Above: Sydney Chamber Choir with soloists Andrew O’Connor, Angela Brun and organist Thomas Wilson (far right, front) performed the Fauré Requiem Op 48 at St James Church. Image: Chalice Paiva. Featured image: Programme cover design by joshmurray.com.au.
This is a milestone year for Sydney Chamber Choir as it celebrates its 50th birthday. Now a rewarding and well-patronised institution in our city and country, SCC continues to show tremendous range and innovation in its programming. The latest concert, Fauré Requiem showed off the choir’s considerable versatility, support of new and historical Australian music as well as its solid background as early music interpreters.
Sydney Chamber Choir’s proficiency over five decades for delivering deeply expressive vocal music with impressive blend and clarity, regardless of style. Their communications are keenly linked to humanity in all eras represented, generating a strong human response from both secular and sacred musics. Their signature impact was pleasingly present in this concert, joined for the Fauré Requiem that concluded this event by soloists Andrew O’Connor (baritone) and Angela Brun (soprano).
Gentle and subtly developed drama or atmospheres during Faurés unique text setting during Requiem Op 48 were in expert hands here. Choir members and soloists rose to the communicative challenge set by this composer and colourfully realised by organist Thomas Wilson. Natalie Shea’s superb program notes are full of candid quotes from the composer that justifies his need to jettison the requiem mass’ fire and brimstone emphasis for something more intimate and sensitive.
Above: Artistic Director Sam Allchurch leads the Sydney Chamber Choir in some a capella sacred music. Image: Geoff Sirmai.
Fauré turned the Catholic Mass requiem text setting on its head, different to the all-resources-in approach of predecessors Verdi and Mozart with their works’ fiery depictions of calamity and consequence for the sinner. Faure’s work, finding hope, human concern and spiritual protection rather than harsh warnings and terror is based in part on soaring plainsong lines. It must embrace us with super long phrases. Its drama depicts a yearning for rest and stillness rather than frightening the grieving into abstaining from sin.
This performance challenge was beautifully taken up by Sydney Chamber Choir, with the engaging intoning of Fauré’s extended plainsong material also continued seamlessly by soloists. This smooth, sweeter musical setting full of slow shifts in shape and feel was reflected too in the neat layering and juxtaposition of atmospheres introduced so fluidly by in this organ accompaniment.
Andrew O’Connor’s mellifluous and heartfelt delivery of requiem mass text from the pulpit was a stunning presentation. Smooth lines that reached out to us and transported us through religious observance through to the chill of end-of-life hope. His ‘Libera me’ entreaty had a measured excellence and a warm chill that has been on grateful repeat in my concert memory ever since. All of his svelte, capably-phrased, reverent requests for rest and safety were beautifully traced. These were welcome, consistent additions to the calm colourisations already beautifully undulating in the choir.
Likewise, soprano Angela Brun gave us a ‘Pie Jesu’ we were all were hoping for. As with Andrew O’Connor’s mesmerisingly moving solos, her completely smooth version demonstrated breathtaking control and an elevated elegance of line that fully answered Faure’s tender-Requiem brief.
Faure’s innovation in this loved work was preceded at this near-capacity-crowd event with other works of innovation. In traditional SCC style, works from Australian composers both current and from decades ago featured. It was a thrill to hear Nigel Butterley’s Morning Fanfare from the 1950s so vividly revived. From the same we heard three gently expressive anthems from Canadian Healey Willan.
Music for praise commissioned by SCC in this concert included the modern, innovative spiritual music with German and English texts by Australian Brooke Shelley, Heavenly Father. This functional, modern sacred music, elaborately responding to the SCC commission parameters was supported by a commission work by a St James Church parishoner, setting English text from Psalm 147: 1-7. This new sacred music expression was beautifully delivered by the choir.
Innovation through past eras was also joyfully demonstrated in a bracket to prelude Faure’s unique work. The afternoon began with the double-choir favourite by Bach, the difficult Singet dem Herrn, which bristled successfully when sung with agile interplay by the divided vocal forces.
Above: Sydney Chamber Choir performed in St James Church ahead of the upcoming German tour. Image: Chalice Paiva
As well as beautifully compact, complex Bach, plus the local flavours to take on tour soon to Germany, another birthday gift given to us in this concert came in the form of Mendelssohn’s Jauchzet dem Herrn (1844).
So ready for export to German audiences, this warm and rich performance of Mendelssohn’s setting of Psalm 100 mirrors the variegated concert line-up’s earlier title of Bach, whose music Mendelssohn admired and had revived 15 years earlier. This version of the German master’s commission work for a Jewish Temple opening will no doubt be a hit for our soon-to-depart music ambassadors.
We wish Sydney Chamber Choir well on this exciting German tour. They travel with a formidable history of diverse concert making in the Antipodes. And they farewelled the large, appreciative St James Church crowd with a huge variety of music from diverse national backgrounds, supplying edge-of-the-seat musical and textual atmosphere-postcards for us to treasure.
The Sydney Chamber Choir’s 2025 birthday celebration continued in this nicely packaged concert. Its gift of well-contrasted and excellently chosen works was timelessly stunning. These all cleverly extending previous treatments of the choir instrument, in beautiful settings, here transporting the sacred texts with luscious SCC clarity.
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