The Graduate Choir New Zealand kept a good-sized audience spellbound in St Paul’s Cathedral on Saturday evening.
The choir of 42 embraced singers of all ages and of many different ethnicities.
The singers responded to the authoritative and confident conducting of Terence Maskell with excellent choral sound featuring the layering of voice parts, emotional crescendi and diminuendi, carefully modulated cadence points, attention to musical detail, negotiating of complex rhythms and sensitively shaped phrases.
With more men than women in the choir, the men did occasionally overpower the female voices, especially the tenors who at times sacrificed beauty of tone for volume.
The programme of 15 items covered music from six centuries, sung in numerous different languages.
The concert began with the loud opening chords of Robert Parsons’ Ave Maria sung from the west end of the cathedral. This unexpected opening had a mesmerising effect on the audience, despite lapses in soprano intonation.
Chris Artley, also pianist and chorister, composed Tupuārangi last year to celebrate Matariki. The cathedral acoustics suited the 12-part vocal texture; Artley created some spellbinding climaxes and a very strong ending.
Dunedin composers were represented by Richard Madden’s Set Me As A Seal, accompanied by organist David Burchell, and Anthony Ritchie’s Song of Hope. Beauty of choral sound and clear diction were features of both pieces.
Tschesnokoff’s Spaseniye sodelal was based on a Ukrainian chant and featured first-rate singing from the basses.
The 23 men, with pianist Artley, sang Let All Men Sing with robust tone and enjoyment.
Sung by the full choir, Antognini’s Come To Me captured the essence of the text with exquisite tonal colouring in each voice part.
After the final rousing Evening Hymn by H. Balfour Gardiner with Burchell at the organ, the audience quickly rose in a prolonged standing ovation. The choir responded with two contrasting encores.
Review by Judy Bellingham
