Choir and orchestra

Press, 4 July 1983, Page 8

Choir and orchestra

Royal Christchurch Musical Society, Christchurch Youth Orchestra, first subscription concert, Town Hall, July 2. Reviewed by Margaret Buchanan.

The bitter winter conditions certainly restricted the size of the audience on Saturday evening and probably took some of the heat out of the performers as well.

Shostakovich's “Festival Overture” broke the ice well enough and was given a refreshingly committed performance by the city’s top youth orchestra. The second theme slid about alarmingly at times but generally the performance was held together competently by the conductor, Peter Zwartz.

Mozart’s Mass in C, the “Coronation Mass” (K 317 perhaps the most popular of the Salzburg Masses, featured four soloists: Patricia Middleton, Anne Price, Peter Williams, and Howard Harvey. The opening Kyrie impressed with the vigour and accuracy of attack and diction by the choir, under the experienced baton of Robert Field-Dodgson, but the Gloria which followed was not so well co-ordinated — the entries lacked discipline in important spots, the Laudamuste, for example. Tempi took a while to settle down on more than one occasion, although the Youth Orchestra never seemed to lack the ability 4

to play with efficient technique. The credo, however, featured some very lovely moments, especially the Et homo factus est, where the choir displayed its ability to sing with accurate diction, and follow dynamics sensitively. A nervous oboe in the woodwind faltered in a heart-stopping moment here, but otherwise the instrumental accompaniment was adequate. The vocal quartet, Benedictus, was better, being spoiled only by the accompanying ensemble that was neither comfortable in intonation nor phrasing. Patricia Middleton impressed with her contribution as the soprano soloist. Both in the Benedictus and the Agnus Dei she gave the audience and ensemble the proof that she is capable of both a musical and professional performance. Howard Harvey appeared to be assured and proficient as the bass, but Anne Price and Peter Williams needed to project their voices with more confidence to balance the quartet. Peter Sculthorpe’s “Port Essington” is an interesting piece of programme music. It depicts the attempted settlement and resettlement of the port in Australia's Northern Territory, 150 years aago. The bizarre combination of Victorian music superimposd on Pen-derecki-type sound effects was thought-provoking yet

irritating. Oil was poured on troubled waters by the gorgeous tones of the young cellist, Rowan Prior, who once again played Max Bruch’s “Koi Nidrei” for cello and orchestra. This Romany-type rhapsody was given a warm, expressive, and committed performance.

The choir excelled in Tchaikovsky’s “Three Motets” which were sung in English and displayed commendable accuracy of intonation, beautifully controlled dynamics, and some of the best pianissimos I have heard sung by a choir in the Town Hal’.. The only section that was not successful in blending its tone together was the sopranos. Leonard Bernstein’s “Chichester Psalms” should have been the highlight of the programme but that had already been achieved in the motets. However, the beautiful second section, Psalm 23, contains some serene passages which were performed adequately enough. The fragility of the treble, Michael Hlavac, had me crossing my fingers, but he was sympathetically supported by the conductor, and a very sensitive pianist. Another feature was the great battery of percussion that generally held its act together very accurately and helped warm things up before the audience once again braved the cold.