Auckland Choral; Singing with the angels

Amadeus
Auckland Choral and Pipers Sinfonia
Auckland Town Hall
July 9th

Auckland Choral continues to present interesting concerts in association with the NZSO, the Auckland Philharmonia and the Pipers Sinfonia, adding an extra dimension to the music available to Aucklanders.

In their latest concert “Amadeus”, the main work on the programme was Mozart’s Requiem which they presented with soloists Susana Risch, Sarah Court , Kenneth Cornish and Chung-Kuang Lin.

While the Requiem is a religious work using the various elements of the Mass to explore Christians notions of death and rebirth, it is also a very human response to meditation on life and death.

Mozart infuses the various sections of the Requiem with the human qualities of joy, love and self-confidence as well as fear and uncertainty.
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The work provides numerous opportunities to create contrasts between the orchestra and singers, as though between the earthly and the heavenly, the emotional and the intellectual.

There are contrasts between the sombre tones of the woodwinds and brass and the lighter strings as well as the roar of the organ contrasting with the clarity of the soloists, helping to make the work continually invigorating.

The choir, soloists and orchestra under conductor Uwe Grodd were able to explore these various contrasts in a performance which captured the essence of the work with a precision and subtlety.

Susana Risch, Sarah Court and Chung-Kuang Lin provided strong voices which stood out against both choir and the orchestra while Kenneth Cornish seemed overwhelmed on occasions.

Grodd appeared to be in control of the massive choir and orchestra his conducting was clear and concise although from time to time the waves of the sound appeared to become uncontrolled, the conductor following in the wake of the music.

In the first half of the programme Chung-Kuang Lin sang an aria from The Marriage of Figaro where he delivered a subdued and introspective account. He joined Susana Risch in a duet from Don Giovanni with the two providing an intensity and realism as well as some clever acting. Her singing of a couple of arias showed a rich voice with some delicate, angelic tones.

Included in Auckland Choral’s forthcoming concerts are three impressive choral works; Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana and their annual Handel’s Messiah.

Beethoven’s Choral Symphony
Saturday 24 September, 2:00 pm
Auckland Town Hall

Beethoven’s Ninth symphony which was originally commissioned by the London Philharmonic Society had its first London performance in 1825 where it was met with a mixed reception with the review in The Quarterly Musical Magazine & Review made an extraordinary refence to New Zealand, describing the work as being “like the fleeting pleasures of life, or the spirited young adventurer, who would fly from ease and comfort at home to the inhospitable shores of New Zealand, we are snatched away from such eloquent music, to crude, wild and extraneous harmonies,”

The performance will feature the New Zealand Symphony under conductor Pietari Inkinen with soloists Madeleine Pierard (soprano), Simon O'Neill (tenor), Jonathan Lemalu (bass) and Sarah Castle (mezzo-soprano).

Auckland Choral will be augmented by Voices NZ Chamber Choir and choirs from the Orpheus Choir of Wellington, Christchurch City Choir and the City of Dunedin Choir

Carl Orff, Carmina Burana
Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Roy Goodman, with soloists Penelope Mills, Benjamin Makisi and Phillip Rhodes
Thursday 6 October & Friday 7 October
Auckland Town Hall

From Excalibur to Lord of the Rings: Two Towers, Carl Orff’s iconic Carmina Burana has featured in hundreds of movie soundtracks. Based on 24 medieval poems with themes of lust, love and excess, the first and final movement O Fortuna is the best known.

Orff said of the work “Everything I have written to date, and which you have, unfortunately, printed, can be destroyed. With Carmina Burana, my collected works begin.”

The concert will also feature Beethoven’s Eighth Symphony.

Handel, Messiah
Pipers Sinfonia with conductor Brian Kay and soloists Katherine Wiles, Dean Sky Lucas, Keith Lewis, David Morriss
Monday 12 December and Tuesday 13 December
Auckland Town Hall

For many the Christmas season doesn’t start until Auckland Choral’s Messiah performance, an annual tradition for over 150 years. It was a success from its first performance and remains the most popular oratorio today.

British conductor Brian Kay will be arriving direct from London where he will have conducted the Messiah with some 4000 musicians at the Albert Hall.