New soloist for ‘St Matthew’

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32562, 23 March 1971, Page 11

New soloist for ‘St Matthew’

The Christchurch choral season will open next Tuesday, when the Royal Christchurch Musical Society will

present its annual performance of Bach’s “St i' Matthew Passion” in Christchurch Cathedral.

This will be the t eighteenth performance in a series which began i in 1954. It will also be the seventh performance in the Cathedral. 1: - The success of a perform- £- knee of “St Matthew Pas- • aion” depends very much on the singers who take the parts of the Evangelist and the Christus, and the society < has been very well served in * this respect tn the last few

*' years. This year, as well as the -faithful Grant Dickson, who each year brings a warmth and spiritual insight to the ;-iole of Christus, the society -'will have an Evangelist who '.has sung ths role with the •famous Bach Choir in Lon- < don's Royal Festival Hall. He

iis Philip Todd, now of Auckland. Philip Todd was bom in Huddersfield, Yorkshire, home of a very famous choral society. At the age of 16 he won an Associated Board scholarship for piano, tenable at the

i Royal Academy of Music in ■ London, where he studied piano and singing for four i years. Because the world of the concert pianist appeared overcrowded he took up singing, and among his tutors have been the world famous tenor Peter Pears, Roy Henderson (the teacher of the late Kathleen Ferrier), and Helene Isepp, whose pupils include Janet Baker, and the Christchurch soprano, Heather Taylor. Philip Todd made his London debut as the Evangelist jin Bach’s “Christmas Ora■torio” with the London Bach Choir under Dr Reginald Jacques in the Royal Albert Hall.

In 1964 he became a member of the Deller Consort, and went on the first tour of Australia by that group. He returned on the second tour of Australia and New Zealand in 1967, and so liked what he saw of New Zealand that he took up a position at Auckland University as teacher of singing in the music faculty. In the three years that he has been in New Zealand he has made two country-wide tours for the Chamber Music Federation. He has also appeared with a number of societies, both

■ in New Zealand and in Australia. However, this will be i his first appearance with one , of the Christchurch choirs. > Grant Dickson has sung the Christus in every peri formance in the Cathedral. • This will be an important; : year for him, because he will accompany the society when it goes to Australia and will appear as soloist in its Syd-: ney and Melbourne concerts. He will be the bass soloist in the Verdi “Requiem” and the Mozart C minor Mass in Sydney, and in Beethoven’s “Missa Solemnis" in Melbourne. He will also appear for the Australian Broadcasting Commission in Brisbane. The other four soloists are all local singers who have appeared in previous “St Matthew Passion" performances. Heather Taylor, who sang in last year’s performance, will be making her fourth appearance in "St Matthew Passion” with the Society.

The contralto, Anthea Moller, last sang in "St Matthew Passion” in the 1969 performance. This will be her fourth performance of the work with the society. The tenor, Neil Thompson, and the bass, Cornelius Pekelharing, have both appeared on one previous occasion—two years ago. The part of the Evangelist is accompanied on the harpsichord, and this will again be played by the society’s accompanist, Wallace Woodley. The rest of the accompaniment is written for strings, flute and oboe and will be provided by the Civic Orchestra, led by Louis Yffer.

The choir of the Royal Musical Society now numbers nearly 250, though about 20 of these are on leave. There has been a large intake of new members since the society resumed practices at the beginning of February, and this could pose some problems in seating on the limited staging of the Cathedral. The performance will be directed by the society’s conductor, Robert Field-Dodg-son, who has conducted every performance of “St Matthew ’assion” by the society since 1954, with the exception of that in 1957, when he was overseas.