Under the … expert guidance of Director … Douglas Lawrence the Australian Chamber Choir have once again … given us an unforgettable concert.
JOHN PASSION – AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER CHOIR
Review by Jill Page
Once again the sublime voices of the Australian Chamber Choir filled the large space at Scots Church with their rendition of St John Passion, presenting another exemplary concert to the absolute delight of the audience who packed the church This is a Passion or Oratorio by Johannes Sebastian Bach which was first performed in 1724.This extravagant and passionate work tells the story of the Passion of Christ and is traditionally sung at Easter. Consisting of recitatives, arias and choruses it was followed later by Bach’s St Matthew Passion.
This is the first offering in the Australian Chamber Choir’s 2019 season. The choir and soloists exhibit an exquisite sound which seems to be effortlessly produced, showing perfection in beautiful voices even in the challenging passages. The soloists and choir alike display such mastery of language.
The soloists – Timothy Reynolds, Jerzy Kozlowski, Oliver Mann, Amelia Jones, Tanum Shipp, Kieran MacFarlane, Elspeth Bawden and Elizabeth Anderson are all strong and experienced singers displaying excellent vocal skills and technique with ease.
The magnificent Baroque Orchestra shows an insightful interpretation of the musical score which Bach composed to include some rare musical instruments. They combine these with contemporary orchestral instruments thus allowing the original character of the music to shine through.
Under the tutelage and expert guidance of Director and Maestro Douglas Lawrence OAM and Concert Master Shane Lestideau Australia Chamber Choir have once again excelled and given us an unforgettable concert.
This concert has toured to Hamilton, Macedon, Melbourne and Clunes.