Above: Anna Sandström conducts the Brandenburg Young Voices. Featured image: Paul Dyer with the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra and choir. Soloists (l to r): Amy Moore, Max Riebl, Paul Sutton and Alexander Knight.
The latest event for the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra in its 2016 season is MOZART REQUIEM: 100 VOICES. As well as presenting a fresh and dramatically exhilarating performance of Mozart’s final work, this concert also is the culmination of Paul Dyer’s admirable project to select and include children from twenty Sydney schools to sing in the programme.
The Brandenburg Young Voices enter at the concert’s outset in captivating a cappella procession down both aisles of the City Recital Hall. Girls from a range of Sydney primary and high schools reach the stage singing the Festive Alleluia by Australian composer Lyn Williams.
Following this the participating boys take us back to the sixteenth century as they enter singing the carol Gaudete from Piae Cantiones (1582). Both groups perform with precision and discipline, ably led to the typically adult stage by guest conductor Anna Sandström.
The rich tapestry of works featuring the Brandenburg Young Voices in the concert’s first half continues with church music from France’s Notre Dame Cathedral in the thirteenth century (Stella Nos, Stella Maris) and from sixteenth century Rome (with Palestrina’s Alma Redemptoris Mater).
Contrasting with the sacred music setting Latin texts, we next receive a preview of the four soloists to be later heard during Mozart’s Requiem: Amy Moore, soprano, Max Riebl, alto, Paul Sutton, tenor, and Alexander Knight, bass. From a balcony high above the stage, they display their effective communicative skills and successful blend. Their rendition of Matona Mia Cara, a bawdy song by Orlando di Lasso is well acted and choreographed.
Following a carol and hymn by Rutter with string accompaniment, the Brandenburg Young Voices reinforce the structure of the Hallelujah! chorus from Messiah. They join the Australian Brandenburg Choir and Orchestra to form an exciting climax to the concert’s first half and variety of group vocal music heard thus far. The addition of children’s voices here especially gilds the upper voice parts.
Following interval, Paul Dyer guides the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra and Australian Brandenburg Choir in a fresh expression of Mozart’s Requiem K.626. A suitable Mozartean sense of dramatic expression is always at the fore of this interpretation which requires all the virtuosity and stamina of the musicians.
Tempo choices are often surprisingly brisk, but move forward with convincing fire. The choir works hard to bring an effervescent and effective realisation of this mass. Compositional gesturing whether it belongs to Mozart or Süssmayr is respected and clearly outlined. Paul Dyer commands an extremely theatrical performance of this work throughout. It is a Mozart Requiem painted in a sublime swoop of colourful broad strokes.
The soloists converse with refined subtlety of articulation in their intimate moments such as the Tuba Mirum, Recordare and Benedictus movements. They also have the technical and expressive resources for achieving sudden shifts to sections of dramatic contrast when the text and music so demands.
This interpretation of Mozart’s Requiem alone is an important choral event which is not be missed. The combination of the Brandenburg Young Voices with the adult performers in the remainder of the concert makes it an inspiring community project and a master stroke of concert planning.
MOZART REQUIEM: 100 VOICES can be heard again in Sydney on May 4, 6 and 11 at the City Recital Hall.
I agree, a beautifully planned concert. The Mozart Requiem was gorgeous & exciting, moving and reflective. So Mozart…..