Schubert and Mozart glorious with Sinfonia and vocalists

Mozart Requiem

Saturday 28 March 2015
Knox Church

Soloists: soprano Lois Johnston, mezzo-soprano Claire Barton, tenor Matthew Wilson and baritone Robert Tucker

City Choir Dunedin, Southern Sinfonia
Conductor David Burchell

City Choir Dunedin, Southern Sinfonia invited soloists and organist Simon Mace presented two choral masterworks in Knox Church on Saturday evening, conducted by David Burchell.

The choir of more than 100 voices was in excellent form, with reasonable numbers in bass and tenor, and a noticeable presence of younger singers in all sections, promising a healthy future for this city choir.

In 1816 Franz Schubert wrote an oratorio in 12 short movements, focusing on the anguish of Mary, the Mother of Christ. Stabat Mater (D. 383) is a beautiful assemblage of Schubert minor keys, and the performance achieved tragic tones where appropriate to match the German text, with some striking contrasts and impressive dynamics.

Woodwind passages were particularly sensitive, often in tandem with a vocalist, as in Ach, was hatten wir empfunden for oboe and tenor. Soloists were Robert Tucker (baritone), Matthew Wilson (tenor) and Lois Johnston (soprano) whose delivery achieved fitting dominance in solo passages, such as "... together at the Last Judgement", where her final phrase rose triumphantly to soar above choir and instrumentalists.

Mozart's health was failing as he embarked on composing a requiem Mass.

History records interesting "facts and fiction" surrounding the work's editing and completion by others, and it survives as the great Requiem Mass in D minor K. 626. Saturday night's performance was a celebration of the legacy of beautiful music left to the world by Mozart.

Claire Barton (mezzo-soprano) joined the soloists, and quartet passages achieved good balance generally, with text conveying conviction and empathy.

Burchell drew inspirational dynamics with impressive contrasts from his choir and musicians. Passionate shading for Lacrymosa and massive jubilant tone for Sanctus were indeed highlights, filling the packed church venue with glorious sound.

Review by Elizabeth Bouman for the ODT, Monday 30 March 2015.

2015 Concert Season

Mozart Requiem

Saturday 28 March 2015, Knox Church

DAVID BURCHELL, conductor
CITY CHOIR DUNEDIN
SOUTHERN SINFONIA
Soloists: soprano Lois Johnston, mezzo-soprano Claire Barton, tenor Matthew Wilson, bass Robert Tucker

Schubert: Stabat Mater (D.383)
Mozart: Requiem

A Sea Symphony

Saturday 18 April 2015, Dunedin Town Hall

NICHOLAS BRAITHWAITE, conductor
MODI DENG, pianist
ANNA LEESE, soprano
MARCIN BRONIKOWSKI, baritone
SOUTHERN SINFONIA
AUCKLAND CHORAL
CITY CHOIR DUNEDIN

Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 1
Vaughan Williams: A Sea Symphony.

Sea & Land

Saturday 8 August 2015, Knox Church

DAVID BURCHELL, conductor
CLAIRE BARTON, mezzo-soprano
SAMUEL MADDEN, tenor
CITY CHOIR DUNEDIN
ST KILDA BRASS BAND

City Choir was joined by St Kilda Brass to perform an entertaining programme of diverse and colourful music from around the world. Accompanied by the award-winning St Kilda Brass Band, and featuring pianist Sandra Crawshaw, the Choir was also be joined by mezzo-soprano Claire Barton and tenor Samuel Madden.

