By HEATH LEES
The publicity for this event promised "Two hundred and fifty young musicians on stage," all of them drawn from the University of Auckland's orchestra and choir.
It was indeed impressive to see so many singers neatly stacked up, vocally well drilled, obviously keen as mustard, and led joyfully into the fray under the inspiring baton of Uwe Grodd.
Poulenc's Gloria gave the programme its title, and was a great choice. It drew fire when it first appeared in 1959, because solemn church folk had trouble reconciling its jaunty areas with its serious purpose. Nowadays, its sections of rhythmic drive are just as appealing as the languorous, bluesy endings that evoke Gershwin and Ravel, and seem perfectly natural to the musical vocabulary of the young.
Proof of that could be heard in the unerring aim of the men in an electrifying and beautifully pitched single-note entry at "Qui sedes," and in the earlier, punchy "Laudamus te."
Soprano Glenese Blake sang the difficult solo part and seemed at ease for much of the way with the composer's high tessitura and awkward entries.
Her sweetness of timbre carried everyone gently to a heart-warming close.
The concert's first half was devoted to Elgar's hugely demanding violin concerto, where the difficulties spill over from the soloist to the orchestra, which has problems of balance built into the score, and requires that Elgar's typically free, rhapsodic tempi seem natural and spontaneous.
Animated by Grodd's skilful conducting, the University Orchestra caught much of Elgar's musical ebb and flow, though one wished for more power in the middle ranges, to power the big, nostalgic surges of sound that breathe mightily through his musical landscapes, like the wind itself.
As soloist, Simeon Broom caused a sensation with his self-effacing yet focused playing, always highly musical, despite the first movement's devilish runs sometimes losing weight. Gaining a magical sound in the andante, he went on triumphantly to embrace the finale's central alternation between passionate rhapsody and profound reflection, bringing a delighted audience to its feet at the end.
<i>Review</i>: Gloria!/ University of Auckland's orchestra and choir
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.