The opening night of Victorian Opera’s Lorelei attracted both new members of the audience as well as those who had loved the award-winning premiere at the Malthouse Theatre in 2018. One question in the minds of the initiated was whether Lorelei would have the same striking impact in the vastly bigger venue of St Kilda’s Palais Theatre. The answer is a resounding, Yes!

Even the approach to the theatre had its benefits. There might not have been too many shipwrecks in Port Phillip Bay but the waterside venue placed us in the appropriate element. The major advantage of the Palais is that its seating capacity pretty well assures a berth.

Happily, Marg Howell’s set design was not swamped by the larger stage area; the Lorelei were intensely present in their vividly lit showcases. Appropriate amplification resulted in both voices and orchestra being heard clearly at all times. Ship-shattering crescendos and the softest sighs were conveyed in all their power and subtlety. Some opera-goers deplore the increasing use of amplification, but here it was an essential component that was employed to huge dramatic effect – an integral part of the theatrical experience. And Lorelei is a work where the sum of uniformly excellent parts make an even more stunning whole.

Marg Howell’s set and fabulous couture-inspired costumes that become significant players in the action, Paul Jackson’s lighting design, and Jim Atkins’ sound design are significant components of the story. The harmonious marriage of music and lyrics is no surprise since Casey Bennetto and Gillian Cosgriff are credited with both, alongside composer and orchestrator Julian Langdon. And then there are the performers: the extraordinary Lorelei trio of Dimity Shepherd, Ali McGregor and Antoinette Halloran casting their spell with a very much in-form Victorian Opera Chamber Orchestra conducted by Musical Director Phoebe Briggs. As Director and Dramaturg, Sarah Giles has ensured that these parts were seamlessly woven together.

The opening image is visually breath-taking – even if you have seen the publicity photos; the Lorelei are bathed in an oestrogen-pink glow as the music swells softly in rippling waves. Their voices gradually emerge in an eerie siren call as they gently sway like terrestrial Rhine maidens or seaweed anchored to the ocean floor. The volume gradually builds to a frantic engine throb and clanging of alarms as the sailors meet their doom. The heartless trio sing their hard-boiled song of “Hello, farewell … prepare to die”.

Deceptively fragile-looking, Shepherd has a ball vocally and dramatically, her remarkable range, and power on lower notes, making what are very witty lyrics even more so. She dances, flounces, stomps and runs her way through most of the 75-minute work with concentrated abandon. This Lorelei believes the sailors were asking for it and is the first to tell the story of a maiden betrayed. Although looking more aggressive in her flame-red gown, Ali McGregor is generally more moderate in her approach and is the first to voice flickers of remorse with “Oh, just a pause” in an up-tempo cabaret style number. McGregor’s high notes, heard at key times throughout the work, seem to emanate from another dimension, evoking the mythic aspect of the work. Halloran’s music is also infused with Latin rhythms, distinguishing the telling of her Lorelei story in a fresh way. She puts her all into persuading the others to have a night off from luring sailors to their doom.

Amidst all the wonderful blend of opera, musical theatre and cabaret we are left wondering to what extent the trio are deluded. Between the first season of Lorelei and the current one, many of us saw Victorian Opera’s double-bill of Cassandra / Echo and Narcissus in March. Two more new operas based on myth/folkore, they too explore the nature of love and the status of women. Cassandra in particular is concerned with power – women’s empowerment and the lack of it. Lorelei has a thoughtful take on this question and audience members will have fun unraveling some of the questions posed. In contrast to the tales of lovelorn maidens who wish to die, the reverse interpretation is vehemently declaimed. Were they “pushed”? To what extent are women complicit in their entrapment? Are women being disempowered/“dissed” by #notallmen? The final scene of entrapment and having the trio re-clothed by female stage assistants dressed in black as the music returns to its opening recapitulation is something to ponder.

Despite the very occasional use of coarse language, music and drama teachers should be keen to bring students to a performance later this year; the 15+ contingent would love it. All the text is there in big sur- (well, sub-) titles, the music is varied, tuneful and exciting, the performances are fabulous and the whole experience is highly entertaining. On opening night there was a curtain call glitch, but at least Phoebe Briggs and the orchestra were given their well-deserved due. The following night, the three divas could both see and hear a cheering audience give them another standing ovation.

I cannot recommend Lorelei highly enough.

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Heather Leviston reviewed Victorian Opera’s production of “Lorelei” presented at the Palais Theatre, St Kilda on June 30 and July 1, 2021.

