Day: 5 December 2010

Bach Choir returns to homeland in visual and aural feast

Posted on by Rosemary Collier

Bach: Jesu meine Freude, BWV 227; Orchestral Suite no.3, in D, BWV 1068; Magnificat in D, BWV 243

Bach Choir, Janey MacKenzie, Lisette Wesseling (sopranos), Andrea Cochrane (contralto), John Beaglehole (tenor), David Morriss (bass), Chiesa Ensemble, Douglas Mews (organ, continuo), conducted by Stephen Rowley

Sacred Heart Cathedral

Sunday 5 December 2010, 3pm

A programme made up of three well-loved pieces by J.S. Bach was bound to please any lover of baroque music.

Jesu, meine Freude is unusually long, complex and varied for a motet. It is full of the most delicious settings of words, including extracts from Paul’s epistle to the Romans. The word-painting is just superb.

This performance did its beauties justice. After perusing the beautifully produced printed programme and looking in wonder at Stephen Rowley’s colourful garb (perhaps appropriate for Christmas) against the sombre black of the choir, one was hit with the splendid initial impact of the music.

Full-toned, meaningful singing and a fine accompaniment on chamber organ from Douglas Mews and a mainly trouble-free performance full of sensitivity and dynamic contrasts made for a most enjoyable and satisfying experience. The women particularly were splendid, with the men not far behind, though the intonation and entries were suspect at times. This choir suffers from the usual shortage of tenors; those they have at times, unfortunately, endeavoured to make up the shortfall with stridency of tone. Probably a somewhat smaller choir is better for this music.

Nevertheless it was a commendable performance; some dropping in pitch towards the end may have been due to tiredness, since this music is very demanding, with its varied moods an settings. Overall, it was a vibrant, joyful and inspiring performance of some of Bach’s most exquisite music.

The Suite was directed by Douglas Mews from the harpsichord, and featured an orchestra of approximately 21 players. I say approximately, because there were three trumpeters, but only one was identified in the printed programme. I suspect another was Danny Kirgan; the third may have been Tom Moyer.

The extended opening Ouverture was robust and quick; it was followed by the sublime Air for strings only, commonly known as ‘Air on the G string’. The brass returned for the dance movements. With much difficult music to play they were not always spot on, but in the main excellent.

Woodwind featured with delightfully floating phrases, and helped to make the whole amply rewarding.

This was not an original instrument orchestra, but one drawn mainly from the ranks of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. To be baroque in style required a greater lightness, and notes to be a little more separated, at least in this acoustic. Yet it was a joyful and enjoyable rendering of a work we hear too seldom. It was inspired to give the singers a rest with music such as this.

The Magnificat in D was an appropriate seasonal choice. As the programme note stated, in many ways this work anticipates the choruses of the Mass in B minor. The use of orchestra, organ, five soloists and chorus makes it of a similar large scale in terms of performers, if not of length and scope. There are no recitatives, allowing the Biblical words flow without interruption.

The words of the Magnificat, from St Lukes’ Gospel chapter one, are split into nine movements, alternating arias and choruses. The opening chorus ‘Magnificat anima mea Dominum’ is brilliant, firstly from orchestra and then from chorus. It is a splendid declamation, sung here with a good, strong sound. Lisette Wesserling sang the first aria ‘Et exsultavit’ without much expression, and a rather hard, piercing quality in the acoustics of this building. However, her vibrato-less tone would be regarded as suitable for sacred music of this period.

A second soprano aria immediately follows: ‘Quia respexit’, which was sung in excellent style by Janey MacKenzie, with feeling and expression. A lovely oboe featured in the orchestral accompaniment.

A hearty chorus is the fourth movement, ‘Omnes generationes’. The fast tempo and florid writing were managed very well. The bass aria ‘Quia fecit’ was accompanied by continuo only, giving a most attractive effect. Morriss’s tone rich and mellow, but his intonation a little suspect at the opening. This was the only contribution Bach allowed the bass,, but it was a fine one.

Next, the duet for alto and tenor with muted strings ‘Et misericordia’ is full of meditative phrases for both soloists. In this case, the tenor was a little too loud for the alto. A tenor voice will almost always stand out, so there was a need for John Beaglehole to modify his tone in order to blend and match his companion.

The chorus ‘Fecit potentiam’ is quite demanding with its florid writing contrasted with chordal statements. This performance was glorious.

John Beaglehole gave a very hearty rendition of ‘Deposuit potentes’, suitable to the subject of the putting down of the mighty from their seats, with a magnificent orchestral accompaniment.

