Enjoy colourful and energetic music with Napier Civic Choir

Taylor Wallbank will be singing as the tragic roasted swan, ‘Once I lived on lakes’ during Napier Civic Choir's full Carmina Burana experience. Photo / Supplied

Expect colourful, energetic and appealing music when Napier Civic Choir presents the full Carmina Burana experience at its first concert weekend of 2023.

There will be two performances at St Paul’s Church, Tennyson St, at 7.30pm on Saturday, April 1, and 2.30pm on Sunday, April 2.

The majority of people who know and love the famous ‘O Fortuna’ that opens and closes Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana first come across it not through a performance of the work, but via its use in countless television shows, commercials and films.

Since its triumphant premiere in 1937, Carmina Burana remains by far the most popular of Orff’s works.

The text comes from a collection of early 13th-century songs and poems that was discovered in 1803 in a Bavarian monastery called Beuren, hence the name Carmina Burana, which translates from the Latin as “Songs of Beuren”.

The songs were written in a mix of Latin, German and medieval French by the Goliards, a band of poet-musicians who celebrated with earthy humour the joys of the tavern, nature and the many facets of love. In his musical setting, Orff deliberately moves away from what he saw as the over-sophistication of 19th-century Romantic music, aiming to reveal more of music’s basic, primordial elements.

As a result, there is an emphasis on rhythm and catchy, repeated melodies, making it immediately appealing.

The concert features three soloists. Soprano Larissa Kent is originally from Havelock North and recently graduated from the University of Auckland with a BMus with First Honours.

The tenor makes a brief but characterful appearance, with Taylor Wallbank singing as the tragic roasted swan, ‘Once I lived on lakes’.

A graduate of Project Prima Volta, Wallbank recently completed his Bachelor of Music. He has performed regularly with Napier Civic Choir and around New Zealand as an oratorio soloist. He debuted his singing career as ‘Le Remendado’ in Festival Opera’s production of Bizet’s Carmen in 2017 and also sang the role of Gastone in La Traviata for Festival Opera in 2018.

Baritone James Harrison studied at the Royal College of Music and then went on to Britain’s National Opera Studio. He has appeared in concerts at the Royal Albert Hall, the Barbican and Wigmore Hall and with English National Opera at the Royal Opera House. Back in NZ, he has sung in Tosca, Candide, Trial by Jury and Carmen for New Zealand Opera and sang Germont in La Traviata for Festival Opera.

Harrison sings regularly with groups such as the Auckland Choral Society, NZ Barok, and Bach Musica. He is in demand as a teacher and choral educator, working with top choirs and with young singers. He enjoys a long association with the Dame Malvina Major Foundation, working to further opportunities for young artists in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Crucial for creating the colour, energy and rhythms of Carmina Burana is percussion. Audiences will be treated to a virtuoso display from the group of four skilled percussionists along with a two-piano accompaniment. Conducted by José Aparicio, these should be memorable performances of this enduring and evocative work.

Details

St Paul’s Church, Tennyson St, Napier

Adults $35 / Tertiary students $10 / Supergold card $32 / 17 years & under free

iTicket or door sales - eftpos available

To find out more: napierchoir.org.nz