Great excitement surrounded the announcement by Musica Viva to bring three distinguished international soloists to form a trio for a National Australian tour. The appointment of French musician Nicolas Fleury as Principal Horn in the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra allowed him to team up with international legends, violinist Emily Sun and pianist Amir Farid using Sydney, as a base for launching a tour of exciting concert repertoire and regional workshops. Musica Viva is committed to presenting live music in as many states as possible, but not all planned ventures could overcome even Australia’s current volatility with musicians in lockdown or quarantine. Following concerts in Adelaide and Sydney, cancellation of Melbourne concerts and live streaming, Musica Viva nevertheless, were able to schedule a last minute on-line concert by the trio in Chatswood’s Concourse Theatre.

We are thankful that composer Ernst Naumann arranged Mozart’s challenging Quintet K407, performed in this concert as the Horn Trio in Eb, Mozart’s favourite key for the horn. A brilliant and perfectly balanced opening to the Allegro heralded the brilliance of this ensemble. Bright and sharp execution of colourful tones combined with Mozart’s spirit and energy was a delight to hear. From Fleury’s golden instrument came a warm and soulful tone in rich and satisfying melodies where ornaments, trills and embellishments were smoothly delivered. His low notes were full of character and bold assertion – Mozart would have smiled. In the Andante we were captivated by the lyrical, aria like opening melody on the violin. Not just an exceptional string sound, but also a unique tone colour glowed from Emily Sun’s 1760 Gagliano violin. Horn and violin showed an ease and gracefulness in expressive and graceful conversations. In the Rondo we continued to admire the joy and spirit coming from this balanced team, the fullness of their sound and the addition of luxuriant bass tones on the grand piano. Ornaments and embellishments and the clarity of rapid cadenzas on the horn continued to impress.

Gordon Kerry is a prolific and widely performed Australian composer with a long association with Musica Viva, writing pieces ranging from symphonic and chamber music to choral works and opera. Julian Burnside AO QC has continued his generous commitment to performing arts, commissioning Kerry’s Sonata for Violin and Piano (2020). Described succinctly by Paul Kildea, the sonata “starts with a whisper and ends in a soaring declaration”. Described as a sonata in one movement, a three-tiered level of structural development could be felt. Opening with a celestial four note motif on the violin against intermittent piano tremolos, ripples and clusters, there was an important use of space and silence, colours of glassy, reflected, fragments from a mosaic, free-time, reflective and engaging. A “middle” section highlighted Emily Sun’s authoritative and expressively passionate long tones, as further scattered icy ripples and bell-like piano shapes added assertive rhythms and brilliant rapid technical flurries for both instruments. High soaring notes, extensive tremolos and tonal exploration took us towards a final platform of embellished trills and turns. With varied recollections of introductory motifs, a finely balanced partnership of varied and colourful timbres on both instruments gave Kerry’s work a fine World Premier hearing.

How impressive was Emily Sun’s leadership in Brahms’ Horn Trio in Eb, her luscious, warm and resonant tone expressing highly emotive swells of passion and richness. Amir Farid responded accordingly, demonstrating equally passionate colours and emotion in flowing piano arpeggios and richly textured accompaniment. The Scherzo was an exciting and energetic journey,introduced by an envigorating staccato piano accompaniment that became more powerful and scintillating with striking mood and key changes. In the low brooding piano chords that opened the third movement Adagio Mesto, we felt Brahms’ introspection, growing sorrow and deep feelings of loss. A simple, poignant rising two note phrase added further questioning from the violin, with only the piano replying with shadows and gloom in troubled low chords. The trio produced some magnificent orchestral grandeur, but the low bass notes of the piano added intense finality in the Eb minor key. If this third movement was a sorrowful tribute by Brahms, commemorating the death of his mother, the bold, brisk and buoyant tones of the fourth movement called on us to muster our resilience and respond to the call of the horn. And how triumphant was the horn in this final Allegro con Brio, calling the chargeof the hunt with true military phrases and galloping fanfares. Again, there was an admirable display of unique tone colours, virtuosic skill and vibrancy of spirit from this exemplary team of world class musicians.

Musica Viva is to be commended for adding Workshops by performers, very complete Concert Guide notes, fabulous Pre Concert talks, and Recordings and Webinars of great educational value to their prime concert program.

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Julie McErlain reviewed Musica Viva’s National Tour concert “Nicolas Fleury, Emily Sun and Amir Farid” recorded at the Concourse Theatre, Sydney, and presented via Melbourne Digital Concert Hall on June 21, 2021.

It was not an exaggeration to speak in terms of being “broken-hearted” when Victorian Opera announced that Deborah Cheetham’s Parrwang Lifts the Sky had to be postponed and would only be available via a digital platform. A ground-breaking collaboration between Victorian Opera and our indigenous opera company, Short Black Opera, it had become another semi-casualty of COVID-19 lockdowns.

