Auckland Choral Society: Holy Trinity Cathedral

By WILLIAM DART

Bach's St Matthew Passion was an ambitious choice to open the Auckland Choral Society's 2003 season.

From the first chorus, Peter Watts set spirited tempi, and while his choristers and Pipers Sinfonia were sometimes tested by the longer numbers, the many chorales were resonantly satisfying and the company responded vividly to the cut and thrust of the shorter choruses.

David Hamilton's Evangelist, as vocally spry as ever, milked the text for all the drama it had, making the most of Neil Jenkins' translation.

Beside him, Robert Wiremu's Jesus, although easy on the ear, was not as commanding a presence as he might have been.

The four soloists were variable and, on the whole, could have been singing in Swahili for all of the English translation came across.

The most convincing was the assured Shelagh Molyneux who, from her first recitative, My Master and my Lord, was a source of constant joy; the least satisfactory was Peter de Blois, coming up with a tonally challenged account of Endure, Endure.

The most irritating aspect of the evening was not a musical one but the spasmodic choreographic offerings of Mary Jane O'Reilly.

Rather than attempting a complete dramatisation, as has been done overseas with the shorter St John Passion, O'Reilly brought in a small troupe of dancers here and there to emphasise the numerous references in the text to the body of Christ.

Presented on a small stage between musicians and audience, the dance was too noisy and distracting.

Bach's score has no place for an obbligato soundtrack of thumps and bumps; and having Bruce Hopkins writhe up a storm during the duet Behold, My Saviour Now is Taken adds nothing that the music is not already saying.

In the right venue, some of these issues may have been resolved, and one's sympathy goes out to all concerned for coping with the mushy acoustics of the venue.

However, in terms of body comforts, to mount a demanding three-hour performance with no refreshments available seems to be taking Lent a little too literally.