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Troubleshooter - Views and Reviews
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Drama, intensity and power held in check Christchurch City Choir
Saturday 7 December 2024 – Christchurch Town Hall Sarah-Jane Rennie – Soprano; Catrin Johnsson – Mezzo Soprano; Patrick Power – Tenor; Samuel McKeever – Bass Christchurch Symphony Orchestra Conductor: John Linker As the first notes of the Overture emerged from the orchestra I was struck by a sense of awe and anticipation as we were about to experience Handel’s great masterpiece. Although I’m a late starter in appreciating Handel’s genius, he has now become one of my favourite composers. Beethoven considered him to be ‘the greatest composer of all time’, and Messiah has certainly become one of, if not ‘the’, most-performed works in the history of music. While Handel’s forty-two operas sank into oblivion, not a single one being performed for 150 years after his death, and his thirty-or-so other oratorios fairing almost as badly, Messiah survived, thrived and conquered the world. And, although his other stage works are now frequently performed and recorded, Messiah remains at the forefront of the Handel revival. To a large extent tonight’s Christchurch City Choir performance realised the greatness of Handel’s creation with superbly refined singing from the choir and more than serviceable performances from the soloists. But the star of this performance was the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra with playing of consistent vitality, attention to detail and finesse. Thomas Eve’s solo trumpet in the Hallelujah Chorus deserves special mention for its flair, nuance, musicianship and dynamic contrast – a true highlight of the evening. The strings’ unwavering tonal splendour and Grant Bartley’s sparkling harpsichord contribution were the foundation of the performance, with oboe, bassoon, timpani and organ providing additional colour and contrast throughout the work’s duration. While the vocal soloists were variable, the men certainly shone in their share of the arias. Patrick Power’s professional singing career must have surpassed fifty years by now, but his firmness of tone and easy projection of appealing tone-quality remain intact. If the voice didn’t always respond exactly as he might have wished, his sense of musical line and dramatic storytelling became an increasingly welcome feature of the performance. Samuel McKeever’s big, comfortable bass sound sometimes blurred tonality and melodic shape, but his open-hearted presentation of recitatives was a notable strength. Sarah-Jane Rennie’s focused soprano added variety to the vocal line-up without quite communicating the poise and emotional punch of her solos, while Catrin Johnsson’s warm-toned mezzo was far too under-powered and tonally inconsistent to realise the heart-rending pathos of her great Part II aria He was Despised. But this was primarily a Christchurch City Choir event in the tradition of the English choral societies which developed on the heels of Handel’s oratorios, especially Messiah. Tonight, however, we returned to something closer to the expressive intimacy of Handel’s own time. The choir’s opening chorus And the Glory of the Lord was an uplifting start to their contribution. However, by the time we reached their next turn, And He Shall Purify, a sense of well-trained and fine-toned restraint seemed to have taken over so that the drama and storytelling failed to register. The same was the case later in For Unto Us a Child is Born, where the joy and excitement of lines like “and His Name shall be called wonderful, councillor” conveyed a rather subdued sense of awe and wonder or, as W. S. Gilbert might have said, “modified rapture”. After the interval, in Part II, the choir seemed to have revived its spirits somewhat, so that the opening Behold the Lamb of God had some real drama which carried through to the three successive choruses culminating in the dancing and delightful All We Like Sheep. The great Hallelujah! chorus was magnificent and, although the performers were suddenly hidden from my view by the tiresomely distracting tradition of the audience in front of me standing, I revelled in the radiance of the choral and orchestral sound and in Handel’s gloriously uplifting layers of joy and exultation. In his introduction in the programme notes, conductor John Linker talks about his choir looking forward to “an opportunity to refine this work further and produce even greater artistic expression.” ‘Refinement’ was definitely achieved throughout the evening by both choir and orchestra. Linker directed his forces with clarity and nuanced shaping of phrase and dynamic contrast. For me, though, it was perhaps somewhat too controlled and shaped. It wasn’t until we reached the final peroration of the Amen chorus (starting with just the soloists – a variant that I’m not familiar with) that Linker encouraged his singers to give us, as Francis Yapp’s programme note promised us, “drama, intensity, and power”. And that, predictably, brought the audience to its feet. I’m glad that Messiah remains a staple of pre-Christmas music-making in Christchurch and, although it’s a very long time since I last attended a live performance of this great work, I’m grateful for the opportunity of experiencing tonight’s reunion.