One ray of light was that it could be filmed in the Arts Centre Melbourne Playhouse Theatre and made available to international as well as local audiences. Hopefully, this vivid operatic creation will also have wings as an educational complement to indigenous appreciation in our schools. Both Cheetham and Richard Mills, VO’s Artistic Director and the conductor of the performance, are passionate about education and the power of music and story-telling to nurture understanding and foster reconciliation. Ways of enriching our cultural connections to one another and to the country we share are crucial to our development as a cohesive society.

Deborah Cheetham’s brainchild, Short Black Opera, has been a driving force in giving indigenous singers, children and adults, an opportunity to develop their musical talents. Parrwang boasts a cast of predominantly indigenous singers, including Cheetham herself, who goes from strength to strength as a composer and performer. Her landmark opera Pecan Summer established her as a composer of note and her continuing support of emerging singers has been remarkably successful. Notable among these are Shauntai Batzke, who sings the role of Mrs Waa the crow, and Jess Hitchcock – one of the two children who persuade Parrwang to plead their case for humans to be given light.

The opera opens with cheerful music as Parrwang (Rebecca Rashleigh) readies her river red gum living-room nest for a visitor – her cousin Gorngany (Deborah Cheetham) from Yorta Yorta country. It is no coincidence that Cheetham is in fact a Yorta Yorta woman. Rashleigh is a delight, her crystal clear voice and animated personality totally captivating as she sings about the beauty of her Wadawurrung country. She is interrupted when school uniform clad big sister Tjatjarrang and little brother Koki reach her by climbing to the top branches where they experience sunlight and the beauty of colours, trees and flowers. The importance of language is introduced and how it intersects with reality; science nerd Koki knows the Latin names of things he has, alas, never experienced. As Koki, Michael Petruccelli might have looked more like big rather than “little brother”, but he was convincing in his earnest boyish enthusiasm, his fresh tenor a very appealing component of the trio. Jess Hitchcock’s voice is very similar to Rashleigh’s in its purity and vibrant quality; at one point in the trio one soprano voice sounded like an extension of the other. A soulful mellow horn adds to the emotional appeal as the three sing about yearning for a world where beauty can be shared.

As the children disappear into the dark depths, Mr and Mrs Waa arrive in a suspicious flurry, preening their splendid feathery costumes as they go. Kiran Rajasingam and Shauntai Batzke relish their parts but sound nothing like crows – both have uncommonly beautifully rich and attractive voices. Despite the absence of ugly cawing, Cheetham has given them music of a contrasting character with Rajasingham having fun with his Gilbert and Sullivan-esque patter song. After debating the merits of the humans’ case, they hurry off to attend the Great Council of Birds. Parrwang finds a more sympathetic listener in Gorngany when she arrives with her news and they begin to devise a plan to lift the sky that they can bring to the meeting. The children join them in a quartet where quite complex ensemble writing is interwoven with emotionally engaging melodic material commonly found in musical theatre.

Although the 50-minute opera consists of one Act and seven Scenes, there is an orchestral interlude as the set is adjusted for the Great Council of Birds. Things settle as the creator Bunjil (an imposing Don Christopher) appears in the form of an eagle and explains the purpose of the meeting – “to maintain the orderly sharing of the skies”. Parrwang and Gorngany make a persuasive case about sharing the sky with humans in a beautiful duet. Bunjil is sympathetic to the predicament of humans since he himself had moulded them from clay and grass fibres and agrees that the magpies should lift the sky. For the waiting time as forces gather Cheetham has written some touching lyrical music that culminates in a stirring chorus of affirmation sung by the full vocal ensemble in Wadawurrung language, accompanied by English subtitles, as dawn breaks.

The combination of Cultural Textile Design by Deanne Gilson, Set and Costume Design by Mel Serjeant, and Lighting Design by Peter Darby has resulted in a visually exciting production. Director Elizabeth Hill, assisted by Deborah Cheetham, has made imaginative use of the various levels of the tree branches to create fluid movement, and incorporated a range of detail to enhance characterisation and add entertaining interest. We even have a nifty exchange of elbow bumps at the end of the mid-way quartet.

The chamber ensemble of 13 musicians treated the score with skilled assurance, finding both lively colour and nuance under the guidance of Richard Mills’ baton.

Please note that the following issue is not experienced by all viewers and it is may well be that some of us need to upgrade our computers. At the moment, however, sound and vision may not be properly synchronised for some people – a problem that appears to worsen during the course of the opera. It can make the words more difficult to understand at times, especially with regard to the female singers, and when the musical texture thickens and instrumentalists have louder passages. This is not to say the singers have poor diction, on the contrary; it would seem that a great deal of care has gone into making the text as clear as possible.

Of course, what everybody really wants to experience is a live performance in the flesh; that is only what would do full justice to this significant contribution to our cultural heritage and its splendid realisation by the performers and creative team.

