The Dunedin City Choir alongside the Dunedin Symphony Orchestra gave a stunning performance of Gorecki’s Totus Tuus and Karl Jenkins’s The Armed Man, on Saturday 1st April, earning themselves a standing ovation.
The opening work of the concert, Totus Tuus, provided challenges for the choir in its repetitive phrases and lack of accompaniment. The gradual building to the musical affirmation of faith was expressed convincingly, and the choir’s attentiveness to conductor, David Burchell, was evident.
Featuring texts from classic poets, biblical verses, the traditional mass, as well as Muslim, Hindu and Japanese texts, The Armed Man is a moving work communicating a powerful message for world peace. Accompanied by the simultaneous showing of a film, which was created by Jenkins’s good friend Hefin Owen, to complement the music with various images of war and its impact in recent times, the overall performance was striking. Auckland muezzin Dhafir Moussa contributed to the performance in the ‘Call to Prayer’, near the opening of the work. Such tonalities are not often heard in a Western Art Music setting, and Moussa’s performance was a highlight of the concert. Other featured soloists included Jesse Hanan (treble), Sophie Gangl (soprano), Claire Barton (mezzo-soprano), Ben France-Hudson (tenor), and Nigel Tucker (bass), all of whom performed to a high standard. Heleen du Plessis’s cello solo deserves particular note. Dunedin is lucky to have such a talented and passionate performer as du Plessis.
As usual, the Dunedin Symphony Orchestra was extremely polished, and supported the choir well. Their continued focus and precision on the, admittedly rather repetitive, orchestral accompaniment is to be congratulated. The Choir and Orchestra worked well as an ensemble, convincingly portraying the horrors of war, interspersed with moments of reflection and hope for peace.