Concert review: Schola Sacra Choir presents Puccini's Messa di Gloria

Mezzo soprano Linden Loader reviewed the recent Schola Sacra Choir concert. Photo / Paul Brooks

Schola Sacra Choir
Messa di Gloria by Giacomo Puccini
Iain Tetley - Conductor
Ingrid Culliford – Piano
Nigel Tongs – Tenor
Roger Wilson – Bass
Saturday, August 6
Reviewed by Linden Loader

An appreciative audience was treated to a fine afternoon of music in the Big School at Whanganui Collegiate on Saturday, August 6.

The first half of the concert consisted of a selection of part songs for SATB (Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass). Schola Sacra Choir managed these with aplomb and were totally in their element.

The choir, under the assured guidance of Iain Tetley, is producing a lovely balanced sound with pleasing timbre. This is no mean feat during a pandemic with people dropping out due to illness. Even with the few men they had, their contribution was clearly in evidence.

With this repertoire, I was very much reminded of the music that former musical director Vincent James, who recently passed away, used to select for the choir. There are still several members from that time in the current line-up.

These pieces book-ended a delightful performance of two violin solos – Bach's Preludio, from Partita No 3 in E major and Meditation, from Thaïs by Jules Massenet, charmingly played by Hideki Yutoku and accompanied by Ingrid Culliford.

It was a particularly accomplished performance by this young violinist. The various strands of the Bach were clearly defined and Meditation was very sensitively played and the audience was completely entranced. Hideki Yutoku is a performer to keep a close eye on in the future.

The choir resumed their selection with a beautiful rendition of Breathe Soft, ye Winds by William Paxton and I think everybody, including the choir, was delighted with the inclusion of the three Hungarian folk songs by Matyas Seiber.

In the second half, we were favoured with the Messa di Gloria by Giacomo Puccini. This work comprised the focal point of the concert.

Puccini composed this work at the age of 22 as a graduation exercise and it was first performed in 1880. It was well received but not performed again until its 'rediscovery' in 1952. It has enjoyed many performances since then. Although it is a secular composition, the hallmarks of the great operatic composer are already evident in his writing.

Due to the ill-health of Nigel Tongs, Iain Tetley amazingly took over the tenor solos and Nigel conducted the choir when Iain was singing. Surprisingly this worked extremely well and Iain's tenor solos were convincingly and confidently sung.

The choir began confidently with the Kyrie movement which is reminiscent of the Verdi Requiem.

The Gloria section forms a large body of the work, hence the title, and could stand alone as a choral piece. The choir admirably negotiated the difficult fugal Cum Sanctus Spiritus, recovering quickly from a couple of shaky moments.

The bass solo in the Sanctus movement was in the safe hands of Roger Wilson, who sang with conviction and assured experience. The final Agnus Dei was beautifully sung with a dialogue between the choir and the soloists. The indispensable Ingrid Culliford coped admirably on piano with the challenging orchestral reduction.

This was a lovely way to spend an afternoon. Bravi to the Schola Sacra, Iain Tetley and all the performers involved.