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Heather Leviston reviewed Deborah Cheetham’s “Parrwang Lifts the Sky”, presented by Victorian Opera and filmed for streaming at Arts Centre Melbourne Playhouse during June 2021.

We do love to celebrate and acknowledge “firsts”. A concert program that offers a premier performance of a colossal Australian composition is historically significant. Then, before Ian Munro came to the Steinway grand piano in Elisabeth Murdoch Hall, Melbourne Recital Centre CEO Euan Murdoch came to the stage to announce this event as the first in a new partnership with Melbourne Digital Concert Hall and 5stream. Any sadness from the lack of a live audience was banished by the beauty and colourful stage lighting of this magnificent venue, the incidental hues formed on the textured backstage panels, the precisely planned camera work and the fine acoustic of this recital hall.

Ian Munro, one of Australia’s most distinguished and internationally respected pianists, is a remarkably relaxed performer, modestly physically calm and stately. His fingers alone tell an epic story, producing a huge spectrum of colour and expression. Detailed program notes revealed the important comparative elements in emotion and form, and links between these three composers and Munro’s reflections, personal understanding and respect for them.

Mendelssohn’s six Songs Without Words, Book1 Opus 19, were delivered as ideal, classy textbook performances. Numbers 1 & 2, Fond Memories and Regrets, warmed our wintry weather with pleasing melodic expression, flowing motion and idyllic poetic lines. In No 3, Hunting Song, Munro produced a significantly more buoyant, crisper, cleaner and brighter tone, while the frequently played Venetian Gondola Song was nicely moving forward, clean and sparkling, without sentimentality. All six pieces were exemplary in detail, beautifully described in shapes and tones like six different paintings.

By opening the program with these miniatures, Munro was heralding his deep admiration of influential Russian composer Rachmaninoff, who modelled his Preludes on them. Each of Rachmaninoff’s Six Moments Musicaux reproduce a form and characteristics of a previous musical era, yet with individual themes and moods. Each piece was certainly an admirable concert piece of its own. No 1 Andantino revealed long, reflective melodies, which developed into a rapid climax with orchestral colourations and virtuosic runs, hinting at shades of Chopin’s Nocturnes. No 2 Allegretto showed Munro’s exciting virtuosity in the waves of cascading florid patterns woven around deceptively simple but powerful melodic themes. The contrasting No 3 Andante Cantabile was a deeply contrasting reflection of a funeral march, with a stirring melody built above a long earthy chordal sequence. A striking middle section of bass staccato pulses was reminiscent of the foreboding and percussive imitative bass drum elements of a past era. No 4 Presto was truly exciting, lavish, exuberant and rich in its expression and melodic intensity, and we felt Rachmaninoff’s homage to the spirit of Chopin.  Most admirable was the remarkably calm ease and control Munro showed playing immense torrents of notes preceding the most brilliant acceleration to a double fortissimo conclusion. He broadened and enriched the tonal colours of No 5 Adagio Sostenuto as we felt the barcarolle form, enjoying a heartfelt aria-like melody and textures that conjured up a panoramic vista. No 6 Maestoso was a triumphant closing piece where robust, dense textures resounded fully down in the oceanic depths of the Steinway grand. Surging pulses and a powerful ebb and flow of expression were sensitively controlled yet powerfully striking. A final descending chromatic motive was repeated with a tragic, almost desperate acknowledgement of this great composer’s soul.

Lasting just under thirty minutes, Munro’s three-movement Piano Sonata No 2is a highly captivating and epic work. In his words, his sonata “deliberately follows in the footsteps of Prokofiev and Shostakovich, as an homage to them and to the Russian musical tradition which shaped his musical development”. Subtitled Moscow – 1986, this work embodies Munro’s respect for the greatness of Russian musical history, and his lasting memories of visiting Moscow as a young pianist.

The intriguing first movement Allegro Nervosa was indeed a brilliantly constructed testament, and listeners would enjoy and smile at the flavours of Rachmaninoff’s architecture and perhaps Beethoven’s Appassionata sonata, with brisk arpeggiated patterns and dramatic harmony being set into a modern framework. Melodic fragments developed into a dynamic 7-time chordal section, followed by clever derivatives of primary themes building into a heroic march. Many dazzling episodes explored extreme upper and lower regions of sound, before descending to a surprising and abrupt ending, lost in profound bass notes. We were left begging for more. Following a gentle, chordal fanfare in the introductory bars, the triplet rhythm of Largo took us briefly to a modern, barcarolle style. A surprising explosion of insistent dotted rhythms built up a new energy and tempo, until elegant Romantic melodies were broadened with expressive tender and reflective qualities. Schubertian shades of military motifs added colourful marching elements to precise and individual voices in an exciting Fugue a 4 for the third and final movement. Textures and momentum developed into an intense and furious explosion as orchestral timbres and percussive chords reached their finality in a single defiant and echoing cluster of sound. Rest, hope and spiritual resolution came with a coda of gentle high-pitched fragments and soft melodic simplicity.

