Sydney Chamber Choir – 90 minutes of choral splendour!

Sydney Chamber Choir | Heirs & Rebels

28 September, 2024, Sts Peter and Paul Old Cathedral, Goulburn

After several busy weeks, including an interstate move, an afternoon in the newly renovated Sts Peter and Paul Old Cathedral in Goulburn was just the Salve. I have been a long-time fan of the Sydney Chamber Choir, who turn 50 in 2025. Under the helm of Sam Allchurch, the Sydney Chamber Choir with guest narrator John Gaden AO reading from letters and poetry, our spirits were lifted with 90 minutes of choral splendour on a sunny Spring afternoon in Goulburn. I would find it hard to appreciate this repertoire in anything less than a stately church, particularly one so beautifully restored. Even the care in matching the flowers on the altar to the restored stain glass windows was wonderful.

After a welcome from presenting partner, Hume Conservatorium’s George Brenan, our spirits soared with Finzi’s joyous and rousing My Spirit Sang All Day, pairing Robert Bridge’s poem to Finzi’s music. Not a single audience member slouched in their pews listening to this outpouring of love for Finzi’s wife. The restored Cathedral is a vast space to fill and the SCC managed a dynamic range from a single soft voice to a fortissimo to reach the rafters.

We moved on to songs of despair, languish, longing, love and redemption, marrying the early poetry of Henry Vaughan, John Dunne and George Herbert, with composers of the 19th century and into the 21st century. Parry’s Songs of Farewell were soulful and reflective, Howells’ Salve Regina was sensitively sang with a gorgeous solo from Louisa Coussens; both were slow enough to fill the vast acoustic but not laborious. It was a treat to hear Tallis’ original theme used in Ralph Vaughan Williams’ famous Fantasia (written several centuries later) and the rousing Lux Aeterna, with Cameron’s text sung to the famous Elgar tune – Allchurch’s mastery of phrasing and tempi allowing space for the musical lines and harmonies to not become muddy. This is true of the full program of English choral standards such as Holst’s Nunc dimittis, Stanford’s sweet The Blue Bird and Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Agnus Dei and newer works from Judith Weir and Imogen Holst.

The standout pieces in today’s program were the newer works by Tavener and Harry Sdraulig. The latter composer has been described as “intriguingly off-kilter” but the world premiere of Evening Star, with text by one of my favourite poets Edgar Allan Poe was mystical and familiar, reflecting on centuries of choral music, with beautifully sung long lines and eerily icy harmonies and dynamics. I originally thought that not finishing with Lux Aeterna was a mistake (to not finish with a bang) but ending the concert with the two Tavener works was incredibly powerful. Written in the later half of the 20th century, The Lamb (based on Blake’s Songs of Innocence) demonstrated SCC’s ability to sing exact inverted counterpoint expertly, and also to sing delicately and reflectively. The basses droned under the simple melody for Song for Athene, with Allchurch stretching the tempo to suit the vast acoustic of the Cathedral, mastering dynamics in the triumphant tutti and reducing to a hushed Alleluia to finish.

Today’s concert theme was ‘Opposites attract’: heirs of tradition and rebels against tradition; mixing the so-called simplicity of Renaissance choral music with the new harmonic landscape of the music written this year. Singing Anglican music in a Catholic Cathedral. To quote a chorister “we were all Catholics once” reflects on the comment in the program notes from Oscar Schmitz that there were no decent English composers post Henry Purcell until the talents of Vaughan Williams, Holst, Howells, Parry and Finzi in the 19th century. And we thank all above for this ‘second musical renaissance’ in the English choral music tradition.

The SCC are expert in their ability to sing as one, with precise phrasing, intonation (particularly with the many dissonances heard today), dynamics and diction, and a joy in their communication with the audience. Today’s performance was flawless, prepared, and joyful. Gaden’s readings were thoughtful and thought provoking, but hard to hear in this big space. This was my favourite quote from Oscar Schmitz, as read by Gaden to encapsulate the power of today’s concert: “To be immersed in music, even ever so little, means being able to lose yourself. To tolerate even dis-harmonies, even to spend time with such sounds since they can be resolved in beautiful harmony, music provides wings and makes everything beautiful and fantastical seem natural.”