Discovering the duality of sacred text, Devotion sung by the West Australian Symphony Orchestra Chorus explored the depths of sacred vocal and organ music in the cavernous St. Mary’s Cathedral on the 19th of July. The WASO Chorus, unlike its orchestral counterpart, is made up of volunteer singers and makes only sporadic appearances throughout the year. Led by their Chorusmaster Hugh Lydon and Organist Holly Broadbent, Devotion was a program centred around paired settings sacred Latin texts.
The idea to demonstrate the breadth in interpretation of even the same text created fascinating source of interest as a listener. These pairings were accompanied by insightful and informative introductions of the works by Lydon. These introductions are often banished to pre-concert talks or program notes, but their inclusion gives audiences a way into the composition of the program and the minds of the performers. This is particularly relevant where pieces have no words or in the case of this choral program, words in a language likely not spoken by much of the audience (unless I sorely underestimate the number of local Latin speakers).
WASO CHORUS SINGS: DEVOTION
The program consisted of the liturgical staples Ave Verum Corpus, O Magnum Mysterium, Ubi Caritas, and Ave Maria. These works (two versions of each) showed a range of meditative tranquillity and intense choral textures which filled St Mary’s Cathedral.
The Chorus chose, as Lydon explained, to move back in church unlike previous iterations of this concert. The choice was explained as taking advantage of the acoustics of the reflective space. In the same breath, the audience was invited to reflect on certain words of the text. It was difficult in some moments to extrapolate text from sound with such great resonance, and I wonder if a concert with such focus on details and consonants would be best served by a closer experience, even at the expense of resonance if it means more easily caught diction.
Between these works, Holly Broadbent and Hugh Lydon showed off their individual prowess with a duet of organ and Gregorian chant. The performance of Choral varié sur le thème du ’Veni Creator’ or Variations on a theme of ‘Come Creator’ portrayed the immense power of the organ and its intimate fragility with a versatile touch from Broadbent. Between the variations, Lydon sang the original chant from the other end of the hall. The chant was clear and in contrast to the full ensemble, Lydon’s diction was crisp and clear from across the hall. The third variation on the organ, in which the instruments strips down to some of its more delicate stops was particularly intimate and moving.
WASO CHORUS SINGS: DEVOTION
Tenor Hugh Reardon’s rendition of Shubert’s famous Ave Maria was rich and passionate with a wide vibrato that rang out from the organ stand above. There seemed to be an expectation that audiences would turn and watch the performance above them, which was admittedly, a strain; though I do appreciate the attempts to create drama and a unique experience.
There’s something special about community music. It may not be as clean and polished as a professional production but there are a joy and excitement from the musicians. In the next outing of the WASO Chorus, the two worlds will combine as they are joined by WASO for Carl Jenkin’s The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace in September.