Canberra Choral
Society
Music Director: Dan
Walker
Albert Hall 14
September
Reviewed by Len Power
The sun was shining through the large windows of a packed
Albert Hall and, with the promise of spring in the air, Canberra Choral
Society’s Spring concert, ‘Sol y Luna’, was timed just right.
Music director and conductor, Dan Walker, had assembled a
wide-ranging program of works that reflected humanity’s deep connection with
sun, the moon and the stars. Ranging
across almost 1000 years, the program contained some well-known works as well
as some that were less familiar.
The first bracket of songs celebrated the powerful and
life-giving sun, commencing with ‘O Nobilissima Viriditas’ which is attributed
to the 11th century Benedictine abbess, Hildegard of Bingen. This arrangement had the women in the choir
singing the chant and their fine singing was pleasantly uplifting.
All three other works in this group were very well
sung. Lili Boulanger’s ‘Hymn to the Sun’
was the standout - dramatic and powerful and sung clearly and accurately by the
choir.
The second bracket featured works related to the stars and
the moon as well as the seasons and the romance and atmosphere of
evenings. Australia’s Alice Chance was
featured with her composition, ‘Fiat Lux’, a work of great beauty that
showcased the fine blend of the choir’s sopranos and altos.
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| Canberra Choral Society |
This was followed by two charming 19th century works by Fanny Hensel that focussed on the impact of the sun, moon and stars on nature. The bracket finished with an outstanding and sensitive performance of Joseph Rheinberger’s ‘Abendlied’.
The second half of the program presented works by later
composers commencing with a hauntingly beautiful work by Dan Walker himself,
‘Were All the Stars To Disappear And Die’, which was set to a text drawn from
W.H. Auden’s ‘The More Loving One’.
New Zealander, David Childs, was represented with a finely
atmospheric performance by the choir of ‘The Moon Is Distant From the
Sea’. The program concluded with a
memorable performance of ‘Lux Aeterna’ by Edward Elgar.
Anthony Smith was the accompanist for the choir on piano and,
between the brackets of choral works, he also gave beautiful performances of two
solos of works by Chopin – Barcarolle Op. 60 and Berceuse Op. 57.
This excellent concert finished with a delightfully
unexpected and well-sung ‘Rocket Man’ by Elton John as an encore. Jane Russell-Jones provided a fine clarinet
accompaniment.
This review was first
published in the Canberra City News digital edition of 15 September 2019
Len Power’s reviews
are also broadcast on the Artsound FM 92.7 ‘In the Foyer’ program on Mondays
and Wednesdays at 3.30pm.