Royal Melbourne Philharmonic Choir | Carols in the Cathedral
December 17, St Paul’s Cathedral, Melbourne
Carols in the Cathedral was the concert gift that just kept giving. Favourite carols were enhanced with exciting introductions, wild orchestrations and choral ‘descants’ except not just in the top line, in every part. Each time we reached a new ‘wow’ moment, another was waiting around the corner, be that brass or the bagpipes.
This was a combined choral carols extravaganza, with four choirs singing together, including the marvellous National Boys Choir of Australia replete in red smocks with white trims. Very festive.
Andrew Wailes and Andrew Bainbridge together assembled a fine program of European popular Christmas favourites such as Once in Royal David’s City, Angels We have Heard on High, O Holy Night, and O come all ye faithful, a few sing-alongs for us in the audience, but also some new arrangements and less familiar works which were absolute stunners.
A visit from the City of Melbourne Highland Pipe Band managed to shake things up in the middle of the program with the cleansing sound of the bagpipes calling to us from the back of the cathedral and processing down the central aisle.
Lovely to hear the National Boys Choir of Australia sing Colin Brumby’s Balulalow, a masterpiece from the late composer who hailed from the Melbourne suburb of Glen Iris.
And delightful to include works by Australian William G. James, including a medley of his Christmas Carols (I think there are 4 books of them from the 1950’s) played on the piano by Stefan Cassomenos as background to A reflection on Christmas by Julie Houghton, one of our readers for the night, who along with Roland Rocchiccioli, our other reader, was in fine form for the evening, with messages of inclusion, peace, and self-care.
Soloists Roy Best (tenor) and Jeremy Kleeman (bass baritone) managed to overcome the sheer size of the cathedral and sound of the small orchestra to deliver impassioned versions of Schubert’s Ave Maria and Stille Nacht (sung in German) respectively.
The orchestral arrangements for carols such as The silver stars are in the sky and Fanfare on Adeste Fideles both arranged by Hamish Ander, and, Hark! The Herald Angel Sings and A Flourish on Joy to the World both arranged by Dan Forrest, employed the full range of instruments, brass and percussion available. It seemed that just when you thought the sound couldn’t get any bigger, somehow, it did. Much to our delight.
Some carols had almost been re-written, such as Kings from Orient originally by J. Henry Hopkins Jr but arranged by Paul Leddington Wright, which pitted soloist Jeremy Kleeman up against the power of the combined choirs to great effect. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing by Mendelssohn was arranged for choirs, orchestra and one piano with four hands by Dan Forrest and played like a concerto by Stefan Cassomenos and William Schmidt (Box Hill Chorale Accompanist).
However, the real stars of the evening – and there are too many to list individually here – were the choristers themselves. I think there must have been 200 singers. An extraordinary sound which conductor Andrew Wailes was able to use effectively across the over 30 works performed during the evening. They sang, as John Wesley exhorted, ‘lustily and with a good courage.’
There were two standout works for me for their sheer beauty and originality. One was an Ave Maria (Angelus Domini), an a cappella work, by German composer Franz Biebl. A small breakaway group from the massed choir was positioned in the middle of the cathedral facing the concert stage. I must admit, I didn’t see this happen, so when this angelic chorus answered the main choir from behind us, I was taken aback. Andrew Wailes conducted both to the front and to the small group, a feat in itself. It was heavenly.
The other was by Dan Forrest, who is a contemporary American composer whose arrangements we heard were, to quote NY Concert Review from the program notes ‘truly magical’. This setting of original words by Leslie Leyland Fields, called Let the stable still astonish was composed for choir, piano and ‘cello, which was played by the talented and ever smiling David Moran. It is a moving and evocative work.
The concert concluded with the Widor Toccata from the Organ Symphony No. 5. I know it’s a postlude but I wished the audience had remained seated to appreciate the work and the amazing TC Lewis organ of St Paul’s Cathedral. If you’ve ever mucked around on the organ, you’ll know how difficult the Widor is, especially to make it sound effortless, which Andrew Bainbridge managed to do.
Christmas is almost here and this was more than a carols concert, it was a celebration and explosion of Carols in our much loved Anglican Cathedral. There was a waiting list for tickets, we were told, of over 350 people. Given the quality and quantity of great music, it’s no wonder tickets sell out each year. A reminder to get in early for Christmas 2024.
Royal Melbourne Philharmonic Choir
Melbourne University Choral Society
Box Hill Chorale
National Boys Choir of Australia
City of Melbourne Highland Pipe Band
RMP Brass and Percussion Consort
RMP Soloists
Roy Best, tenor
Jeremy Kleeman, bass baritone
Stefan Cassomenos, piano and organ
Andrew Bainbridge, organ
William Schmidt, piano
Roland Rocchiccioli, Julie Houghton – readers
Andrew Wailes, conductor