Being able to re-watch the performance multiple times through streaming, added much enjoyment of this epic work and confirmed highest acclaim for Ian Munro.

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Julie McErlain reviewed Ian Munros’s piano recital, presented as part of the Great Performers 2021 series and streamed in collaboration with Melbourne Digital Concert Hall from the Melbourne Recital Centre on June 16, 2021.

The “Organs of the Ballarat Goldfields” Festival of Fine Music has been a highly successful and important facet of Victoria’s musical life. Since 1996, international guests and highly renowned Australian musicians have showcased the heritage of buildings and the unique sound of wonderful pipe organs in that very popular 9- day festival. In our uncertain global climate, an alternate Ballarat Heritage Festival recently offered a broad and creative artistic program spanning twenty-four days in May.

Following a thirty year career as organist and music director at Toorak Uniting Church, with a subsequent lecturing and research fellowship position in UPSI University Malaysia, Dr Andrew Blackburn has made a welcome return to performing in Australia. He has made a significant mark on creative organ performance, research, and recording with live electronic sound processing, and has always curated unique recital programs. In a most elegant and historically significant bluestone church, this recital was a fascinating program of European music composed around the time the St Peter’s pipe organ was built (1929), with the inclusion of two contemporary organ works by well known local composers who deservedly have a place in Ballarat’s heritage.

Although Vaughan Williams wrote little music for solo organ, 3 preludes on Welsh Hymns (1920) suitably introduced the tone and traditional settings of this instrument with varied orchestration and treatment of hymn verses and its softer, spiritual and ethereal qualities. Blackburn added a free improvisatory introduction and brought out fantasy like florid passages in the accompaniment surrounding the simple verse structure of Bryn Calfaria. The well known and sweet, lyrical Rhosymedre, played at Vaughan Williams’ funeral in 1956, revealed lovely bass melodic lines under the principal melodies, with the final verse being very soft, distant and heavenly. The chorale melody Hyfrydol was given more textured orchestrations, with Blackburn demonstrating agile foot pedalling with continuous walking bass lines, moving forwards and so avoiding what can become a heavy and formidable density in traditional hymn practice.

It was wonderful to hear one of the most popular and best known of the Preludes & Fugues by French organ virtuoso and prolific composer, Marcel Dupré. Originally written in 1914, Op 3 No 7 was not published until 1920, as Dupré’s teacher, Widor, considered the work to be “unplayable”, and his publisher also thought the work was “way too difficult”. Blackburn performed both pieces with admirable ease. The Prelude is a captivating piece where a beautiful plainsong melody in the lower part strongly and gently permeates the stillness of the church beneath repetitive, ceaseless shifting upper patterns. Brilliant yet calming. The contrasting dotted rhythms of the Fugue dominated in all voices as they grew with increased dynamics and galloped into the fray.

Ron Nagorcka loved exploring the natural world in the Western District, often using his recordings of birdsong as the basis for his compositions. Zygodactyl Dance, originally written for harpsichord then revised for organ, introduced delicate, quirky and irregular motives with fragmented rhythms. With a section of contrasting high and low lines, we could imagine two birds dancing, searching hither and thither.

Composer Ros Bonighton was very much a Ballarat person, being parish organist and music director of St John’s Church at Soldier’s Hill. Her Toccato-Scherzo is a tightly structured and tonally flowing work, with short scale segments and repeated tonal patterns taking the journey towards assertive sustained chords. A final coda section was full of theatrical bravado and stage presence.

From his childhood days, Messiaen was fascinated by sacred scripture, prefacing his 9 Méditations – La Nativité du Seigneur with reflective texts. His work also reveals his personal feeling for the colours of stained glass windows, as evidenced by his shining orchestrations. With twenty-four stained glass windows, designed by artists and makers from 1877-1983, St Peter’s Church was a fine venue for Messiaen’s music, and his favourite window piece, the Rose design, is today, also a principal feature in this particular building. Musically intriguing is Messiaen’s interest in the meters and rhythms of ancient Greece and India, along with birdsong and inventions of his own scale patterns. Meditation No 2 – Les Bergers was played with sensitivity and gentle control, hypnotic and unhurried, as slightly syncopated pulses developed into two complex rhythmic voices walking a jagged path together. A wider exploration was felt in the cosmic, almost free-time sonic exploration of sounds in No 3 – Dessiens Eternels, where astonishingly, a passing motorbike timed its noisy presence quite by accident, or by the grace of God, adding improvised tonal colour and blend in a most unoffensive and surprising way. The work resolved beautifully in a subterranean register.

