BWW Reviews: Evenings at Elder Hall 2013: HOMAGE, THREE CHOIRS IN CONCERT Young Singers Thrill the Audience with a Feast of Choral Music by Benjamin Britten

Reviewed by Blake Parham, Saturday 21st September 2013

The sixth concert in the Evenings at Elder Hall series features the three choirs from the Elder Conservatorium in a feast of music by the supremely talented Benjamin Britten. 2013 marks the 100th year since Britten's birth and thus a program featuring three large scale works by him came as no surprise to audiences.

The concert began with a strong performance of Los que fueren de buen gusto by Francisco de Vidales, Strange paths singing by Callie Wood, and A Ceremony of Carols by Benjamin Britten, sung by the university's chamber choir, Adelaide Voices, conducted by Christie Anderson. Anderson works well with the eight young female singers who make up the group and has created a balanced and blended ensemble that responds well to her incredibly clear conducting style. The choristers themselves all have promising careers ahead, although some members still require a little further polishing before they are ready for a professional ensemble. The stand out work of their performance was Callie Wood's Strange paths singing, which featured some complex and tight harmonies sung with incredibly clear diction by the group. Special note should be also given to the clear and mesmerizing playing of harpist Carolyn Burgess, as part of Britten's A Ceremony of Carols.

Following this promising start by Adelaide Voices, the university's all female choir, Bella Voce, conducted by Timothy Marks, took to the stage to sing works by Johannes Brahms, Franz Schubert, and Britten's Missa Brevis in D. Marks's very energetic conducting style helped to engage the choir and resulted in warm tonal colours, and intelligent musical phrasing. Bella Voce's performance of Britten's Missa Brevis showed that there are a number of talented young singers within their ranks; however the higher sections occasionally lacked the clarity of diction and breath flow required for a warm tone.

After a brief interval the university's most prominent choir, the Elder Conservatorium Chorale, took to the stage under the very experienced baton of Carl Crossin (current director of the Conservatorium). Over the past decade we have come to expect a high standard of performance from this group and this evening was no exception. The very well blended and balanced choir sang with great dynamic control, crisp diction, and a wide variety of tonal colours. Indeed, the choir rather effortlessly performed Eric Whitacre's tightly harmonised Water Music. Additionally, the choir's choreographed movement was effectively managed during the opening songs to such an extent that even Crossin himself danced a little at the podium. The stand out work of the evening was Britten's Rejoice in the Lamb which, with its fast dexterous passages, showed off the choir's incredible vocal abilities and Crossin's crisp conducting style. Last but not least, Karl Geiger deserves a round of applause for his hard work on both the organ and piano, skilfully accompanying all three choirs.

This was an extremely entertaining evening which expertly showcased the choral talents of the next generation of classical singers in Adelaide. Given the quality of the performance it is a pity that the Conservatorium is not adequately funded by the university to allow them to celebrate Britten's centenary with the production of at least one of his many excellent operas.

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