the Australian Chamber Choir transported us to that heavenly place
Daniel Brace reviews Palestrina 500
Sunday 25 May, 2025, Middle Park, VIC
It’s Palestrina’s 500th birthday this year. Born in 1525, Giovanni Pierluigi (as he was known to his friends) da Palestrina was just as famous in his lifetime as in the 500 years since his birth. His music has long been synonymous with church and worship, and with good reason.
Together with the exemplary acoustic of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Middle Park, and under the ever watchful and expert direction of Douglas Lawrence, the Australian Chamber Choir transported us to that heavenly place in Palestrina 500.
The opening set of music by Palestrina was so perfect, I had to close my eyes. Both to block out visual distractions and give my absolute attention to the music. I did not want to miss a single note.
The motets, Super flumina Babylonis, Haec Dies and Sicut cervus, were not only elegant but delivered seemingly effortlessly by the choir. The voices blended and balanced perfectly. Palestrina himself would have been proud of the performance; it was polished.
The rest of the program flowed very nicely, with Josquin des Prez’s popular hit, Mille regretz, a great contrast to the opening set. Performed by a select quartet, Kate McBride, Elizabeth Anderson, Matthew Bennett and Thomas Drent, it provided a palette cleanser and shift of pace.
The Ave Maria.. virgo serena by the same composer followed, with its stately ascending and gently falling opening phrase, repeated again and again throughout. This was paired with the Ave Maria a 5 by Palestrina, which was started softly and delicately by director Douglas Lawrence and brought us nicely back to the Italian style.
Palestrina himself composed over 100 masses, so it was a treat to hear the Missa Aeterna Christi Munera. The movements of the mass – Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, Benedictus, Agnus Dei I and a bonus Agnus Dei II – were enhanced by the beautiful acoustics and surrounds of the church, as the afternoon autumn sun poured in and illuminated the faces of the singers.
There were many moments of bliss during the mass setting, including the musical ‘unfolding’ of the Sanctus, the joyful Hosannas in the Benedictus – sung by Katherine Lieschke, Isobel Todd and Anish Nair – and my favourite movement the final Agnus Dei (II).
In a feat of daring, the penultimate work of the concert was Allegri’s Miserere, with its 20 verses and awesome high C’s. For this, the choir was divided into three. The four singers of the quartet – Kate McBride, Katherine Lieschke, Melissa Lee and Thomas Drent – were positioned at the high altar and in the foreground, a group of men singing the plainchant and the remaining choristers making up the five part choir.
This worked incredibly well, with the natural amplification of the space favouring the four singers at the back, whose sound was no lesser than the rest of the choristers who were much closer to us. I was glad to hear the version we know and love, even if it’s not for the faint hearted. I hope the soprano Kate McBride got a gold medal for her performance, she sure deserved it!
The Christus resurgens, again by Allegri and which closed the concert, was a reminder of the exuberance of Easter as the season draws to its close.
Sometime over the next few months, when winter has well and truly set in, I know my mind will drift to this concert and I’ll remember the warm feeling of being enveloped in the sound and artistry of Palestrina’s world. No doubt, like so many others have done over the past almost 500 years. Happy Birthday Palestrina.