Songs of Sea and Land arr. David Hamilton

An Afrikaans Medley arr. David Burchell

The Rio Grande by Constant Lambert

I’m seventeen come Sunday arr. Percy Grainger

Brigg Fair arr. Percy Grainger

My sweetheart’s like Venus arr. Gustav Holst

Molly on the shore arr. Percy Grainger & Howard Snell (St Kilda Brass)

The mermaid’s croon arr. Granville Bantock

Ye banks and braes arr. David Burchell (St Kilda Brass)

Comin’ thro’ the rye arr. Stanford Robinson

A North Country Fantasie by Gordon Langford (St Kilda Brass)

I love my love arr. Gustav Holst

Blow away the morning dew arr. R.O. Morris

Green grow the rushes, O! arr. David Burchell

These Lands Are Ours

Saturday 26 September 2015, Knox Church

DAVID BURCHELL, conductor
CITY CHOIR DUNEDIN
DUNEDIN YOUTH ORCHESTRA

City Choir collaborated with the young musicians of the DYO, giving them the opportunity to accompany a large symphonic choir. These Lands Are Ours is a concert exploring New Zealand's national identity with music by Lilburn, Mendelssohn, Callister, Mackenzie and Elgar. The performance featured Dunedin Youth Orchestra Young Musician’s Award recipient Matthew Scadden on violin and premièred the 2015 work that won the Audrey Reed Composition Prize, A Run in Ross Creek by Merlin Callister.

Douglas Lilburn: Drysdale Overture
Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto in e, first movement
Merlin Callister: A run in Ross Creek (Audrey Reed Composition Prize winner)
Alexander Mackenzie: First Scottish Rhapsody
Edward Elgar: The Banner of St George

Handel's Messiah

Tuesday 8 December 2015, Dunedin Town Hall

DAVID BURCHELL, conductor
CITY CHOIR DUNEDIN
SOUTHERN SINFONIA
Soloists: soprano Emma Fraser, mezzo-soprano Wendy Dawn Thompson, tenor David Hamilton, bass Martin Snell

Choir's baroque Christmas evokes joyful sound

[Photo credit Ian Thomson]

Gloria! A Baroque Christmas

Friday 19 December, Knox Church
Sopranos Cathy Sim and Lois Johnston, Mezzo-soprano Claire Barton, Tenor Benjamin Madden and Bass Tanara Stedman
City Choir Dunedin, Southern Sinfonia
Conducted by David Burchell

A gloriously full and joyful noise greeted a capacity audience at Knox Church on Friday for the City Choir Dunedin’s celebration “Gloria! A Baroque Christmas” directed by David Burchell and guest Assistant Conductor Mark Anderson. Guest soloists included Mezzo-soprano Claire Barton, recently returned from her studies in London, Sopranos Cathy Sim and Lois Johnston, Tenor Benjamin Madden and Bass Tanara Stedman. Barton’s voice has gained a mature depth and professional confidence in both Alto and Mezzo-soprano ranges. Her vocal agility, technical strengths and power were most successfully explored in the aria from Telemann’s demanding Erquickendes Wunder der ewigen Gnade. Sim’s clarity and Johnston’s rich depths worked particularly well in Vivaldi’s Gloria. Madden and Stedman shone in their recitatives from Bach’s Ich freue mich in dir.

Cathy, Tanara, Lois, Benjamin, Claire [Photo credit Ian Thomson]

While the Choir had its weak moments, the direction, venue and size of audience did much to create some almost inspired passages, notably from the choro piccolo in Clerambault's Hodie Christus natus est and from the full Choir in Vivaldi’s Gloria, under Anderson’s economical direction through the tight part work in Praetorius’ In dulci jubilo, and Burchell’s effusive direction of “For unto us a child is born” from Handel’s Messiah.

The evening opened with two almost turgid German works by Buxtehude and Schein, but the mood was lifted by Charpentier’s lilting In Nativitatem Domini Nostri Jesu Christi. The evening’s highlight, Vivaldi’s uplifting Gloria was kept to the final item. Encouraged by the well-deserved hearty applause Burchell gave an encore of three English composers’ versions of “While Shepherds watched their flocks” and an opportunity to present a New Zealand composer was lost.

Review by Marian Poole for the ODT, 20 December 2014.

The reviewer apologises: “My personal and professional apologies for not mentioning the superlative performance of the Southern Sinfonia in my review of "Gloria!".  Mea Culpa.”