“So uplifting!  What a wonderful way to spend a dreary Sunday afternoon!”

“Quite the most engaging Messiah I have heard in 70 years!”

“Such a great performance!  And without the hassle of going to the City!”

These comments are representative of the feedback we have received from members of the audience at last weekend’s performances of Messiah.  It’s great to have taken part in concerts where the audience reaction is so positive.  It reflects very well on ourselves as a Choir, on the soloists, on the orchestra, and of course on the guy who pulls all the strands together, our conductor, Carlos.

So, many thanks to everyone who contributed to the success.  To Bryony, Anna, Pascal and Alexander, who captivated the audience with their powerful yet sensitive solo singing.  To Alexandra, for leading the orchestra which played so well, and to Anthony for his fabulous trumpet solo.  To Carlos, for sharing his vision of the words and music with performers and audience alike, making for an intense musical experience.  Thank you all.

And thanks too to the many unsung heroes of the Choir, who, together with many friends and family members, worked behind the scenes to ensure that the performances went off without a hitch.  Your efforts are much appreciated.

Now it’s over, we can relax in the run up to Christmas.  Hallelujah!

We are delighted – but not surprised – to hear that Emma Moore has won the IFAC Australian Singing Competition’s prestigious Marianne Mathy Scholarship for 2011.  Emma has sung soprano solos with the Choir over the past few years, and it has been a delight to work with her, both professionally and personally.

The Scholarship enables Emma to continue her studies overseas, following a two year course in Berlin on which she is about to embark.

We offer Emma our congratulations and best wishes, tinged with not a little regret that her superb voice will not be gracing the Cardinal Cerretti Chapel at least for a little while.

Manly Warringah Choir seems to have set something of a precedent in using two pianos instead of full orchestra as the accompaniment for our most recent concert, Carmina Burana.

Last week the Sydney Philharmonia Choir sang Brahms’ German Requiem in the same way.  The score calls also for timpani, whereas Carmina Burana needed a full percussion section.  Brahms arranged the accompaniment himself for an early performance of the work, held in a London society drawing room, on which occasion four hands played the same piano.  Interest in this version has grown over recent years:  it has even been recorded, and the current thinking is to spread the four hands over two pianos.

The SMH critic enjoyed the performance, as indeed I did.  There were some electric quiet moments, and some terrifying loud sections.  At times the choir overwhelmed the pianos, and, as a bass, I did miss the trombones’ support in the sweeping upwards phrases towards the end of the sixth movement.  But overall the whole ensemble was most effective.

It is unlikely that two pianos will become the new orchestra.  When Manly Warringah Choir sang the German Requiem in 2007 we used a full orchestra to good effect. Certainly for our next concert, Messiah, our audiences can look forward to hearing a full complement of players including, of course trumpets, and timpani.  The trumpet shall sound!

The Choir performs Messiah on Saturday December 3^rd at 7.30pm and on Sunday December 4^th at 4.00pm.  Both performances will be held in the Cardinal Cerretti Chapel, Darley Road, Manly.

7:30pm Saturday December 3rd
Click here for Saturday Tickets

4:00pm Sunday December 4th
Click here for Sunday Tickets

It’s not often something delivers exactly to its promise in this day and age.  But that is exactly what the Australian Violin Ensemble, led by MWC’s Concert master, Alexandra Loukianova, do in the concerts of their inaugural tour.   Anne and I went with two friends to hear the concert at Parramatta on Saturday, and we are very glad we did – even the one member of our party who wasn’t too sure about a whole concert of violin music.

The programme comprised a delightful mixture of serious and lighter-hearted pieces which, combined with simple but effective staging, kept the audience amused, involved and appreciative from beginning to end.

There are three things which for me are memorable about this concert.  Firstly the sheer energy, bravura and co-ordination of many of the pieces, but particularly of the last two items – dances from South America – which seemed to sum up the style and complexity of which this ensemble is truly capable.

