Vocal Gifts

Sydney Morning Herald

Tuesday December 19, 2006

Harriet Cunningham

classical NOEL! NOEL! Australian Brandenburg Orchestra City Recital Hall, December 15

For the annual Christmas concert, Paul Dyer chose to field a small Brandenburg ensemble, throwing the spotlight onto the Brandenburg Choir, a 24-strong group of professional singers.

What sets it apart from similar outfits is the predominance of male voices, outnumbering female three to one. The all-male alto section in particular has more power but less of a cutting edge, blending perfectly with the lower voices and making the soprano section more of a descant overlay than the main melodic force.

The choir was at its best, for me, in the Renaissance music, in particular the two settings of Alma redemptoris mater, the serenely perfect Palestrina, and the intriguing polyphony of Aires Fernandez. The performance of Hildegard von Bingen's Columba aspexit was less successful.

Soloist Keryn Ward certainly communicated the visionary zeal but did not always succeed in sustaining the vocal line. Of the many solos, those of Peretta Anggerek, George Liakatos and Alex Freeman stood out in an elegantly phrased Coventry Carol.

The choir was accompanied by a select band including the ensemble's very beautiful chamber organ (complete with reindeer) and, on lutes, Tommie Anderrson. His performance of Vivaldi's Concerto for lute, strings and continuo, followed by actor Robert Alexander's reading, provided an enjoyable interlude before the inevitable outbreak of carols.

Anderrson's other contribution to the evening was a lilting arrangement Stille Nacht, based on composer Felix Gruber's original manuscripts. Pairs of voices in thirds and sixths over a strummed guitar accompaniment transformed this most highly favoured melody into a jaunty Bavarian folksong.

It is a testament to Dyer's great musical instincts and inspiring leadership that this concert is so popular, without being in any way populist. That the choir can play six churches around Sydney and fill Angel Place three times

over with a well-designed, expertly performed program of classical music suggests it must be doing something right.

© 2006 Sydney Morning Herald

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