by Tricia Ziemer

Once again, the Australian Chamber Choir, directed by Douglas Lawrence, has triumphed with its recent concert Fauré Requiem here in Melbourne at Scots’ Church. They have very much been missed by their audiences, sponsors, and fellow musicians all over Australia during the pandemic. They, unfortunately, had to cancel their 2021 European invited tour to St. Thomas Church, Leipzig. This would have been their 4th internationally acclaimed European tour. But they have still been busy performing and screening live via their website to keep our souls lifted with soaring renditions of music by the greats such as Brahms, Gorden Kerry and Debussy.

I have been to several of the Australian Chamber Choir performances but this rendition of Brahms, Tavener and Fauré took my breath away and brought tears to my eyes. How could you add to such perfect sound, perfect pace, and perfect directing? You couldn’t and you wouldn’t. But you do need to get to an Australian Chamber Choir to experience this performance phenomenon. We are so proud they are part of our Australian art and culture and
based in Melbourne.

What magic Director Douglas Lawrence brings to the world with his ability to blend voice and instrument to create such artistry of sound. It is obvious why this choir, so strong in voice and harmony, are in demand all over the country and the world. The acoustics and beauty of Scots’ Church just create a sublime and moving environment.

You cannot help but be lifted in mind, body and soul. It seems you become one with the song, with the voice, with the inspiration. It is mindfulness in every sense. Just being one with the crystal clarity of the voice in that single instance. Your mind does not want to wander and wonder about the mundane. The Australian Chamber Choir singing makes every cell in your being vibrate with energy and joy and their music soars to the heavens. Our little slice of heaven on earth in that moment. The hours it must take for everyone involved, to perfect this blend of voice and instrument, I could not guess. It is pure.

For myself, one performance stood out above the rest with the Director’s innovative blending of John Tavener’s (1944-2013) Svyati written in 1995 for choir and a solo cello. This was performed by Rosanne Hunt. It built on perfect spirals of that single cello, resonating with soprano and tenor voices upward to utter bliss. Bravo, Bravo, Encore, please.

Other outstanding performances included Rhys Boak on Piano, and soloists Amelia Jones and Oliver Mann.

I wish you had not missed the concert at St Scot’s, but you can still get to this concert in Australia. It is time for you to take advantage of an “escape from the city”. This concert will perform in other locations and you will not want to miss it:

Saturday 1 May at 3PM Church of the Resurrection
Saturday 21 August at 7PM St Andrews’, Hamilton
Sunday 29 August at 3PM Christ Church, Castlemaine

And there are other options to see them perform. Just go to www.auschoir.org/faure-requiem book your seats or watch online. Trust me, once you have heard this choir, you will be hooked for life and want to attend again and again.

Please be aware, this is a not for profit organisation and 68% of their revenue comes from people attending their concerts. Support them either via an online concert or make a donation and do buy a CD.

They have a wonderful range of the works they have filmed and digitised to date including a Christmas Album. I adore my Christmas music and cannot wait for this last concert to be emblazed on CD. It is on my wishlist, both for myself, and to share with my listeners on radio. Their CDs are the perfect gift for Christmas, Easter, Birthday, Anniversary, or just to share your love of this choir with friends and family.