Adelaide Baroque Orchestra & St Peter’s Cathedral Consort – December 2024

A sublime concert of Christmas music delighted the audience in St Peter’s Cathedral. The combination of these two skilled ensembles ensured the highest standard of performance and it was stimulating to hear some lesser-known works.

Only a few works of Marc-Antoine Charpentier are published and he was a prolific composer. Apart from his operas and theatre music, he wrote over 500 pieces of church music and the Messe de Minuit is one of 12 Masses. It follows the tradition of that time, incorporating French carols into the music, so some lively movements ensued. It is scored for strings and 2 flutes, in this performance recorders, a choir and groups of soloists. It was proof of the high standard of the choir that various members were also the soloists. The imaginative scoring using different groups of instruments and soloists was fascinating. The solo cello, sensitively played by Thomas Marlin, accompanied the tenor solo in the Sanctus. Brendan O’Donnell and Katherine Stacey on recorders perfectly echoed the soprano solos in the Benedictus. The rhythm often shifted from 2 to 3 beats and the full orchestra and choir items, underlined by Robert Nairn’s rich violone sound, were very exciting.

Charpentier studied composition in Italy with Giacomo Carissimi, a master of sacred music and the Italian influences were quite apparent in this wonderfully entertaining work.

Handel wrote his Salve Regina in Italy at the age of 22, so although it is in German Baroque style with its familiar transpositions, cadences and structures, it also shows some Italian flourishes. Salve Regina, a petition to the mother of God, gives ample scope for these touches and the soprano soloist, Jessica Dean, mastered them perfectly. The nuances, from an almost inaudible pianissimo to a dramatic, carrying forte were so controlled and effective.

The suppliant opening played simply by the orchestra and sung with intensity was very moving. The musical silences in the ‘sighing, mourning’ section were perfectly timed. ‘Place your merciful eyes

upon us,’ with a prominent organ obligato, beautifully played by Josh von Konkelenberg, fluttering violins and Handelian arpeggios for the soloist, was a real contrast. Then all calms down again and a cushion of sound dissolves into a unison note. A riveting performance.

After the interval a new perspective was opened; the Italian Baroque composer and violinist Gaetano Chiassi was a contemporary of Charpentier and Handel and so completed this integration of Italian-style Christmas music. Not much of his music is known, but he wrote many violin works and this Pastoral Symphony. The orchestra, led by Ben Dollman, captured the lightness and verve of the music with admirable cohesion. The theorbo player, Nicholas Pollock,  enjoyed his improvisations in the Largo movement while the orchestra shifted harmonies in Vivaldi style. It had all the Pastorale elements, the rocking compound time, the musette-style bass drone and the strings close harmony. The ending of the Symphony was beautiful, with ascending slow notes disappearing to a simple chord.

Handel’s ‘Dixit Dominus’ was also written during his 4 years in Italy and he used the same devices as in Salve Regina. It alternated between lively movements with dramatic orchestral writing and full choral sounds and delicate sections, with a soloist and reduced instrumentation. The 5 soloists had rich, mellow voices that blended so well with the accompaniment. Each created an aura of calm and dignity and the orchestra supported them with counter melodies and basic harmonies. The cello paired an alto solo and the organ was prominent in another aria. There was variety but continuity and the effect was very uplifting. The grand fugal ending with all forces deployed was a fitting finale to an inspiring concert. Adelaide has so many excellent musicians and over 30 of them came together under the competent, knowledgeable direction of Anthony Hunt to present this inspiring evening of Christmas music; thank you to all concerned.

Gabrielle Scherrer