“That was the Sydney Chamber Choir, if you can believe it!” The words of Sam Allchurch, Artistic Director of the Sydney Chamber Choir, hit the mark perfectly during their ‘Winter Nights’ program on Saturday evening. From the moment the audience entered at stage level into the beautiful Neilson Room, it was clear this was not a ‘regular choral concert’. The audience was transported to a Parisian jazz club where the choir mingled around cabaret tables while the Jazz trio of Steve Barry, Hannah James and George Greenhill improvised effortlessly.
This concert was the brainchild of Naomi Crellin, of Idea of North fame, and was directed by her and Sam Allchurch. It was clear from the first bars of Windmills of Your Mind that Naomi has some serious choral arranging chops, as if this was a surprise to anyone watching. Naomi’s arrangements throughout the concert were perfectly pitched to the Sydney Chamber Choir, a group she clearly knows very well, and each played carefully with the structure and harmonies of beautiful Jazz standards that we know and love.
After Windmills of Your Mind, Naomi stepped aside and Sam Allchurch’s safe hands guided the choir through Debussy’s Trois Chansons de Charles d’Orléans. The choir took a few moments to settle into the new harmonic language, but once they had arrived it was a delight to hear Debussy’s harmonies so well-executed. With only six singers per voice type, the range of colours achieved by the choir was impressive, and it was clear that painstaking work had gone into the French pronunciation and meaning – the choir’s communication of the text was exemplary.
One of the most enjoyable aspects of the evening was the curation of the atmosphere throughout. Both Naomi and Sam were charming comperes, particularly when accompanied by Steve Barry’s ivory tinkling. Each transition had been well-planned, and the Neilson was used to great effect from the lighting through to the seating, staging and everything in-between.
Naomi’s arrangement of Ne me quittes pas (Don’t leave me) perfectly straddled the French and Jazz sides of the program. A whistling duet between Naomi and Christopher Matthies made us feel like we were walking down a Parisian street at dusk, and transitioned perfectly to the first appearance of Jo Lawry – Australian Jazz royalty. What a treat this was. The only thing to do was to sit back and watch this masterclass in Jazz musicianship. Steve Barry’s playing was expertly sensitive, perfectly underscored by Hannah James on bass, and George Greenhill on the drums. If Jo Lawry’s biography didn’t speak for itself, her singing surely did. Her tone is so free and natural, and the communication and respect between all four musicians was so easy and evident.
The next three pieces were to take us “…from Sunset into deep, dark night.” Three Night Songs by Heather Percy had been commissioned by the choir as part of the ABC’s Composer Commission program. This was their live world premiere, and the Sydney Chamber Choir were at home in this repertoire. The pieces themselves contain compositional techniques we have come to know as distinctly Australian, and all set to poems by women that capture images of night. Particularly effective was the use of chant in Pink Swallows Blue, sung beautifully by soprano Josie Ryan.
At first glance a collection of Poulenc pieces couldn’t possibly transition smoothly into Eric Whitacre’s Sleep, but Sam Allchurch was right when he said they connected in a completely unexpected way. The choir employed some impressive dynamic control throughout Un soir de neige from gentle, supported pianissimi through to full-voiced fortes, all the while in control of the tuning. La nuit le froid la solitude ended with a completely wild chord progression (not unusual for Poulenc), and all of a sudden we were in the world of Eric Whitacre. Sleep is undoubtedly one of his most popular pieces, and for good reason. This was the only time in the program where I thought more time could have been taken in the silences and more rubato employed, but I am splitting hairs as it was a very fine performance indeed.
Ravel’s Trois Chansons were a delightful morsel, rounding off the choral French repertoire for the evening. The step-out solos in Trois beaux oiseaux du Paradis were all beautifully executed, and Ronde was an impressive display of virtuosic French pronunciation. The highlight of the evening, however, was Naomi’s arrangement of April in Paris, sung by Jo Lawry in what was essentially a duet with the entire Tenor and Bass complement of the choir, and featuring once again the wonderful trio of instrumentalists. In Naomi’s words, she was hoping to achieve something “…incredibly romantic and slightly left of centre”, and I couldn’t have described it better myself. The Tenors and Basses sounded and looked like they were having the time of their lives, and the whole effect was, quite simply, adorable.
The penultimate piece of the evening was La Belle Dame Sans Regrets, with words and music by Sting, an artist with whom Jo Lawry has enjoyed a long collaboration. Her vocalise solo, transcribed and set to text by Naomi Crellin, was incredibly virtuosic, again showing us why she is one of Australia’s finest.
There was only one piece that could possibly round out this programme of Jazz mixed and crossed over with French repertoire, and that was of course La Vie en Rose. All through the Neilson, hands were held and sweet memories stirred by Naomi’s beautiful arrangement, the highlight of which was a particularly charming coda.
It is a rare thing indeed to see a concert so beautifully curated as ‘Winter Nights’. The next time you see the words ‘cabaret’ and ‘Sydney Chamber Choir’ near each other, don’t hesitate to buy yourself a ticket.
Photo Credit: Robert Catto
