150 Years

City Choir: 150 Years in 2013

City Choir Dunedin acknowledge our history and our achievements while promoting Dunedin as a major cultural centre in New Zealand.

City Choir first entertained audiences 150 years ago. The Choir traces its origins back to the Dunedin Philharmonic Society, which gave its first public performance − Handel’s Messiah − on 24 December 1863. The name ‘Dunedin Choral Society’ was adopted in 1871, and is still in use as our title of incorporation. Over the years the Choir has performed under a number of other names and now performs as ‘City Choir Dunedin’. Read more about the Choir's history in this article by music historian Dr Jenny Burchell.

To mark the anniversary, we commissioned a new work from Christopher Marshall; entitled For What Can Be More Beautiful? , this was premièred in March. Partly inspired by the concurrent 150th anniversary of Dunedin Botanic Gardens, it is in two movements, the first a highly expressive setting of part of the Song of Songs, rich in garden imagery; the second a lively syncopated exposition of the merits of fruit trees. The new work presented challenges but brought huge rewards to the performers, and the audience received it with great enthusiasm. The full set of orchestral and choral scores are available for loan.

The Choir was delighted to perform the Verdi Requiem in Dunedin with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra during June 2013, and also toured to join forces with Auckland Choral, Orpheus Choir of Wellington and the Christchurch City Choir for the performances in the major centres. This invitation by the NZSO acknowledged not only the Choir’s 150th anniversary but also our inspirational and dedicated Musical Director, David Burchell.

Choral Masterpieces, conducted by David Burchell.    Photo credit: Pieter du Plessis

Labour Weekend (26 and 27 October) saw City Choir Dunedin in party mood as we commemorated 150 years with a reception, dinner, church service and the highlight, a gala evening of Choral Masterpieces, sung by an augmented Choir and accompanied by the Southern Sinfonia. We were delighted to welcome around 30 singers from all corners of New Zealand who joined the City Choir singers in this performance.

Congratulations

"Since the days of the Gold Rush, City Choir Dunedin has made an exceptional contribution to the musical life of the Otago region. From the Proms to Messiah, the Choir presents a rich and varied programme of choral music, beautifully performed. The Verdi Requiem with the NZSO earlier this year was a highlight for audiences nationwide and testament to the quality of the Choir. I congratulate everyone associated with City Choir Dunedin on reaching this very significant milestone."
 - Hon Christopher Finlayson, Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage

The City of Dunedin is incredibly proud of our City Choir. For 150 years, City Choir Dunedin has, in one or another incarnation, delighted audiences with its sublime musical offerings of master works from the choral repertoire. Not only does the Choir make a vast contribution to the rich cultural life of Dunedin, but it also provides opportunities for younger soloists to gain valuable performance experience as they embark upon their careers. Not many people know this, but City Choir Dunedin is the second-oldest choir in New Zealand, with the Auckland Choral Society being a little older. I congratulate City Choir Dunedin on its achievements over the past 150 years and wish it all the best for a bright future. If the accolades after the Choir’s recent tour with the NZSO are anything to go by, we can look forward to enjoying many more worldclass performances from City Choir Dunedin.
 - Dave Cull, Mayor of Dunedin

"As Vice-Chancellor of the University of Otago, I am delighted to have the role as Patron of City Choir Dunedin. The Choir has made a significant contribution to the musical heritage and rich cultural life of our community, and it continues to provide a platform for younger soloists to develop and excel. Over the years, many University staff have forged strong links with the Choir, and we look forward to the ongoing success of this wonderful organisation. I would like to congratulate the Choir on reaching this very significant milestone, and wish them all the best for the future."
 - Professor Harlene Hayne, ONZM, PhD, HonDSc, FRSNZ
Vice-Chancellor of the University of Otago

"Ngā mihi nui kia koutou katoa
Congratulations City Choir Dunedin on your 150th anniversary. You are one of New Zealand’s most illustrious performing arts organisations with a distinguished pedigree tracing back to the pioneering Dunedin Philharmonic Society and its first public performance, Handel’s Messiah, on Christmas Eve 1863. Yours is an extraordinary artistic journey in our young country. You have established a proud history of choral excellence in New Zealand which continues to develop and build from generation to generation. Long may it continue!
Best wishes from all at the NZSO."
- Christopher Blake, QSO, Chief Executive, New Zealand Symphony Orchestra

