While the famous frescoes in the Sistine Chapel were intended to inspire visions and aspirations of heaven, so too did the architecture, painted dome and historical space in Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, Middle Park perfectly elevate the harmonies and texts of this beautifully spiritual choral program.
Appointed to the Sistine Chapel choir in 1555 for a short post, Palestrina returned in 1571 as choir director, so his grand, stately motet “Like as a hart desireth the waterbrooks” was a significant choice and an engaging and evocative opening, its gentle grandness and flowing polyphony certainly inspiring our wintry souls. Australian Chamber Choir singers are highly experienced in producing breathtaking blend and tone colour, but this Church also adds great richness and resonance, which amplifies and deepens the performance.
The atmosphere of Palestrina’s Sistine Chapel had been reverentially and solemnly established here in Our Lady of Mount Carmel in the first piece, so it was a shame that the mood was broken with ACC manager Elizabeth Anderson next addressing the audience with a welcome and acknowledgment, but also with business matters and future ACC programs, before the choir presented the second Palestrina work, Pope Marcellus Mass. In a concert with no interval the super musical atmosphere already established was perhaps broken. We wanted the superb singing to continue, and the opening to Palestrina’s popular mass, the Kyrie was delivered with a contrasting lightness to the opening motet, moving forward with a graceful tempo, glorious clear text and bell-like crystalline vowel tones. Sanctus expressed a colourful and balanced weaving of text and contrapuntal voices in a respectful and calm moderato tempo, well-directed by Douglas Lawrence’s understanding of the reverberation of the venue. Similarly the Gloria was most reflective, humble and prayerful, with more resplendent vocal timbre and increased power kept for the text Hosanna in Excelsis in the Sanctus (Benedictus). Two Agnus Dei texts were the final parts sung in this program, with Agnus Dei 1 (6 vocal parts) and Agnus Dei 11 (7 vocal parts) both enabling ACC to give confident, uplifting vocal work in an exemplary demonstration of Palestrina’s complex polyphony.
The prayerful text for Ave Maria has inspired glorious musical settings, with Josquin des Prez’ motet being one of his best known examples of Renaissance music. The ACC demonstrated the purest and expressive tones from each soprano alto tenor and bass parts, deceptively simple at first with serene imitative entries, with echoes from highest to lowest voices, increasing in power when moving into a blended rhythmic block as a colourful and harmonious chant. The vision was strangely nostalgic as the choristers, dressed in humble all black and modest attire, were brightened with afternoon sunlight streaming through side windows directly illuminating their faces. As final cadences do bring out most effective forthright harmony in choirs, the repeated and long sustained single block chords were very moving.
It was a fine choice to bring Michelangelo to our experience of this Sistine Chapel program, with the artist’s texts set to music for Two Madrigals by Jacques Arcadelt. In “Tell Me, O Love” male voices combined strongly and impressively in a very united front providing an earthy foundation. “O’er us, I think, powerful gods”, required a more potent text to be enunciated, and ACC strongly delivered an enjoyable contrasting and lusty account.
Allegri’s glorious and much-loved 5-part chant, Miserere is now a classic, and today we felt privileged to be given a truly fine Sistine Chapel experience. Soloists Elspeth Bowden – soprano 1, Kate McBride – soprano 2, Elizabeth Anderson – alto, and Thomas Drent – bass, relocated behind the central ensemble, but under the vaulted (cupola) dome, creating a 4th dimensional tonal splendour. Magical and sublime, Bowden’s rising soprano notes were pure gold, all voices were blended and balanced with the smoothest of text enunciation, and the final close brought responsive murmurs of “Bravo”, almost hushed, from an audience mesmerised and admiring.
Allegri’s “Christ rising again from the dead” closed the formal program, with ACC offering a variety of tone with strong fervour and joyful spirits in rising dynamics and uplifting Alleluias, with the last Alleluia indeed being sustained and elevated to produce the longest echo of the afternoon.
Director Douglas Lawrence warmly addressed the very happy audience saying the ACC “still had more in the tank” and now we were no longer in the Sistine Chapel, the audience was delighted hearing Monteverdi’s “Laudate Dominum” with the choristers’ faces showing much delight in singing such joyful music.
Image supplied.
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Julie McErlain reviewed “Sistine Chapel”. Performed by the Australian Chamber Choir at Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Middle Park on August 23, 2023.
