What a joy it is to hear superb choral repertoire performed by the highly acclaimed Australian Chamber Choir (ACC) who bring us an average of fifteen glorious performances every year in Melbourne and regional venues. Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church is visually and acoustically a fine concert venue, where voices are lifted and expanded in an ethereal way, just as liturgical composers intended. “Great Romantic Voices” gave us a carefully designed program of passionate and richly harmonic works from approximately 1820 to1910, and ACC are to be commended for always providing detailed program notes and texts plus Livestream access following the event.
Two dramatic chords opened “Warum?” (Why?). A powerful silence followed and then softer questioning and quiet despair. This was a stunning opening to Brahms’ setting of the profound lament “Warum ist das Licht gegeben dem Mühseligen?” We felt Brahms’ personal angst and questioning with every forthright delivery of the text Warum? With gentle rhythm and tempo, director Douglas Lawrence focussed on beauty and solace, not allowing weariness or gravity to prolong the sadness. Strong bass voices provided strength and unity, contrasts in textual meaning with sudden louds and softnesses, which led to a fine pianissimo fade into the final text: “Der Tod ist mir schlaf worden”. (Death is to become my sleep.) Such a powerful opening work.
Rheinberger’s “Abendlied” (Evening Song) gave us a six-part gorgeous sacred motet, comparatively lighter and brighter in timbre, with sopranos rising heavenly with their Amens, like evening bells.
Power, grandeur and challenging harmonic modulations continued to impress us in Bruckner’s “Christus factus est” as the ACC seemed to have magically trebled their number of voices with new symphonic tones.
Two settings of Ave Maria brought us rare vocal masterpieces from Romantic composers so well known for their grand instrumental work. Verdi’s “Ave Maria” required much breath control as choristers held shifting layers of long-held and suspended tones. Rising and falling chromatic patterns brought both mystery and a feeling of searching and unresolvedness in this challenging slow-moving work. From his Vespers Op. 37, Rachmaninoff’s calm and reflective “Bogoróditse Dyévo” (Rejoice, O Virgin) was sung with its Church Slavonic text, bringing warm tones and comforting hymn-like devotion, and like many works today, quietly ending on a long-held pianissimo.
Elizabeth Anderson’s arrangement of Elgar’s Lux Aeterna (“Nimrod”) was very beautiful, very well known and very well applauded. Colour and flowing movement brought out the English sense of fertile countryside and stateliness with increasing warmth and grandeur, hope and glory. The second work from Two Late English Romantics was “Let all mortal flesh keep silence” by Edward Bairstow. Published in 1925, the work paid homage to the timeless Greek chant, and became a popular Eucharist hymn in Christian services. It was lovely to hear unison tenors and basses opening the work, female voices responding, and the full ensemble developing word-painting and increasing polyphony with strongly punctuated Alleluias, all leading to the traditional pianissimo close.
In two well-known works by Samuel Barber the ACC showed its outstanding inspirational vocal work with soloists shining in pitch and tone quality, rising up then blending smoothly in works requiring exceptional mastery of breath control and precise ensemble teamwork. First, the universally loved “Agnus Dei”, then the inventive setting of texts from Twelfth Night, Barber’s splendid yet sombre carol.
For many years we have admired the outstanding achievements of the ACC under the skills and shared artistic partnership of Douglas Lawrence and Elizabeth Anderson. Having conducted all works to this point, Lawrence passed that role to Anderson for Two American Romantics. “Help us O God” (1903) by Amy Beach is a setting of Psalms 44, 79 and 95, which began with a slow four-part heartfelt melody for the text “Help us, O God of our Salvation”. A lyrical work, intensity and expression reflected the text as choristers burst forward with ‘Shall thy wrath burn like fire’ then pleaded gently at the close with “Be merciful unto our sins for Thy name’s sake. Help us.” Most beautiful, highly applauded.
An exciting close came with a dramatic “Dies Irae” by Michael John Trotta (b.1978). With faster more agitated and staccato punctuation, the world was indeed divided with changing tempos and rhythms taking sopranos to highest reaches and male voices to lowest depths. This great finish would always bring much applause for an encore.
“O Salutaris Hostia” by Ëriks Ešenvalds (b. 1977) has become a popular work for the Latvian composer. It gave us a chance to hear ACC sopranos Kate McBride and Sarah Amos again thrill us with brilliant duet work over a hushed ensemble accompaniment in a moving performance of the gentle and peaceful traditional Benediction hymn. The concert closed beautifully with the diminishing repeated text “Nobis donet in patria”.
Image supplied.
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Julie McErlain reviewed “Great Romantic Voices”, presented by the Australian Chamber Choir at Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Middle Park on June 21, 2026.
