The Geelong Chorale’s Christmas concert this year featured works by two great English composers: Fantasia on Christmas Carols by Ralph Vaughan Williams and John Rutter’s supremely engaging Magnificat. There was also be a chance to hear two rarely performed Christmas chorales from Vaughan Williams’ cantata, Hodie. The Geelong Chorale was once again be joined by The Geelong Handbell Choir, directed by Gwyn Gillard. Soloists for the concert are Fiona Squires, soprano, and Rodney Dearing, baritone, with piano accompaniment by Kristine Mellens.
Saturday 7 December, 5pm
All Saints Church, Cnr Noble Street and Talbot Street, Newtown 3220
A reminder: next Sunday,6 October, in the For the Joy of Singing the Classics program, we will sing through Rutter’s Mass of the Children.
This was first performed in 2003, in Carnegie Hall, New York, conducted by John Rutter. It is written for adult and children’s choirs with soloists, with the Mass texts interspersed with poetry of Thomas Ken (1637-1711) (Awake, my soul, and with the sun…)”, William Blake (1757-1827) (“Little Lamb, who made thee?”) and other sources.
We will be singing all the choral parts and Tom Healey and Rosie Cocklin will be singing the solos.
If you want to participate, please contact Anne at: pandapilgrim@gmail.com
Details: St Luke’s Uniting Church, Highton from 2pm to 5pm.
Cost is $15 includes music hire and afternoon tea.
St Luke’s Uniting Church, Barrabool Road, Highton.
Reviews
Great Moments, presented by The Geelong Chorale directed by Allister Cox. St Luke’s Church, Highton, August 18, 2019.
In the seven years since Allister Cox was appointed director of Geelong’s premier choir, he has set the group plenty of musical challenges.
In the past year alone, the Chorale brought an intensely moving In Remembrance commemorating the anniversary of WWI’s ending, as well as their complex collaboration Sound The Trumpets celebration in St Mary’s Basilica.
This concert arrived almost as a release from all that musical concentration. For this was easy, fun, and happy, both in its choice of material and delivery.
That cover-all title, Great Moments, carried the sub-text ‘Arias, duets and choruses from some of the best-loved operas, operettas and musicals’.
In practice, this came down heavily in favour of operatic choruses (9) to four operetta pieces and three extracts from musicals.
The programme neatly grouped each segment together with the Grand Operatic choruses up front before an interval, then the light opera and ending with a big Hollywood musical flourish.
So we began with Verdi’s joyful Brindisi from La Traviata and ended with an equally exuberant rendition of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma!
In between we heard a delightful musical selection delivered with a good deal of spirit and skill by the Chorale and its guest soloists Lisa Breen (soprano) and tenor David Campbell.
Such was the level of bonhomie that the two soloists, seated to one side when not called upon to sing, nevertheless joined in with most choruses including a memorable moment when the ebulliently jovial David couldn’t resist singing Bernstein’s West Side Story I Feel Pretty along with the female chorus.
He had previously delivered a wonderfully romantic solo of Donizetti’s Una Furtiva Lagrima from L’elisir d’amore as well as leading the Chorus’ tenors and basses in two lusty numbers, Tower Warders from G & S’s Yeoman Of The Guard and You’re Back Where You First Began from Franz Lehar’s The Merry Widow.
For her part, Lisa gave us a beautiful solo version of Un bel di vedremo from Puccini’s Madam Butterfly as well as The Merry Widow’s Vilia. As a reviewer and performer I’ve experienced Lisa’s singing in many capacities for more than 20 years, and I don’t think I’ve heard her sing better. This was especially evident when she led the full Chorale in an a cappella version of Gershwin’s Summertime from Porgy and Bess. This sublime moment was, conversely, the only piece that had not involved Kristine Mellens’ skilled piano accompaniments.
Lisa and David joined, both individually and as a duo, with the Chorale in their spirited versions of big favourites The Anvil Chorus, Wedding Chorus and Voyagers Chorus, while deputy conductor Anne Pilgrim led the Chorale’s Sopranos and Altos in Verdi’s Witches Chorus from Macbeth.
Director/conductor Allister Cox introduced each work with his familiar charm and depth of knowledge – along with some carefully chosen humorous insights – while at the finish, soloists Lisa and David spontaneously left their seats to squeeze on to the Chorale’s rostrum and deliver those joyful Oklahoma! whoops.
It was a moment that captured exactly the energy and cheer of what had been such a skilfully delivered but delightfully lighthearted musical afternoon.
Great Moments: The Geelong Chorale – Sunday, 18th August, 2019
Posted on August 19, 2019
St Luke’s Uniting Church, Highton
Conductor: Allister Cox OAM
Accompanist: Kristine Mellens
The Geelong Chorale is a chamber choir. Therefore, a foray into musical theatre, opera, operetta and musical comedy is rather outside the choir’s usual musical fare. Allister Cox, musical director for some years, is a long-time performer in musical theatre, and directed the choir and two excellent soloists with assurance.
The first half of the program was devoted to grand opera, with choruses, solos and duets from Verdi, Mozart, Donizetti, Gounod, Puccini and finishing with a rousing performance of the Easter Hymn from Cavalleria Rusticana. There was a little staged drama – the program began with Brindisi (a drinking chorus) from La Traviata. The choir (as people at at party) chatted animatedly during the introduction till the tenor, David Campbell, entered from off stage singing the well-known verse followed by the chorus with the choir before soprano Lisa Breen entered to sing the verse reprise. It is good to hear Lisa’s lovely singing after some time. We hope to hear more of her in future concerts.
