World premieres of two
new oratorios
“Perpetua” by Michael
Dooley
“7 Prayers of the
Saviour” by William Dooley
Llewellyn Choir conducted
by Rowan Harvey-Martin
Wesley Uniting
Church, Forrest 22 November
Reviewed by Len Power
Llewellyn Choir’s latest concert featured three works by two
members of Canberra’s musical Dooley family.
“7 Prayers of the Saviour” was an oratorio by up and coming fourteen
year old William Dooley and there were two works by his father, Michael Dooley,
“The Land That Is Very Far Off” and an oratorio, “Perpetua”. Both oratorios were world premieres.
The concert commenced with Michael Dooley’s “The Land That
Is Very Far Off”. Described as a celtic
rhapsody for violin and piano, it was performed by Timothy Wickham on violin
and the orchestral ensemble with Michael Dooley himself on piano. It was a sweeping, melodic work of great
beauty, wistful and nostalgic and it was especially well-played by Timothy
Wickham.
Rowan Harvey-Martin then conducted William Dooley’s
oratorio, “7 Prayers of the Saviour” with the Llewellyn Choir, four vocal soloists
and the ensemble. This ambitious work
with recognizable influences from composers of the past commenced with rather
tentative singing by the choir.
 |
| Rowan Harvey-Martin with William Dooley |
It was most successful in the simpler vocal lines of “Prayer
For Lazarus” and “Thy Will Be Done”, sung very well by bass, Andrew Fysh.
An opportunity to hear his work fully produced, it would
have been of enormous help for this young composer on his journey to finding
his own distinctive style in the years to come.
After interval, the choir presented Michael Dooley’s new
oratorio, “Perpetua”. The story of
Perpetua is from the oldest existing document known to be written by a
Christian woman, “The Passion Of Saints Perpetua and Felicity”. It was a good choice for the oratorio as it
has a strong and emotionally gripping storyline. It tells of an educated woman who converted
to Christianity and was ultimately martyred for her beliefs in the year 202 AD.
 |
| Michael Dooley |
Michael Dooley produced a work of great beauty
throughout. From the haunting and
atmospheric setting of the opening, “Soli Deo Gloria”, the work progressed from
one highlight to another. His
underscoring of the recitatives was especially notable.
The beautiful, clear soprano of soloist, Emma Griffiths, who
sang the role of Perpetua, was most effective in her recitatives and soared
above the choir in the “Agnus Dei”. Her
singing of “Confitibor Tibi” towards the end was heart-felt and memorable.
Mezzo soprano, Veronica Thwaites-Brown, was a standout with
her singing of the very moving “Felicity” lullaby. Tenor, Dan Walker, was in fine voice with his
singing of “Saturus Vision” and bass, Andrew Fysh, sang an excellent Narrator 2. He gave an especially well-judged level of
drama to his singing in “Day Of Victory”.
The choir sang the work with great confidence and
clarity. Rowan Harvey-Martin conducted
the whole work extremely well. The
standing ovation at the end of the performance was well-deserved.
Photos by Peter Hislop
This review was first
published in the Canberra City News digital edition of 23 November 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.