Dunedin RSA Choir’s final event for the year was last Friday evening in Knox Church.
The good-sized audience enjoyed some excellent music. Sound Ye Trumpets with ornamented trumpet obligato from Ralph Miller was a robust well-paced opener, followed by Gershwin’s popular Summertime sung with the choir by soprano Erin Connelly-Whyte. RSA Scholar Jesse Hanan (tenor) contributed the A.H.Malotte version of The Lord’s Prayer, then the youngest guest artist Robert Eyers who turned 8 last week, amazed everyone with his incredible expertise at the pipe organ. Firstly a confident intelligent delivery of Bach’s Prelude and Fugue BWV559 , then Humoresque - Toccatina for Flute by Pietro, using soft flute pipes to highlight delicate lyricism over rapid accompaniment. Little feet and fast fingers astounded in a phenomenal performance by one so young.
Combined choir members entertained for the remainder of the first half of the programme and included A City Called Heaven with stylistic solo verses from RSA Scholar baritone Kieran Kelly, O Nata Lux (Lauridsen), a Maori text from Romans 8 Aroha O te Atu set by Knudson for choir and three soloists (Claire Barton, Erin Connelly-Whyte and Rosie McAllister), a rousing Glory Hallelujah with trumpet gilding, and a choral arrangement of Cohen’s popular Hallelujah .
J.S.Bach’s half-hour sacred cantata Sleepers Awake (1731) accorded strong enthusiastic singing, with vocal solo passages among the seven traditional sections of recits, airs and chorales, and some excellent orchestral interludes (oboe-Nick Cornish, violin-Claire Anderson, flute-Philippa Fotheringham). A Dan Forest version of the Wesley hymn And Can it Be ended an enjoyable event, compered by Kevin Tansley.
