Uwe Grodd conducts the Auckland Choral during a performance of Handel's Messiah at the Auckland Town Hall. Photo / Supplied
Auckland Choral's Messiah is a highlight of the city's musical calendar. Two performances of the oratorio invariably bring in sizeable audiences, with many experiencing their only concert hall outing of the year.
Uwe Grodd's congenial welcome always places the performance in a topical context. In 2018 the conductor made a
brief Brexit quip; tonight was described as a much-appreciated level 1 Messiah (he had been concerned that it might have been cancelled as happened during the 1918 Spanish flu epidemic).
But traditions must go on, he stressed: "Auckland Choral was founded in 1856, before the BNZ and, while banks are closing branches, we're still singing."
And sing they did, magnificently in a buoyant "And the glory", bolstered, like many of Handel's grander choruses, by Philip Smith's town hall organ.
Grodd's incisive baton unleashed an almost frightening power in "Surely he hath borne our griefs" while Handel's monumental final chorus, sung without scores and with the sterling support of Pipers Sinfonia, was a stirring showcase of high baroque splendour.
