We are now over half way through the rehearsals for Bach’s St John Passion..

What a privilege it is to sing such glorious music under the direction of Carlos Alvarado.  He not only teaches us the notes, but also draws us into the music and the meaning behind it.

For example, he describes the spirals of the orchestral introduction to the first chorus as rivers leading inexorably to the sea, representing mankind in its quest for God, and realised in the first three chords for the Choir: “Lord, Lord, Lord!”.

Carlos fits each chorale carefully into its context, demanding sensitive singing to match the situation.  Last night, for example, he demonstrated to us how a couple of bars describing in words and in notes, the ascent to heaven, should be sung.

This promises to be a memorable performance, which will be the culmination of many weeks of hard work.  As our President, Roger Pratt, has commented, this is the most challenging work we have ever sung, but it will also be hugely satisfying.

We were very pleased to note that a Friend of the Choir, Harvey Broadbent, received an honour on Australia Day.  He was awarded an AM for services to tertiary education and the arts.

From what we know of Harvey’s many and varies activities, it was indeed well-deserved.

Hello everyone

Now that the dust has settled after our Christmas concert, it’s a good time to pause and reflect on the year just passed.

It was a busy year, and I feel that we should all be proud of what we achieved. As well as the usual three concerts, we did the Spanish programme at the Conservatorium in March, and the joint programme with the Odawara Doctors’ Choir in September. We celebrated our 40th Anniversary in style with a dinner in May and the wonderful concert in August.

All of these events went smoothly and were sell-out successes. More importantly, we all derived huge pleasure from taking part in them.

As with any well run organisation, the smooth operation on the surface hides the tremendous effort put in by the committee and the many helpers behind the scenes. And above all, the continuing inspiration of our beloved director Carlos, always supported with skill and humour by Angela. Our thanks go to all of them.

I am excited by the programme for this coming year. The St John Passion in May will be a challenge. It’s a huge work and new to the choir. In August, by popular request, we have the Opera Choruses, which many in the audience have also said they look forward to. And finally a new Karl Jenkins work, Stella Natalis, in December. A lot to learn, but as we grow in confidence and professionalism, we shall take them in our stride and produce wonderful music.

So it just remains for me to wish every one of you all the best for Christmas and the New Year. Enjoy the break, and come back refreshed and eager when we start up again on 21 January.

Happy Christmas

Roger

It is always difficult to judge how well a concert goes when you are in the middle of the Choir.   So it was interesting to listen to members of the audience as they left the Chapel after the concert last Saturday.

“Coming to this concert marks the start of Christmas – I hope that the rest of the season goes as well as this did.”

“Magical – I felt transported to a different place.”

“The concert was very enjoyable, but a bit like a fruit salad – lots of different tastes and styles – perhaps one or two too many.”

“The Vaughan Williams Fantasia on Christmas Carols was fantastic and the best piece of music in the program!”

“Everything was wonderful – but I’m still not a great fan of Vaughan Williams.”

“This was the Choir’s best performance ever!”

“Could there not have been an encore – even just a short one?  I did not want the concert to end.”

“The Choir just goes on getting better and better!”

A small number of us from the Choir enjoyed a wonderful afternoon last Sunday in the not-so-preposessing confines of the Ryde Civic Centre.  Carlos was conducting the Ryde Hunters Hill Symphony Orchestra in an ambitious program, one which he previously admitted was proving extremely challenging and possibly stretching themselves just a little too far.

Well it did not show.  From the arresting first chords and precisely timed intervening silences of the opening of Beethoven’s Coriolan Overture, it was clear that the orchestra and conductor meant business.  What followed was a masterful and authoritative reading of a short but complex work.  From that the orchestra moved on to the sublime Harp Concerto by Gliere, with the Choir’s friend Georgia Lowe as soloist.   What a delightful work!  The second movement especially, a theme and variations, was captivating in its charm, with an apparent simplicity which I suspect masked a lot of inner workings.

Then came Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony.  The horns declaimed the opening theme with firmness and style, setting the scene for a performance that was engaging and full of high-class musicianship, yet full-bloodedly Romantic, at times so exciting as to appear to be at the edge of the conductor’s control.  The applause at the end was indeed well-deserved, as the audience had enjoyed a memorable musical experience.