Community choir provides outstanding harmonic entertainment

June 14th
Review by David Armstrong

Soaring soprano tones, rock-solid harmonies, and outstanding ensemble work by the four guest soloists were highlights of an excellent choral concert by the 60-voice Combined Community Choir of Nelson, Motueka and Golden Bay, held in the Motueka Memorial Hall on Sunday.

An enthusiastic audience of about 150 were treated to a choral double bill - Mozart's Requiem and his slightly lesser known Mass in C Minor - under the baton of the energetic director Carl Browning. Following a standing ovation, no one left without a deep appreciation of the quality of choral singing in the region. And of its future, given the youthful age of several of its members.

I loved the semi-casual "uniform" worn by the mix of singers, 20 from each town, featuring something black from the waist down and a mix of strong pastel colours above, immediately suggesting to us that this would not be a Latin-driven, technical dirge. The sopranos and altos in particular let loose a bright, strong and confident performance with great accuracy, especially for the Requiem.

Community choirs commonly struggle to attract enough men singers, and this was also the case here. The bass section was firm but not assertive in the more complex sections, and the tenors (supplemented by two females) were generally accurate but a little light on the frequent, more challenging short-note runs. But both bass and tenor provided sound support.

The other revelation was the quality of the soloists, who featured frequently in both pieces. Helen Charleton (soprano), Margot Button (mezzo soprano) and Howard Harvey (bass), all from Christchurch, and Michael Gray (tenor) from Wellington gave strong, emotional individual renditions but also blended their harmonic ensemble work with superb balance and timing. I was surprised to hear, over the after-match cuppa, that they had only rehearsed together once before the previous day's concert in Takaka.

In lieu of an orchestra an assured and sensitive accompaniment was realised by acclaimed local musician Bill Buck of Lower Moutere.

As a fellow audience member affirmed after the performance, it is inspirational to know that the standard of this choir has improved to such a level that they capably presented these challenging and complex works. Although I felt they were slightly hesitant and less precise and authoritative in the Mass in C Minor, the Requiem in the first half was truly outstanding.

Both these photos - of the choir in full voice (top) and three of the soloists -
were taken and supplied by Carl Browning.

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