Reviews and Quotes
The Armed Man: A Mass
for Peace -
3.00pm Friday 25 April 2008
Review of 2008 performance by
Richard Kitchen, Editor of SALT (St Andrew's Uniting Church Magazine)
and choral singer.
The Armed Man: A Mass
for Peace -
3.00pm Sunday 13 May 2007
"We have come to expect a high standard of performance
from the Brisbane Concert Choir, but on May 13th they
joined forces with the Sinfonia of St Andrew's under the inspired
leadership of Debra Shearer-Dirié to present a
brilliant reading of the above work. In keeping with the idea that these
two groups are part of St. Andrew's music
outreach to the community, the response of a full church was gratifying
to see.
From the opening bars of the French secular song, L'homme armé,
the listener was transfixed by the vitality of
approach, the precision and unanimity of the whole group, and the
admirable blend of ensemble at all times.
The solitary traditional Muslim call lent a haunting atmosphere to the
scene, and from then on we were swept on a tide of emotion throughout
the many aspects of war - its militarism, the horrors and the resultant
devastation. The incisive word treatment of the choristers in their
graphic depiction of the travesty of war, together with their total
involvement in the text, vividly portrayed the scene of such conflicts
as Kosovo and Hiroshima. How telling after this was the heartfelt plea
of the Agnus Dei, where the beauty of the sweeping phrases
brought a lump to one's throat!
The use of a vocal quartet - Janelle Roworth, Nicki Jenkins, Ian
Clarkson, and Robin Maurer - provided an effective contrast at times to
the full forces. Especially noteworthy was the contralto solo by Nicki
Jenkins - Now the guns have
stopped. The warmth and beauty of her vocal tone so matched the
sorrow of the bereaved.. The wonderful feeling
of peace and calm in the Benedictions, enhanced by the beauty of
the solo cello introduction was almost too much to
savour in its poignancy. Then came the sheer exultancy of the final
section, Better is Peace - again effectively introduced
by the vocal quartet.
The work drew to a close with the touching chorale
God shall wipe away all tears, where the depth of feeling
expressed left one almost drained, after such an emotional journey - But
oh! so grateful for the opportunity to participate
in such an experience! What impressed most was not only the excellence
of techniques, but also the wonderful
interpretative insight and skill. Rarely, if ever, have I been so moved by
the performance of a work. Thank you Karl
Jenkins, and thank you Debra Shearer-Dirié, together with all the same
assembled forces."
--Mansel Jones OAM
Retired choral conductor
Life Member, Eisteddfod Council of Queensland
The Food of Love -
7.30pm Friday 23 & 30 July 2004
Review by Stagediary.com
A Christmas Fantasy - 6.00pm Sunday 2 December 2001
"..In A Christmas Fantasy,
the Brisbane Concert Choir and Sinfonia of St Andrew's in
the central Brisbane Uniting Church mixed orchestral
pieces and traditional carols to create a glowing
atmosphere of vocal warmth and buoyancy, a mastery of the
varying music styles of carols ranging from three
Christmas songs by former ABC man, Australian composer
WIlliam James, to French, Moravian and Spanish
repertoire. The performance was marked by the intense
sensitivity to the texts which characterises the work of
conductor Christopher Kiver."
--Kelly, Patricia. "A new choral breed" Opera-Opera
Jan 2002
"..Yet more Christmas music came
from The Brisbane Concert Choir and
Sinfonia of St Andrew's Uniting Church. Director
Christopher Kiver created a warm, relaxed setting for
fetchy arrangements of traditional carols, beautifully
sung. None was more engaging than the lyricism of Spanish
carol A la Nanita Nana."
--Kelly, Patricia [Untitled] Courier-Mail
5/12/01 p. 34
Trans-Tasman Connection: Magnificat (John Rutter) and other Choral Music, with the Festival Singers of Wellington and Chamber Orchestra - 8.00pm Saturday 25 September 1999
"This concert could well have been labelled simply a tribute to Guy Jansen who founded both choirs, and has, incidentally, been responsible for founding several other important choirs in New Zealand.
On this first stop of a North Island tour the Brisbane choir demonstrated his undiminished choir building skills - though the choir is now conducted by Christopher Kiver.
The concert was a gracious affair, the second half divided between brackets by each choir separately and then together, the locals allowing the virtues of their visitors to be clearly heard.
The Festival Singers, conducted by Mark Leicester, chose rather less interesting pieces and proved not quite the equal of their guests in polish or discipline. Nor did they serve their case by employing the citadel's electronic organ rather insensitively, with unsuitable stops.
The Brisbane choir, under gifted conductor Christopher Kiver, showed at once in Della Joio's Come To Me My Love, an easy discipline, a refined shaping of line and phrase, elegantly integrated tone, without individual voices obtruding. Where called for, the piano was used instead of organ, and Bronwyn Brown was an admirable accompanist. Perhaps the two Shakespeare sonnets do not lend themselves to musical setting (by Philip Bracanin): they were not as well characterised as some of the choir's other pieces, like the charming setting of Rilke's poem, Dirait-on, which let us hear their beautifully perfumed tone over the last bars."
--Taylor, Lindis. "Concert a tribute to choirs' founder" The Evening Post (Wellington, NZ) 1999