Blackburn’s grande finale was a well-chosen tour de force in organ repertoire – Henri Mulet’s Tu es Petra – a brilliant toccata referenced by the biblical text “Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church”. A whirlwind of continuous high patterns given sharp, steely timbres seemed to be in combat with independent piercing bass lines, all developing into a climactic and devilishly difficult dance, with a triumphant major key resting place. Great demands are placed on the performer here.

There was much applause for this challenging and varied program.

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Julie McErlain reviewed the Organ Concert by Andrew Blackburn’s, presented as part of Ballarat Heritage Festival at St Peter’s Anglican Church on May 22,2021.

Antony Pitts directed the combined forces of The Song Company and The Choir of Trinity College in the comfortable amphitheatrical surrounds of St Michael’s Uniting Church, Collins Street, Melbourne. The program tours to Sydney (May 28 & 29) and Canberra (June 10), where other partner ensembles join The Song Company.

“There will be much repetition, but there will be much joy” was the conductor’s introductory message. But this concert was also notable for its wonderful programming and fine singing – an a cappella feast, unbroken for almost 90 minutes. The intriguing title may have been a bit enigmatic at first glance, but not once you applied the musical meaning of burden (chorus/refrain, or its cousin bourdon/ground bass/cantus firmus). The program brilliantly drew together many ideas related to chorus and repetition, and yes, even truth. In a hugely satisfying way the program itself was a piece of contrapuntal construction – multiple and transformed appearances of the same theme or motive.

The twelve-voice Song Company began proceedings with a sturdily confident performance of James M Black’s gospel hymn His Love Never Failed Me Yet. In all its four-square nineteenth century gospel style, the sound tantalisingly close to the audience, though sung from the back of the church.  We soon realised that it is a version of this song which forms the cantus firmus (the “burden”) for Gavin Bryars’ Jesus’ Blood Never Failed Me Yet, to come later in the program.

Almost without pause we heard a slow giving out of the chant from Wylkynson’s Jesus autem transiens, solemnly hummed as Song Company choristers processed to the sanctuary, melded and rearranged themselves among groups of Trinity College choristers. This was our first glimpse of the “fractal” physical reassembling that was an integral feature of the whole performance.

The sung text of theplainchant was gradually added to the nine-note melody, giving us a foretaste of the “burden” of the second large scale work to come.  As this melody was repeated higher in unison by the full choir a few of the younger basses disconcertingly dropped down the octave in the plainsong’s upper reaches, but the overall effect was magisterial. These two ‘introductions’ quite brilliantly served as an aural taster for both Jesus’ blood and Transiens.

A superbly balanced rendition of William Byrd’s Ave verum corpus was included, as the program note usefully reminded us, especially for its meltingly beautiful repeated final phrases “O dulcis, O pie, O Jesu fili Mariae”. The choir responded impressively to the challenge.

Alas, it was during the singing of this glorious motet one realised that we were without the full bloom of a resonant acoustic, as fitted carpet covers the whole floor of the congregational amphitheatre and sanctuary area. Indeed many times during the course of the concert I pined for the acoustic of a Trinity College Chapel – or anywhere for that matter without the grey Axminster.

As choristers seamlessly rearranged and regrouped we prepared for world premiere performances of the major works.

Gavin Bryars’ Jesus Blood Never Failed Me Yet first appeared in 1971 after he heard and recorded a homeless man singing a half-remembered fragment of the earlier gospel song. Originally, Bryars had made the first 13-bar section into a tape loop and added a simple accompaniment for instrumental ensemble to form “a support to the old man’s voice, respecting its dignified humanity and simple faith …an understated testimony to his optimistic spirit”. The Jesus’ Blood we were to hear was the world premiere of Gavin Bryars’ new version of the work for unaccompanied voices made especially for the Song Company.

A barely heard loop of the old man’s singing began faintly, but as it grew the choir began to support it, providing wordless harmonies to the texture. I was transported back to the first time I heard this work, on radio in the 1980s, transfixed by Bryars’ earlier (I think) string accompaniment. In the new setting, as the old man’s tremulous tune seemingly endlessly repeats, the a cappella voices accompany, harmonise and embellish the phrases. Gradually voices in counterpoint expand into the space: humming becomes vowels, lengthen into words, become phrases in canon, become riffs on phrases taken up by newer smaller groups which have formed. The aural counterpoint is impressively mirrored in the visual reforming of smaller into larger groups and vice versa. Even the abstract concepts of “augmentation” and “diminution”, first heard of in music lectures long ago, was made real in our eyes and ears. The aural pleasures increased as the work developed and grew – just as Percy Grainger fleshed out simple folk tunes into Edwardian extravagance.