David Campbell’s acting skill came out throughout the program, no more so that in his aria Un Furtiva Lagrime with a stunning love-lorn cadenza.
Kristine Mellens, the Chorale’s accompanist, had a near impossible task – attempting to emulate an orchestra. Kristine wrought all possible tone from the available upright piano playing with drama, a sense of style and sensitivity (especially in David Campbell’s aria from L’elisir d’amore).
Deputy conductor, Anne Pilgrim conducted the women of the choir in The Witches’ Chorus from Verdi’s Macbeth. There was a fine sense of dynamics, and some percussion in the background as the witches announce Macbeth’s arrival. Unison singing brought out the excellence of the choral lines, even though the sopranos were depleted somewhat in this program.
The second half of the concert produced lighter fare – with excerpts from Yeomen of the Guard, Die Fledermaus, The Merry Widow, Porgy and Bess, West Side Story and concluding with a rousing performance of the title song from Oklahoma with soloists joining the choir.
The choir was in its element in an a capella arrangement of Summertime from George Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess with Lisa Breen excelling in a jazz style performance. This arrangement, which includes intricate scat singing from the choir, would be well worth keeping in the choir’s repertoire.
The near capacity audience included many who are not regulars to concerts from GeelongChorale. Judging from the warmth of the applause, they were not disappointed.
The Geelong Chorale’s final performance of 2019 is Magnificat: Music to Celebrate Christmas, on December 7th at 5pm at Christ Church, Geelong.
The Geelong Chorale’s first concert for 2019 was the opening concert of Music at the Basilica’s 11th Annual Windfire Music Festival. It was a spectacular program of music for double choir, brass ensemble and organ, featuring music from the Renaissance to the present day.
Friday 10th May, 7.30pm
Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels
136 Yarra Street Geelong
https://entertainmentgeelong.com/reviews-2019-1 Trumpets sound with Wind and Fire Sound The Trumpet, presented by Geelong Chorale directed by Allister Cox, St Mary’s Basilica, May 10, 2019.
This, the opening concert of Geelong’s annual Windfire Music Festival, proved perfect for the occasion. It was a memorable concert that took full advantage of the Basilica’s superb acoustics.
My initial impression was of a warm, welcoming atmosphere with hanging glass lanterns and glowing radiators.
A welcoming address from from Fr James Clarke led to a stirring, resounding intro, Entrata Festiva, a modern (20th Century) piece featuring Daniel Ballinger and Sarah Hepworth’s trumpets, Melissa Shirley’s horn, Stewart Armitage’s trombone and the Basilica’s thundering, mighty organ played by Frank De Rosso.
Then the Chorale members entered, only to disappear again as they took up positions in the acoustic sweet-spot in the space behind the venue’s original altar.
The blend of their voices, without accompaniment was perfect in its resonance as they sang Guerrero’s Cantite tunba in Sion.
That musical contrast between first and second items assured us in the audience that we were about to experience a programme of thoughtful excellence.
The choir then moved into sight at the front of the original altar, resplendent in their neat black and red, and Allister Cox introduced us to three works from the 16th century. First, Jacobus Gallus, whose Pater Noster used choir and brass to excellent, full and harmonious effect, followed by an a capella rendition of Giovanni da Palestrina’s calm and beautiful Sicut Cervus.
This was followed by Scarlatti’s glorious Exultate Deo with its joyful praise to God ringing throughout the rafters.
The choir changed position once again to risers on the right of the first row of pews, allowing the brass to move closer on the left.
Together they presented Gabrielli’s Canzona ´a 4 with sympathetic style.
Then followed a sharing of brass and voices to present the music of Hassler’s Missa Octo Voci, sung in Latin and accepted with warm applause.
At one point the director’s microphone failed mid-introduction, but Allister simply raised his voice to be clearly heard, demonstrating the excellence of the venue’s acoustics.
After a short interval the concert took a more modern, contrasting turn with Christopher Willcock’s challenging Easter Moon. The composition’s strident and sometimes pensive tones were handled with accomplished ease by choir and musicians.
Then came an unusual inclusion, with three different versions of Ave Maria, from Bruckner, Biebl and Laurisdsen. Allister explained that he had chosen them as appropriate because of the venue, (St Mary’s Basilica) as well as referencing the forthcoming Mother’s Day. The subtle differences and variations of tune and style added a deal of interest as the pieces were sung consecutively.
Then followed a triumphal and stirring Grand Choeur Dialogue with Frank De Rosso at the organ and the Choir in full voice, thundering down from the venue’s choir loft.
The concert finished on a different, but equally stirring note with the brass leading into voices to present Pachelbel’s rousing Nun Danket all Gott.
Taken together, this concert set the Windfire Festival to a stirring start while demonstrating our city’s exceptional quality of musicianship and choral abilities.
Tom Healey, accompanied by wonderful Sonoka Miyake, took an enthusiastic group of singers through Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana on Sunday 7 April at St Luke’s. Our first ‘Singing the Classics’ for 2019.
An exciting year coming up for the Chorale! Here are the dates for your diaries.
• Friday May 10, 2019 – concert for Music at the Basilica’s annual Windfire Festival at St Mary of the Angels Basilica.
• Sunday May 26, 2019 – Music at the Basilica Massed Choirs Concert at St Mary of the
Angels Basilica. Geelong Chorale members will be participating.
• Sunday August 18, 2019 – Opera and Operettas concert.
• Saturday December 7, 2019 – Christmas carols concert.
