned in our bass range?  I followed the words (recitatives in English; chorals in German with translations).  The story touched me, taking me back to Catholic schooldays.  Not converted, but touched.  Wondering about why this tree or that event.  These stories are old and have resonances that our society isn't aware of these days.  Well, it is the Bible, after all with its long resonances for our/my Euro  culture.  And thinking of German Easter Sundays in Bach's days, presumably the congregation hearing St John's Passion part 1, then a sermon (we had coffee!), then part 2, then I guess a mass and the rest.  They were committed. And also thinking of several musos who had said they'd prefer St Matthew's Passion, given this was so powerful.  Well, it may be a bit better on records, but not much, and the presence and surroundings, even if just modern brick, seemed apt and  the music, both written and played, was fabulous.  How much did I enjoy this?  Enjoy may not be the word, but very much and deeply.  Many thanks to Igitur Nos and Matthew Stuckings and the crew he gathered for this performance.

Igitur Nos Chamber Choir performed under Matthew Stuckings (musical director).  Igitur Nos performed as a choir of ~20 with several soloists and a chamber orchestra of 14.  Soloists were Kent McIntosh (Evangelist, tenor), Sitiveni Talei (Jesus, baritone), Maartje Sevenster (contralto), Cassandra Hmble (soprano), Colin Miller (Pilate, baritone) and Great Claringbould (soprano).  Anthony Smith played continuo (keyboard ). Hayley Manning (bass) provided the bottom end.