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 Conductor: Benjamin Northey
Anna Leese – Soprano Lili Boulanger – D'un soir triste (Of a Sad Evening) Barber – Knoxville: Summer of 1915 Mahler – Symphony No. 4 in G Major Performances to admire rather than to rejoice in ‘Restraint’ was the overall approach to this programme and despite the care over detail and the refined attention to balance, dynamics, phrasing and timbre, I longed for more abandon, more expressive freedom and . . . well – more risk. But with RNZ microphones very much in evidence, I suppose risk was off the table. Although the programme notes talk about Lili Boulanger’s originality and depth of expressive feeling, tonight’s performance of her D'un soir triste conveyed more self-contained tastefulness than anything more deeply emotional. The composer uses an exceptionally large orchestra, and the use of low brass and wind sometimes communicated an element of introspective brooding, if not quite with the individuality and personality that can be found in her contemporaries such as Debussy or Fauré. D'un soir triste is certainly an appealing work; its harmonic exoticism (including hints of orientalism) and variety of orchestral colour made it an enticing and innovative opening to tonight’s concert. Samuel Barber’s wonderfully nostalgic Knoxville: Summer of 1915 of 1948, using a text by American poet James Agee, is among the greatest of American masterpieces and, in my view, among the finest works of the twentieth century. There’s something quintessentially and indefinably American about its evocative opening on wind instruments and its lilting, rocking-chair, rhythm. But the airy freedom of expression this music needs seemed too contained and careful. There was a notable lack of contrasting drama in the orchestral transition to the ‘Streetcar’ section, which was then reflected in soprano, Anna Leese’s restrained projection. What is it about solo voices in this acoustic? Well, at least some voices. Anna Leese’s projection tended to be swallowed by the vastness of the space, resulting in a certain lack of focus, especially in her many expressive softer dynamics. A quiet flute or cor anglais solo seemed able to cut through the texture in a way the voice could not. One of my favourite passages in this glorious work is the return to sentiments of nostalgia when the singer describes lying on quilts “on the rough wet grass”, but contrasts between the more dramatic moments and the homesick wistfulness of other sections tended to be smoothed out rather than highlighted. The singer’s involvement in the musical expression and responsive engagement with the text were always in evidence, but I missed the open-hearted childlike rapture that the composer surely intended at lines such as “One is my mother who is good to me”; and then, the following dramatic climax at “By some chance, here they are, all on this earth” went for too little. The final movement of Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 requires the same childlike wonder from the singer. And here Anna Leese’s expressive projection bloomed. Her flowing legato and full-bodied vocal tone remained intact even in the most intimate episodes. And the rapture that I missed in the Barber was fully and ecstatically evident when “Saint Ursula laughs” [to see eleven thousand maidens dancing] near the end of the movement. In that final movement, at last conductor Benjamin Northey allowed the orchestra a slightly longer leash, although his focus was otherwise on subtlety and refinement and, to both his and the orchestra’s credit, those qualities were present in abundance. In fact, the detail was astonishing with every minute gradation of dynamics and balance fully realised. String portamenti and articulation were judged to an impressive nicety, while the huge variety of range and timbre that Mahler asks of the horns in the unusual (for Mahler) absence of trombones and tuba, was simply phenomenal. Fearlessly led by Emma Eden, the whole horn section added tremendous colour and drama to the performance. Wind and percussion also played with considerable finesse with Ashleigh Mowbray’s cor anglais solos standing out with genuine personality. But, while this was a performance of superb technical accomplishment, it was a one to admire rather than to rejoice in. The deliberately paced opening movement failed to sparkle and, while ‘Deliberate’ is the composer’s own instruction, I feel that he means it in its purposeful sense rather than its ponderous connotation. In the same way, the second movement seemed to resist wanting to dance, so that even Justine Cormack’s finely played scordatura violin solo failed to fully express the country-dance effect that Mahler wanted. And, if the great adagio movement that followed exhibited similar care and control, its final overwhelming climax brought an emotional charge that justified the restraint that preceded it. So, if these performances didn’t always excite and elevate in the way they ideally should, there was much to admire, and Benjamin Northey certainly achieved some finely-honed playing from his orchestra. See also abridged version in The Press |
AuthorTony Ryan has reviewed Christchurch concerts, opera and music theatre productions and many other theatre performances since the mid 1990s. ReviewsTony has presented live and written radio reviews of numerous concerts, opera and other musical events for RNZ Concert for many years. An archive of these reviews can be found at Radio New Zealand - Upbeat
His reviews of opera, music & straight theatre and numerous reviews of buskers and comedy festival performances are available at Theatreview. An archive of Tony’s chamber music reviews is held at Christopher’s Classics He has also reviewed for The Press (Christchurch). Links to Tony's Press reviews are listed below: 2024 Toi Toi Opera - A Christmas Carol Christchurch City Choir - Messiah Christchurc Symphony Orchestra - Mahler Symphony No. 4 Songs for Helen – Music by Chris Adams 2022 A Barber and Bernstein Double Bill – Toi Toi Opera The Strangest of Angels – NZOpera Will King (Baritone) and David Codd (Piano) – Christopher's Classics 2019 Ars Acustica – Free Theatre Truly Madly Baroque – Red Priest The Mousetrap – Lunchbox Theatre Iconoclasts – cLoud Last Night of the Proms – CSO 2018 An Evening with Simon O’Neill NZSO Catch Me If You Can – Blackboard Theatre Brothers in Arms – CSO Fear and Courage – CSO Sin City – CSO Don Giovanni – Narropera at Lansdowne Mad Hatter’s Tea Party – Funatorium Weave – NZTrio Tosca – NZ Opera 2017 Sister Act – Showbiz Broadway to West End – Theatre Royal Chicago – Court Theatre Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 5 – CSO Homage – CSO Last Night of the Proms – CSO SOAR – NZTrio Pianomania – NZSO Rogers & Hammerstein – Showbiz Songs for Nobodies – Ali Harper The Beauty of Baroque – CSO Travels in Italy – NZSO Archives
December 2024
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