A fine harpist and the voices of angels brought a devoted and highly appreciative audience to one of Melbourne’s finest acoustic spaces, Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, Middle Park, to hear the Australian Chamber Choir. During the last three years, the ACC became the ACC8, managing to survive and continue to perform while embracing the limitations of reduced ranks and live streamed performances. This event was a major rebirth and an exciting return to the full sound of an 18-voice ensemble, which under the musical direction of the charismatic Douglas Lawrence presented an exhilarating and soul-touching performance in a perfectly curated program.

There was a great sense of excitement and anticipation when harpist Melina van Leeuwen heralded Britten’s Ceremony of Carols with majestic opening chords. Ten female choristers entered in procession with Hodie Christus natus est, singing with ease and grace, confident, gentle and affective. Vibrant harp chords accentuated the rhythms of Wolcum. Highly commendable were the changes in dynamics and timbres, with voices softening beautifully for ‘Welcome Innocentes’ in the second verse, then becoming jubilant for a joyful third verse, ‘Make more cheer.’ At the close of There is No Rose, there were many sighs of satisfaction and affirmation, as listeners were awed by the ACC’s exemplary diction throughout and the delivery of the final line of the text, not believing it could fade further, but it did – in a hushed long-held unison tone with such softness and control. Most admirable was that each and every ACC ensemble member proved to be an accomplished soloist. Lawrence conducted with the passion, belief and sensitivity which has given the ACC its acclaimed reputation, and here the prominent harp accompaniment added to the  wonderful variety of instrumental and vocal timbres in true ‘word-painting’ style for changing texts. Britten’s work was a tonal delight.

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Eight male voices completed the choral lineup to sing two Hymns to The Virgin, the first by French chorister Pierre Villette (1926 -1998), the second, an eight-part setting composed by Benjamin Britten in 1930. Both were prayerful anthems, calm pieces of beauty, with passing unusual harmonies creating both a timeless and contemporary feel.

When interval came, it felt that the time had passed very quickly in the engaging flow of such evocative and golden singing. We were given a rare experience when the second part of the program opened with Deo Gratias by 15th-century composer Johannes Ockeghem. Lawrence warmly suggested to the audience to think about how 18 singers could perform this 36-voice fugue. By assigning some voices to two or three entries of the principal melodies, and not doubling others on sustained pitches, the smooth, woven blend was a unique and harmonious achievement, appropriately expressing the text “Deo Gratias! Thanks be to God.” The audience was wonderstruck.

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Beauty and simplicity, calm and reverence were central to contrasting old English carols which followed – William Ballet’s Sweet was the Song the Virgin Sung, then the more familiar version of There is No Rose, today sung in its original version from the Trinity Carol Roll. ACC paired two different and finely balanced soloists to alternate between full choruses. An Interlude for solo harp was just what everyone wanted for a Christmas present. Melina Van Leeuwen admirably chose Fantasia which Imitates the Harp in the Manner of Ludovico by 16th-century Spanish composer Alonso Mudarra, a work recorded by virtuoso guitarists of note, which she played with precision, colour and fluency. Of the three settings of In Dulci Jubilo, (by Bach, Walter and Scheidt) the ACC were most impressive with Scheidt’s more complex writing for two choir groupings, changing metres and sung with very long-held closing jubilant chords. In this resonant space, the final note for every work was held and exploited to the full by the ACC, regularly bringing hushed murmurs of approval from audience members.

Carol of the Two Crows was a premiere performance for Sydney composer Alan Holley, with his mixture of unison and short melodic riffs showing mimicry and imitation of these mischievous birds, using a short text by Mark Tredinnick – “So play your days; give praise to the wit of birds.”  This was a colourful, quirky treat for frolicking sopranos. The bird-theme connected us to the swallows in Leontovych’s Shchedryk (Ukrainian Bell Carol), a song which has been part of Ukrainian folklore for many centuries. Sung in its original language, the ACC delivered the essential spirit of folk-dance pulse beats with percussive and earthy timbres. Two French carols arranged by ACC’s Elizabeth Anderson – 10th Noel for Organ by Daquin and Angels we Have Heard on High were jolly and playful with echoing, bouncy musical repartee. Officially the program concluded with a celebration of vocal polyphony and splendour in Sweelinck’s Hodie Christus Natus Est as the choir’s ‘Alleluias’ took on vibrant … trumpet-like … tones.

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ACC audiences seem to expect many more choral presents at Christmas time. Lawrence invited the audience to become a full part of the concert program with a reprise of Anderson’s arrangement of Angels We Have Heard on High. With strong tenors soaring above the melody in this arrangement it was quite a welcomed and most rewarding finale. With some people there were tears of joy.