Most impressively, the choir maintained its musical and physical dignity as it moved; we revelled in pitch and rhythmic accuracy throughout, even during the more complex regroupings. Not easy when the choristers in an Escher-like arrangement, are moving gracefully up and down concealed stairs to and from the galleries above, and reforming into groups using the entire sanctuary space. The choreography itself thus became a sort of counterpoint. Combined, the visual and musical effect was mesmerising.

What did I love? Some thrilling moments of soaring descanty sopranos; a lovely duet between individual voices; moments of rich Grainger-like harmonies; the inspired use of space as singers moved from sanctuary to gallery in lines or groups; the final wind-down into a vocal quintet then to a single voice in the sanctuary as the rest of the choir spread itself wordlessly like angelic sentinels in the galleries.

Overwhelmingly, I had a recollected sense of the enormous pleasure of voices singing together. I was moved as a real sense of joy flooded the amphitheatre, the old man’s voice continuing as a cantus firmus while the shifting groupings and vocal textures grew and evolved.  One felt that the full glory of choral singing was being revealed.

As a companion piece to the Bryars’ work, Antony Pitts’ Transiens is an outstanding accomplishment. He has based his substantial piece on the plainchant melody Jesus autem transiens used in Robert Wylkynson’s 13-part canon on the Apostles’ Creed, as it is found in the Eton Choirbook. Not to be outdone, Pitts’ Transiens expands this to 25 voice parts, one always being the cantus firmus. This chant or ground is always apparent somewhere in the polychoral texture; we are somehow always aware of it, whether sparsely “harmonised” or otherwise elaborated by other voices. The outer two sections of Transiens revealed themselves to be a fantasia on a series of canons, which, like the Wylkynson original, focus on the twelve phrases of a much older confession of faith – the Apostles’ Creed. In the midst of all the music the Latin text of the Creed was only occasionally to be heard clearly, but it did not really matter. The evolving textures created by the counterpoint and the resulting harmonies again reinforced the joy of singing for its own sake.  Pitts’ inspiration for the middle section of his “triptych” is in fact the Book of Revelation’s 24 elders singing their “new song” around the throne of the Lamb. Every one of the 25 Trinity and Song Company voices joined here in exultant and heavenly song – a rich paean.

Later, a triumphant unison chant made for another change. Thereafter, entrancing moments of vocal expression – melismas, very high notes, cheeky rhythms, “odd” notes in chords, the men’s voices suddenly singing disjunctively, and even solo voices. Finally and movingly, towards the end, as if in homage to Gavin Bryars’ old man of simple faith, the full choir reminded us in unison of the melody of his burden, Jesus’ blood never failed me yet …

The “repetition” to which were alerted at the beginning of the concert turned out to be the source of this concert’s many joys. In Transiens Antony Pitts has developed nine notes of a chant into a creation of “infinite variety”, and we feel at one with all the life forms in the universe. Even such a thing as the melody of a simple confession of faith can be reworked by a composer and fine voices into something “sufficient, beautiful, even glorious”.

Pitts conducted his piece with authority, marshalling his charges confidently, giving clear cues for the complex music and associated movements. In full voice the choirs’ combined sound was generous and exciting, despite the unfortunately carpeted space. Occasionally, some individual entries of the less mature voices were rendered almost inaudible by the same slightly muted acoustic. But I left with overwhelming gratitude for the musical art which makes for the glorious out of simplicity. The joy of excellent voices singing beautifully together hasn’t failed us yet!

Photo supplied.

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Bruce Macrae reviewed “Burden of Truth”, performed by The Song Company at St Michael’s Uniting Church, Melbourne on May 21, 2021.

“A concert full of miniature masterpieces” is how Rick Prakhoff, the conductor of Melbourne Bach Chamber Choir, described the program for their concert, and that is what we got. In the resonant acoustic and attractive architecture of St. Andrew’s Anglican Church in Brighton we were served up an hour of beautiful music.

The concert began with three motets by Bruckner, who was renowned for writing huge works but was also a master of small works such as these. First was that beautiful motet “Locus iste” which was a suitable start to the program with its meaning of “This place was made by God”. The four-part sound of the choir, especially in soft passages, was exquisite and greatly helped by the acoustic of the church. In the following piece, the motet “Christus factus est”, the men were very strong and the whole choir again produced beautiful soft singing. Interesting key changes were handled very well. In Bruckner’s “Ave Maria” the soprano-alto entries, followed by the tenors and basses echoing them, were held together cleanly and the four-part singing was more successfully balanced by this time. I had goose bumps on the first entry at “ora pro nobis” as the harmony was so beautiful.