"The Southern Sinfonia congratulates City Choir Dunedin on reaching its 150th year. Countless thousands of people have been enriched over that time by singing in or listening to the Choir. While orchestras make a wonderful sound, few would argue that the most exquisite of all instruments in the human voice. The Choir provides such a tremendous opportunity to experience the excitement, emotion, drama, and sense of fulfillment that comes from being part of a large and creative group of people. For the Southern Sinfonia, the chance to work alongside the Choir means that we can be part of a creative collaboration which makes Dunedin such a special place to make music. All the best for the next 150 years of great choral music-making."
- Stephen Christensen, President of the Southern Sinfonia

"On behalf of the New Zealand Choral Federation, please accept my warmest congratulations on the choir’s 150th anniversary. City Choir Dunedin has been at the heart of musical life in the city since the early days of settlement and is a significant part of our country's cultural heritage. The Governance Board of NZCF was very pleased to hear of your highly successful celebratory concert last weekend and wishes you all the best for the remainder of this anniversary year."
- Christine Argyle, Chair, New Zealand Choral Federation

Handel's Messiah

Our special year ended appropriately with a performance of Handel’s Messiah on December 10, and we welcomed back four soloists who have a special relationship with the Choir – Lois Johnston, Amanda Cole, David Hamilton and Jonathan Lemalu.

Dr Jenny Burchell researched and wrote this interesting article about the performances of Messiah during the Choir's 150-year existence: Handel's Messiah and the Dunedin Choral Society 1863 - 2013.

Messiah in Dunedin - The First 50 Years

The discovery of gold at Tuapeka in May 1861 transformed the small provincial town of Dunedin in every respect. With the arrival of as many as 1200 people in a single day new demands were created for entertainment, as well as for accommodation, and for urgent improvements to the already creaking
(or non-existent) infrastucture. Although the majority of the immigrants were prospectors and therefore transient, a good proportion were business opportunists who settled in Dunedin with the expectation of the sort of cultural activities they had been used to.

Public music in Otago had hitherto been almost non-existent due to obstacles ranging from lack of performance venues to lack of actual music, via lack of performance experience or leadership. There were almost no even semi-professional musicians before 1858, and few amateurs with the experience - or the confidence - to set anything up. A correspondent agitating the subject in the Otago Daily Times in 1862 commented:

That there is amateur musical talent in Dunedin there is no doubt, and it only requires a choral society to develop such talent, and the day may be not far distant when “Handel’s Oratoria,” “The Messiah” besides
good secular music, will be performed by the Dunedin choral society.

The Dunedin Musical Association was formed after further correspondence, but gave only one ‘miscellaneous concert’ in May 1862, before collapsing in January 1863 from the combined effects of lack of rehearsal space, poor administration, a shifting population, and an inability to attract female membership. But in late 1863 two new choirs were formed within days of one another. The driving force behind one of these, the Philharmonic Society, was George R. West, a former Cambridge chorister, now instrument and music-seller, and organist; the choir met in the Assembly Rooms over his Music Warehouse in Princes Street. Messiah was a logical first choice of repertoire for a society aiming to specialise in large-scale works as it was by now staple fare for choral societies and church choirs throughout Britain. It is clear that the expectation was that the members would own copies. At the first rehearsal on 31 October, under the conductorship of W. Haydn Flood - who had newly arrived in Dunedin and was soon to become Organist and Choirmaster of St Joseph’s Church - five choruses from Messiah were rehearsed with, as Dunedin’s Daily Telegraph reported, ‘a precision and accuracy which...was a source at once of amazement and gratification’.