Secondly, the wonderfully supportive accompaniment of Paddy Ge, prominent where needed, and in the background where needed.  (Do you remember her stunning playing of the Balakirev Islamay in the MWC concert at Loquat valley a few years ago?)

Thirdly, the fact that eight violins playing in unison sound completely different from a solo violin.  The sound wraps itself around you, enveloping you in its soft folds, caressing you gently until a moment of pure seduction.

Now if you think that last bit rather fanciful, a trait for which I admit I am known, there is only one thing to do.  Go to the concert at Cardinal Cerretti Chapel on Sunday next, where, from the very first item, Gounod’s adaptation of Bach’s Ave Maria, you will be able to make the judgement for yourself.

Manly Concert: Sunday 3rd  July 2011 at 3.00 pm.
at Cardinal Cerretti Chapel, Manly

The Manly concert is to be hosted by Damien Beaumont from ABC Classic FM

Ticket Sales:  Naomi  9953 2443 and also www.trybooking.com
Adult $42; Concession $37;  Student $35;  Child under 16 $30
Ticket price includes brochure/program

As it is nearly thirty years since I last sang Carmina Burana, I thought it might be instructive to refresh my memory about the origins and history of both the words and the music, and then to share that with anyone else who might be interested.  With the wonderful resources of Google and Wikipedia to hand, it should be easy, or so I imagined, to find out much more than was readily available thirty years ago.

 That was the theory.  In practice, all the many websites devoted to Carmina Burana tell the same tale.  And they all leave one telling question unanswered.  So my research turned into more of a guessing game – a surmise of how things might have happened.

 But let’s begin with the facts.  In 1803, a portfolio of around one thousand poems was discovered at a Benedictine abbey in southern Germany.  They were written in Mediaeval Latin and Old High German, with smatterings of other languages.  The language enabled them to be dated to the 11^th and 12^th centuries.  About eight hundred of the poems form six religious plays, with the remaining two hundred or so having secular themes.  The latter are earthy, boisterous, bawdy and irreverent, although by most judgements they would not be considered profane.  These poems captured the imagination of a number of scholars, one of whom translated them into English.  In the 1930’s, the composer Carl Orff, noted for his musical education methods, came across the translations and decided to set a representative selection of the secular poems to music.

 Originally, the work was to be performed with dramatic tableaux adding to the sense of theatre.  This version was, after some hesitation, approved by the Nazi authorities, and played to full houses.  Orff disowned all the music he had written previously, and composed two further similar works, which did not receive the same popular acclaim.

 The music really came into its own as a concert piece in the 1960’s.  It is now performed frequently all over the world, both in the orchestral version such as Sydney Philharmonia Choirs gave recently, and in the version accompanied by two pianos and percussion, which Manly Warringah Choir will be presenting in August.

 Now for the unanswered question……Why were the poems written?  There is a huge contrast in the subject matter of the poems, from reverent depictions of Bible stories to a cursing of Fate and the celebration of wine, women and song.  It does not make a lot of sense.  All the websites say is that the poems were written by Goliards, students of theology who were probably itinerant.  But why would they write material in two such totally different genres?  It seems we can only surmise. 

 It seems that, at the time, the Church was becoming rather authoritarian, with Church officials wielding a great deal of political power.  Noble and wealthy families typically sent at least one of their sons to become priests, willingly or unwillingly.  As priests in training, these largely intelligent and gifted young men faced a lifetime of living under the Church’s authority, which involved strict codes of conduct and not being married.  So I wonder if the secular poems in Carmina Burana are the last fling of young men about to submit to a lifetime of obedience, moral rectitude and chastity.  Perhaps that made them the angry young men of their day, or perhaps the graffiti artists of their time.  Perhaps they were imagining what was not to be, or giving voice to their dreams.

 Maybe it does not matter why the songs were written.  Taken at face value, they are one of many possible commentaries on some of life’s basic facets.  And they are great fun to sing.  If early rehearsals are any indication, Carlos will once again bring out the best in the Choir, particularly in terms of tone and expression, which should make for a great afternoon on August 7^th.