Mostly Mozart by Edgecumbe Choir
May 24 and May 25 at Church of St George & St John

Catherine Smalberger
Reviewer

Mostly Mozart, a concert featuring Mozart’s Coronation Mass, K317, the very popular Exultate Jubilate, K165 and Josef Haydn’s Salve Regina, Hob 23b was performed by the Edgecumbe Choir and guest soloists, superbly accompanied by organist Jeremy Woodside.

Expertly led by conductor and choir master Chalium Poppy, it was wonderful to see an amateur choir receive the great appreciation and applause they fully deserved, from the full house at the Church of St George and St John, Whakatāne.

Mozart’s Coronation Mass was completed in Salzburg and first performed there on Easter Sunday 1779.

Despite the composer’s passionate dislike of the city and his employment there, nothing of this dislike appears in the music, which is joyful and celebratory and, perhaps because of this, became the preferred music for royal and imperial coronations.

It was famously performed by Karajan at the Vatican in 1985 for a mass to honour the composer, concelebrated by Pope St John Paul II with thousands of cardinals and clergy.

Today’s performance was made even more special by the excellent soloist voices, including soprano Elizabeth Mandeno, a former Dame Malvina Major Emerging Artist now in demand all over the world; Laura Funaki, alto, Nigel Drake, tenor, and Henry Shum, bass, who is now based in Auckland.

The Coronation Mass has six sections, following the parts of the mass. Although this is a joyous work there are definite contrasts: Mozart carefully illustrates the darkness of Christ’s betrayal and crucifixion in sections of the Credo in minor colours reminiscent of the ghostly Commendatore scenes from Don Giovanni, that would not be composed for another eight years.

Right from the beginning the Edgecumbe Choir was strikingly effective with its careful attention to phrasing and dynamics.

This was particularly noticeable in the throwaway treatment of short words, “Kyrie” and “Christe”; and in its beautifully realised pianissimo sections, so much harder to do well than very loud singing.

The alto section was especially strong and warm.

The excitement of the end of the credo and of the end of the entire work could perhaps have been heightened even more if the soprano section had been a little less tentative in the strength of their top notes.

The soloists were very impressive in this work; the voices blended beautifully in the quartet sections, producing a lovely sound especially between the soprano and bass soloists.

Following the Coronation Mass, Mozart’s Exultate Jubilate was an electrifying showcase for Elizabeth Mandeno’s stunning voice, which, together with her warm and engaging personality, held the audience spellbound throughout the four movements of this very popular work.

The third work in this lovely concert was arguably the most moving; for some reason Joseph Haydn often seems mysteriously underrated as a composer in terms of his programming popularity.

Yet, typically, the Salve Regina Hob 23b is full of heart wrenchingly beautiful melodies and unique and exciting orchestration, carried in this version by Jeremy Woodside’s virtuosic performance on the organ.

Haydn’s delightful music for the organ is more like a duet partner than an accompaniment, heightening and enriching the vocal passages.

Salve Regina is a small jewel of a work, full of glorious melodies and dramatic shifts of mood that bring the text to life.

It is not known for certain why it was commissioned, and the scarcity of musical notation on the manuscript suggests Haydn may have directed the initial performance himself from the keyboard.

It is not an easy piece to sing and the Edgecumbe Choir managed difficulties such as the repeated octave leaps in the O Clemens section with delicacy and precision and no sense of strain.

Phrasing was again very carefully thought out through the whole work, giving life and energy to the music.

The male sections of the choir really shone in this work, as did the well-balanced interplay between the sections.

Nothing in Haydn’s music is boring or predictable, yet, listening to this work it feels as if every note has an inevitability about it, so perfect is the finished product.

It was a privilege to have been able to attend and enjoy this delightful concert.