It was immediately decided to perform the work, and after a mere eight weeks of rehearsals the first Otago performance of (selections from) Messiah was given on Christmas Eve 1863 in the Oddfellows’ Hall, with accompaniment on the St Paul’s Church harmonium, ‘a powerful double-manual’ instrument, played by Mr W.H. Harrison, although Flood accompanied some of the arias. The choir numbered about 52:

the tenors and basses preponderating, the altos, as usual, being very much in the minority...’ but nonetheless the performance was enthusiastically received, the choruses being given ‘with a firmness and precision highly commendable’. (Daily Telegraph)

At Christmas 1864 the whole work was presented for the first time, this time at the Wesleyan Church in Dowling St and under George West’s conductorship. As in the previous year, it had been hoped to muster an orchestra, but in the event the performance was accompanied by a single violin and a Broadwood piano, lent by Mr West. Due to a series of unexpected circumstances the planned 1865 Christmas performance was postponed to March 1866. This - again with harmonium accompaniment - proved to be the Philharmonic’s last concert containing a single work; following West’s resignation in June 1866 the Society efforts deteriorated into a series of recycled miscellaneous concerts, and in late 1867 it ceased to function.

Although Messiah was not performed as an entity in the next few years, it was probably the most ubiquitous single source of repertoire in Dunedin. The 1860s was a period of intensive building of churches of all denominations; the urgent need for fund-raising was met by concerts in which choruses and solos from Messiah were apt to purpose in both content and availability. With the formation of a new Dunedin Choral Society - again driven by West - in 1871, however, Messiah regained its integrity, appearing as the third concert given by the new Society. This time accompaniment was provided by a semblance of an orchestra. Thereafter the work became pretty much an annual fixture; in 1877 the Society gave two performances at different venues, and in 1878 it was given by the Choral Society at Knox Church (completed in 1876) for the first time.

The 1871 performance was described in reviews as ‘complete’, and subsequent performances were at least substantially complete, though in the performances under the conductorship of Benno Scherek in the 1880s only Parts 1 and 2 were given, ending with the ‘Hallelujah’ Chorus. By this time the Society was again in decline, and was declared dormant in May 1888. No Messiah was given that year, and preparation of the 400-strong choir for the music in connection with the NZ and South Seas Exhibition which opened in November 1889 occupied Dunedin’s singers for the preceding seven months to such an extent that no
other major performances were attempted.

In 1890 a performance was given by the Dunedin Musical Association, and in 1891 - it having become unthinkable to have Christmas without a Messiah - a performance was organised by Miss Jennie West, the daughter of George R. West, and a very competent organist, and music teacher. Her reminiscences record the recruitment of singers from the church choirs, and advertisement by nocturnal fly-posting (which had to be removed within 24 hours when the legitimate advertiser threatened her with a summons). The performance was given with a ‘good orchestra’, but also with ‘a row of professional musicians standing at the back of Garrison Hall with score and pencils noting down any delinquencies of mine or the soloists’! The performers numbered 200, and the last trains to Port Chalmers and Mosgiel were held back until 10:30 pm to take the audience home.

Following Jennie West’s example, the 1892 performance - again given by a specially-assembled choir - was directed by Raphaello Squarise, and it was performed at Knox Church in 1893. In 1894 visiting musicians gave performances in August and again in October (to a much diminished audience), but it was not heard at Christmas. In 1895 St Paul’s Cathedral choir and Mornington Presbyterian Church choir joined forces for a performance at St Paul’s after separate rehearsals.

The Choral Society was revived in 1897, but it was St Paul’s Cathedral choir who gave Messiah at Christmas that year, the Choral Society having determined to perform Elijah in December. In 1898 the annual Christmas performance of Messiah finally became the ‘property’ of the Choral Society. In the early years of the twentieth century the performance was usually held in the week before Christmas - several performances were even given on Christmas Day itself. Various features were advertised to attract audiences; in 1907 the orchestra would number 28 performers, in 1909 the Choral Society was ‘assisted
by members of various choirs from Dunedin and the suburbs’, and in 1912 a ‘Chorus of 300 voices’ was advertised. The performance of 1904 was notable for non-musical reasons, however, when a portion of the staging on which the choir was standing collapsed about a third of the way through the performance. Fortunately there were no serious injuries, and the concert continued after some discussion, and a break to re-arrange the singers on the platform. The reviewer noted that the performers remained a little on edge.

By Dr Jenny Burchell