The ninth movement was ‘Esurientes implevit’, and aria for alto. Its accompaniment was a magical flute duet; while Andrea Cochrane made a lovely job of this, her tone was a little light for the modern flutes. It would have been perfectly satisfactory with the wooden flutes of Bach’s time.

A beautiful, floating trio followed, for the three female voices: ‘Suscepit Israel’. To my mind this is the most beautiful part of the whole work, and the soloists’ treatment of it left little to be desired.

The final ‘Gloria’ began somewhat too legato, and was not as successful as the other choruses, but the orchestra was splendid, ending off in a triumphant manner a most worthwhile concert.

The Bach Choir’s performance was of much better quality than it was the last time I heard them. The church was nearly full, and the audience gave the choir, orchestra and soloists a very warm reception.


Wellington Chamber Orchestra, with pianist Claire Harris, plays Beethoven and Sibelius

Posted on by Lindis Taylor

Conductor:  Michael Joel with Claire Harris (piano)

Louise Webster: Learning to Nudge the Wind; Beethoven: Piano Concerto No 3 in C minor; Sibelius: Symphony No 2 in D, Op 43

St Andrew’s on The Terrace

Sunday 5 December 2.30pm

The last of the Wellington Chamber Orchestra’s 2010 concerts followed the normal pattern: Concerto in the first half, symphony in the second and something smaller, perhaps new or unusual to fill out the first half. Often scorned, it’s a recipe that survives because it works pretty well; after all it does not proscribe playing an obscure concerto and an avant-garde symphonic piece of some substance in the second half.

This concert began with a new piece that conductor Michael Joel had premiered in Auckland a few months ago with the St Matthew’s Chamber Orchestra. It could be described as a symphonic poem but could hardly be heard as a latter-day descriptive piece such as Strauss or Sibelius might have written.

Though her real job is in medicine, Louise Webster’s orchestral writing is by no means amateur. Though Auckland-based, she had childhood experiences in Wellington and had retained memories of the dramatic weather. She created a well-structured piece that was skilful and colourful, made excellent use of wind instruments to depict a violent storm, and strings for calmer interludes. Fading marimba notes suggested lightly falling raindrops. After a short pause a second tumultuous episode followed, creating a shapely structure that was emotionally satisfying; the calm phase at the end left a lingering feeling of unease.

An amateur orchestra can often bring off a work of this kind with reasonable conviction, because the audience has no template in mind and for the most part, its impact can be strong in spite of a less than immaculate performance. That was certainly the case here.

But it’s much more difficult to satisfy listeners in a thoroughly familiar work such as a Beethoven concerto. So the introduction of the concerto was a reminder of the character of the orchestra; the sound rather unvaried and loud, with little elasticity of rhythm. When the soloist entered her playing too seemed to be without much freedom, though she demonstrated her grasp of the music by drawing attention to the inner lines of the piano part. But the prevailing fortissimo in the orchestra may well have driven her to play under greater tension than she would have in a more accommodating environment.

The second movement was a different story; it was taken quite slowly and the piano’s spirit became meditative and thoughtful. Though there were several very good players in the section, the orchestral winds, in particular, seem disinclined to play softly.

One of the features that improved the sound generally was the placing of the orchestra on the floor of the church, in front of the steps leading to the sanctuary, It meant the brass and the timpani were not confined within the smaller space which amplifies their volume. The balance of the timpani, in front of the chamber organ, with other players was natural and very comfortably integrated.

The slow movement leads straight into the finale without pause. Straight away I was struck by the speed that Michael Joel adopted, which seemed at times to be faster than the Claire Harris wanted, for there were several moments when she seemed to be attempting to restrain the headlong pace. The slower sections of the Rondo however were quite admirable, the strings using light bow strokes along with well controlled staccato playing from the wind sections.

The larger orchestra, with triple woodwinds, four horns, three each of trumpets and trombones, plus tuba, was as prescribed for the Sibelius symphony; however, trumpets and trombones were placed at the back of the sanctuary and the usual problem of loudness emerged again (thank goodness the timpani remained on the floor). But the orchestra acquitted itself very well in this work; the impact at full throttle was often rather exciting, while there were some sensitive and attractive passages, particularly in the slow movement. It began with very seductive sounds from timpani, then plucked basses and cellos. If there were brass excesses again later in the slow movement, and in the scherzo and finale, they were outweighed by much fine string playing – I thought the cellos were particularly attractive. And after the entry of the famous ostinato-type tune that dominates the finale, Joel guided the build-up excellently, leaving the impression of a much more professional orchestra that harboured its forces to unleash an emotionally powerful climax at the end. The audience was thrilled and demanded the conductor’s return several times.