French concert sets "joyeux" season off to a good start

Joyeux Noël!, 6 December 2024. Photo: Ian Thomson

Joyeux Noël! French Music for Christmas

Friday 6 December 2024

Knox Church

The very best concerts are those when you can’t decide afterwards which item you liked most and so it was with ‘‘Joyeux Noël!’’ on Friday. Knox Church was well-filled for City Choir Dunedin’s presentation of French music for Christmas. 

Musical director and conductor David Burchell’s selection ensured a varied programme that showcased not only the choir and Dunedin Symphony Orchestra but also the soloists. Soprano Cathy Highton-Sim, mezzo-sopranos Tessa Romano and Claire Barton, tenor Alexander McAdam and baritone Robert Tucker all impressed, as did Micah Xiang on the organ. 

The first three items, Patapan, Hodie Christus natus est and O magnum mysterium, introduced the well-rehearsed choir. Francis Poulenc’s O magnum mysterium is a less familiar version of this Christmas Day text, with challenging very high notes that were handled with aplomb. 

DSO strings accompanied the choir for the exquisite Christe Redemptor Omnium, with Highton-Sim and Tucker’s duet a delight before the other three soloists joined them. In this piece, the violin solo by concertmaster Tessa Petersen was lovely, as was the work of principal cellist Heleen du Plessis. 

In a change of pace, Burchell moved to the organ for Noël X, giving the instrument a lively workout, at times sounding almost harpsichord-like as it danced through the 18th century melody. 

Highton-Sim was at her best in Camille Saint-Saens’ Oratorio, an audience favourite, with the addition of Romano, wind players from the DSO and Xiang on the organ, adding to the choir’s impressive harmony. 

The second half of the programme was dominated by part of Hector Berlioz’s L’Enfance de Christ, a complex and beautiful piece that was an absolute pleasure to listen to. Then came what Burchell called a mystery piece, as it had been omitted from the printed programme. Sung in English, it was the familiar O Holy Night (Cantique de Noël), with music by Adolphe Adam. Again, Romano and Tucker excelled.

Three French traditional pieces wrapped up the programme, then Burchell said to the satisfied audience: ‘‘I hope it gets your Christmas off to a good start’’. 

It definitely did.

Review by Gillian Vine, The Star, 12 December 2024

French-themed concert display of choral strength

Joyeux Noël! French Music for Christmas

Friday 6 December 2024

Knox Church

Friday evening’s City Choir Dunedin (CCD) celebration of Christmas in Knox Church was almost sold out and the audience members were full of praise for the "Joyeux Noël! French Music for Christmas" programme of French choral works. 

Conductor David Burchell, with great enthusiasm and flailing windmill arms, led the 70-member choir, plus five soloists, a 24-strong Dunedin Symphony Orchestra ensemble and organist Micah Xiang through various genres of French repertoire from 17th to 20th centuries, as well as traditional Christmas carols. 

Among some very satisfying results were stand-alone pieces such as the opening unaccompanied Provencal carol Patapan, Poulenc’s Hodie Christus natus est and O magnum mysterium, which set the choir off to a great start, creating bright timbre with full sound and judicious dynamics. An excellent programme gave information and history of the various repertoire and arrangements. 

Christe Redemptor Omnium (1690) by Delalande was a longer work with verses of a 6th century hymn set as individual movements shared between soloists and choir. Maintaining a brisk pace throughout, the choir achieved good balance, with strong male sections when called for and a magnificent final contrapuntal-styled Amen, all sung with French text, as was almost the entire concert. 

Guest soloists were Robert Tucker (baritone), Cathy Highton-Sim (soprano), Tessa Romano and Claire Barton (mezzo-sopranos) and Alex McAdam (tenor). 

Excerpts from Saint-Saens’ Oratorio de Noël also with soloists, was more lyrical and the resounding Alleluia repeats certainly displayed the current CCD’s choral strength. Organ solo Noël X was a set of demanding variations by Daquin, for which Burchell achieved great virtuosity as nimble fingers interpreted arrangements of the traditional tune. 

Selections from Berlioz’s L’enfance du Christ included The Unseen Angels, and The Flight to Egypt for orchestra with exquisite woodwind passages. 

Several other French items and a strong delivery of the popular Cantique de Noël (O Holy Night) by Adolphe Adam completed a unique French-flavoured pre-Christmas concert. 

Joyeux Noël! 

Review by Elizabeth Bouman, Otago Daily Times, 9 December 2024