Next, the choir performed J.S.Bach’s “Christ ist erstanden”. They were accompanied by Don Immel, Joshua Dulfer, Jessica Gilham and James Farrough on trombone, which gave the sound a round richness that so suits church music. It seemed to be quite a Romantic reading of the Bach piece, but was most enjoyable.

Dr.Calvin Bowman, who is now the Music Director at St. Andrew’s, followed the sung “Christ ist erstanden” with the organ chorale prelude of the same name. After the warmth and relative softness of the choral sound, the organ at full volume was a huge contrast. Having heard so many organ concerts at this church given by Thomas Heywood in past years, it was wonderful to hear the War Memorial Grand Organ again. Dr. Bowman used the foundation-rumbling full-length wooden reed stop – the 32-foot Contra Bombarde, during the playing of the chorale prelude. The organ is in great need of restoration and the church currently has a fund-raiser to pay for the needed work. Perhaps readers of Classic Melbourne might consider a donation to the fund. There were occasions throughout the concert when some organ notes were definitely out of tune but Dr.Bowman is a Master organist and managed to tame the huge beast and show it to its best advantage.

Four trombone “Aequale” pieces followed – three by Beethoven with four players, and one by Bruckner with three players. Mr.Prakhoff told us that “Aequale”, roughly meaning “equal parts”, were played in churches and at funerals “as they could walk and play at the same time”. The trombonists produced a beautifully mellow tone that suited the church’s acoustics perfectly. There was a build-up of tension in the pieces, then a soft and gentle resolution throughout. There were interesting changes from major to minor in the third Aequale and almost Pastoral-sounding imitation between the instruments. The Bruckner piece was short and definitely not sweet – quite a different contrast to the Beethoven. It was a strange interweaving of happy/sad, major/minor, and harmonic clashes/resolutions and was conducted by Don Immel, the leader of the trombone quartet and currently Associate Director (Performances) for the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music. It was very short and I would have liked to hear it again.

Brahms is another composer who is well known for writing huge works, but he was also a master of the small form. His Geistliches Lied Op.30 for choir and organ was well sung with the organ part weaving around the singers. The Amen was gorgeous, as promised by the conductor, with a full vocal and organ sound.

Dr.Calvin Bowman is a prolific composer and three of his works were performed for the first time at this concert. His “Ave Maria” opened with a lovely sopranos and altos entry, followed by the whole choir. An effective key change followed and the soft singing at “et Benedictus” was well balanced. The ladies produced a clear, open sound that was reminiscent of the sound of an English cathedral choir. The mystery of “Sancta Maria, mater Dei” was expressed in harmonic changes, and the re-entry of the ladies’ voices, as at the beginning of the piece, gave a unified, fresh sound to the whole. “Regina caeli” started with the whole choir singing forte and had quite a different harmonic structure to the “Ave Maria”. The timing of the repeated “Alleluias” gave the choir some trouble. Dr.Bowman wrote in the program that his writing of the two motets was “redolent of my love of the choral music of Poulenc”. The clarity of his compositions is certainly reminiscent of Poulenc’s choral music so perhaps the ladies’ sound was more like that of a French cathedral choir.

Dr.Bowman followed his own compositions with another Bach Chorale prelude on organ, and although his playing was flawless, the organ did let him down.

Dr.Bowman’s “Pater Noster” was a delightful finish to an enjoyable concert. It was written in 2020 when nobody knew when choirs would be allowed to perform again, so it was written with the idea that the singers would be spread out around the church. The ladies were accompanied by the organ and the men by the trombones. At this concert Mr.Prakhoff said that the choir was delighted to be standing together! The choral writing is divided into two choirs of four parts each. The “Pater Noster” had that sound that you want and expect in a church. Angelic female voices, robust trombones, full organ, a short male solo, and a full choral sound. I very much look forward to hearing Dr.Bowman’s three pieces again.

I have heard other Choral concerts at this venue and would suggest that at their next concert the singers in Melbourne Bach Chamber Choir stand on risers so that their sound is better projected. I could not see all the singers as they were standing on the floor, and being in line with the tenors meant that their sound was often loudest. Although there were only seven of them (that constant bug-bear of amateur choirs – we need more tenors!! – they sang very strongly and clearly. In fact the acoustic of the church really favoured the tenors.

After last year when all choirs had to stop rehearsing and performing, it was so good to see amateur musicians back together making music. People have such a strong need to sing together in so many different styles of choirs. I did not think that people would return to their choirs after such a long time away, but they have!

The concert was live-streamed so many more people than those in the almost packed church were able to enjoy the Melbourne Bach Chamber Choir’s concert.

Photo supplied.

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Jennifer Turner reviewed “Bach to Bowman”, performed by the Melbourne Bach Chamber Choir at St Andrew’s Anglican Church, Brighton on May 22, 2021.