The Creation
Franz Joseph Haydn
Australian Haydn Ensemble
Sydney Chamber Choir
Roland Peelman – conductor
Alexandra Oomens – soprano, Andrew Goodwin – tenor, James Ioelu bass-baritone
City Recital Hall, May 1, 2022
A work for choir, orchestra and three vocal soloists that takes 150 minutes to perform is a work from a distant past. I doubt any large choir or orchestral organisation would commission such a work these days. Too long – audiences have a short attention span. Well this definitely was not the case with a large and spellbound audience at the City Recital Hall who gave the Australian Haydn Ensemble, Sydney Chamber Choir, soloists and conductor a sustained ovation for their performance of the 1798 oratorio by Haydn, The Creation. And it was most deserved applause. A masterful performance of a masterpiece.
Roland Peelman is a music director/conductor who has spent most of his life working with singers and he was a perfect choice to direct this large and at times disparate work. Sometimes The Creation seems to want to be an opera and so often references Haydn’s long career as a symphonist and then there are hints of the music of Bach and Handel. Peelman came to terms with all these characteristics and gave good guidance throughout.
The Sydney Chamber Choir shone like stars on the night singing with precision and with a delightful attention to dynamics. When they needed to give power they laid it on and were appropriately sweet in the sections that required such an approach. Choirmaster Sam Allchurch, take a bow!
This was my first encounter with the Australian Haydn Ensemble and what a thrill – glorious individual and ensemble playing all night. Brilliant fluting from Georgia Browne throughout and superb playing from the whole wind section was matched by exemplary playing from hornists Carla Blackwood and Jenny McLeod-Sneyd and their brass colleagues. Violin leader and artistic director Skye McIntosh assembled a string section that just gave and gave. Karina Schmitz and James Eccles (violas), Daniel Yeadon and Anthony Albrecht (cellos) and Kirsty McCahon (double bass) thrilled all night with playing appropriate to every nuance.
Soprano Alexandra Oomens was a delight with impeccable attack and intonation. For me a little bit of magic came when in Part III she explored some different tonal colours in O thou, for whom I am!Andrew Goodwin brought great imagination and vocal variety to the tenor role singing with clarity and élan.
There was some imperious singing, impish vocal behaviour and a colourful approach to the text from bass-baritone James Ioelu. This is such a big sing and demands a voice with a large range.
All of Australia deserves to hear this production of Haydn’s masterpiece. Audiences can be assured that the Australian Haydn Ensemble performs at the highest of international standards and support their concert-giving.
(This concert was also live streamed on Australian Digital Concert Hall)
