Around the World in 80 Minutes – The Geelong Chorale- July 10th, 2022

All Saints Anglican Church, Newtown

A concert ticket was the only passport required for this whirlwind tour of six continents. Globetrotters taking up this offer were treated to a fine afternoon of armchair travel, presented by the Geelong Chorale, under the assured piloting of conductor Anne Pilgrim. John Stubbings was tour guide, providing comprehensive commentary. Kristine Mellens, provided flight deck assistance as accompanist.

Choir members arrived on stage well prepared for their tour around the world, with baggage, and dressed in comfortable in-flight clothing. Several arrived in national costume.

Before leaving Australia the choir presenting Percy Jones’ setting of Click Go the Shears.

A Middle-Eastern stopover in Israel relieved the long haul flight to Europe, with the men of the choir presenting the old Hebrew song Hava Nagila.

Eastern Europe was next with a beautiful setting of the Latvian folk song Kurs Putninis Dzied Tik Kosi, accompanied by Kristine Mellens who was in full Latvian dress. Hungarian composer Matyas Seiber’s arrangement of the Yugoslavian song The Unfaithful Lover followed. The choir showed their full range of dynamics and beautiful tone in this poignant song. (I note here, that this was then only song not presented in its original language.) The choir’s diction was excellent throughout the concert, though, as a mere tourist, I am not qualified to comment on the singers’ foreign language skills.

The next port of call was Sweden where soprano Fiona Squires presented the first of two unaccompanied folk songs – Uti vår hage. Skipping south, travellers visited first Italy (O Solo mio) then Germany (Brahms’ beautiful In Stille Nacht) and France (Auprès de ma blonde) before crossing the channel to the British Isles.

England was represented by Ralph Vaughan Williams’s setting of Just as the Tide was Flowing, Scotland by the poignant Loch Lomond, Ireland by Fiona Squires’ beautiful rendition of The Parting Glass and, finally, the men of the choir treated travellers to a side trip to Wales with Men of Harlech.

Not content with the old world, the tour continued to the new, with the American songs Shenandoah and Stephen Foster’s Nelly Bligh.

After another long haul flight the tour arrived in Asia. First, travellers visited Japan, with the women of the choir impressing with the children’s song Hotari Koi. A short hop led to Taiwan, represented by Diu, Diu Deng.

Travellers were welcomed back to Australia with an exciting performance of Walzing Matilda, arranged by Eric Austin Phillips. This challenging setting features both well-known tunes and musically paints the drama and pathos of the story of an iconic Aussie, truly down on his luck. The epic ending rising to a Hollywood-style cadence left the world travellers surprisingly refreshed and ready to present prolonged and appreciative applause.

Fiona Squires’ beautiful singing was a highlight of this performance. She skillfully imparted the emotion of her music through vocal tone, gesture and facial expression. Congratulations also to Anne Pilgrim, the Chorale’s Deputy Conductor, Kristine Mellens, accompanist, and John Stubbings, compere.

Choir numbers were depleted for this performance, due partly to illness, and also to people taking the opportunity to travel once again. Despite these problem, this was a most enjoyable concert.

Thanks to Colin Mockett for this image.

You can read Colin Mockett’s review of the concert at https://entertainmentgeelong.com/reviews-2/

An American Portrait: The Geelong Chorale

Sunday May 21st, Wesley Uniting Church, Geelong

Conductor:  Allister Cox,  Accompanist:  Kristine Mellens

An American Portrait, presented by the Geelong Chorale, was more a series of portraits, each focused on a specific area of American music.

The first bracket comprised four Negro Spirituals.  Two, Swing Low, Sweet Chariot and Deep River were arrangements by Australian Arthur S. Loam, in the 1940s.  The other spirituals are more modern works, composed and arranged by African-Americans.  Soon Ah Will be done-ah wid de Troubles of de World, composed by William L. Dawson (1899-1990) and Ain’t got Time to Die composed in 1956 by Hall Johnson (1888-1970).   Soloist John Stubbings was in fine voice in this piece, which was called by the composer an ‘art song in the style of a spiritual’.

Stephen Foster was the foremost composer of popular songs in 19th century America.  It is therefore not surprising that, for its second ‘portrait’, the Chorale chose three songs by Stephen Foster, I Dream of Jeannie (arranged by the Chorale’s Anne Pilgrim), My Old Kentucky Home (arranged by Alice Parker and Robert Shaw) and Beautiful Dreamer (arranged M. Gardner).  The men of the Chorale shone in their unison singing in this piece.  Foster’s songs were immensely popular in the minstrel shows whose popularity continued well into the twentieth century.  (The performers were usually white people, with blackened faces – performing songs, dancing, comic skits and variety, although there were some all black groups.  Times have changed!)

Popular folk songs comprised the third bracket.  Shenandoah (arr. J. Erb) dates to the early 19th century.  The Riddle Song (arr. A. Warrell)  originates from a 15th century English song, which was brought to the Appalachian Mountains by early settlers.  Aaron Copland, like Benjamin Britten, was an avid collector of folk music.  Two of his folk song arrangements concluded this bracket, the ballad Long Time Ago and minstrel song Ching-A-Ring Chaw.  Kristine Mellens showed herself a most accomplished accompanist in Copland’s arrangements.  She joins an illustrious group as it’s interesting to note that the original solo arrangements of these two songs were first presented by Peter Pears (tenor) and Benjamin Britten (piano) in 1950.

Art songs followed.  Samuel Barber’s beautiful Sure on this Shining Night was followed by Randall Thompson’s challenging Alleluia commissioned in 1940.  Despite the joyous Alleluia lyrics, the piece is gentle and prayer-like.  Allister Cox elicited the long build-up to forte and the decrescendo was equally satisfying.  There were some lovely pianissimos in the high tenor line.  The Road Home followed, composed for the Dale Warland Singers by Stephen Paulus in 2001.  This work is based on an old American folk song tune.

America is the home of the modern musical, and musical cinema.  The choir let its hair down and sang songs of Gershwin (a medley titled Gershwin in Love (arr. Mac Huff) with beautiful solo work from Helen Seymour and John Stubbings), then Cole Porter’s Night and Day, followed Over the Rainbow (from The Wizard of Oz), and the rousing final reprise of the title song from Oklahoma! by Rogers and Hammerstein in the original stage arrangement.

The Geelong Chorale concluded its American Portrait with an arrangement of Battle Hymn of the Republic.  P.J. Wilhowsky’s arrangement featured the piano, in a fanfare-like opening, which was then taken up by the women’s chorus.  There are multiple  key changes as the piece builds in tension verse upon verse, with various ‘special effects’ including a marching chant from the men’s voices.  The verse ‘In the beauty of the lilies…’ was sung by the men in Welsh-style close harmony, before the final climax – ascending choral chords – a very ‘Hollywood’ finish to a most enjoyable concert.

The Geelong Chorale, a well-balanced, medium-sized choir of ten sopranos, ten altos, four tenors and six basses was in very fine voice.  It is good to see some new faces among the line up.

The Geelong Chorale’s next concert is Voices of Our Time: Music of contemporary composers on Sunday, August 27th at 3pm in All Saints Anglican Church, Newtown.