Vivaldi’s Gloria RV 589 and Handel’s Dixit Dominus make an excellent pairing for a Holy Week concert, at least for a secular event, given the different backgrounds of their composers – Vivaldi, the Italian Catholic, and Handel, the Anglo-German Protestant, although he was writing during his time in Rome. There seems to have been some uncertainty on the part of the concert’s proponents as to which item was the most significant – the Vivaldi would be the “highlight of the evening” according to one website, while the printed programme proclaimed that the Handel “forms the centre of tonight’s concert”. Since the latter came after the interval, it may be fair to say that Handel wins.
In any case, there is no doubting the excellence of St George's Cathedral Consort, far and away the best choir in Western Australia and on a par with anything in the country. The concert opened with the a cappella sacred lament “When David heard” by English composer Thomas Weelkes (1576-1623), which highlighted the choir’s precision and discipline under the aegis of their choirmaster, and the evening’s conductor, Joseph Nolan. After this short work, they were joined by a slimmed down version of the West Australian Symphony Orchestra for Vivaldi's Gloria. While the WASO is an equally illustrious group, one might regret a little its playing on modern instruments. Their smooth perfection led to a very manicured production where one might have welcomed some rougher edges as would have been produced by gut strings and a natural trumpet. Some Baroque sensibility was imparted by Stewart Smith on the chamber organ.
The choir continued in its exemplary fashion, although there was some variability in the solo parts. Sopranos Lucinda Nicholls and Bonnie de la Hunty (seen to advantage as one of the sirens in last year’s Pinchgut Rinaldo) were both at the top of their game, starting with the Laudamus te duet. Both displayed purity of tone, with de la Hunty providing a little more in the way of subtle ornamentation. Nicholls, more straight of tone, provided a lovely fresh-sounding Domine Deus. On the alto side, Amber Lister sounded somewhat constricted in Domine Deus, Agnus Dei while Anita Saxby was underpowered in the Qui sedes. Trumpeter Jenna Smith blended smoothly with the strings for a rousing finish.
The performers seemed to find more drama in the Dixit Dominus. De la Hunty shone again in the Virgam virtutis solo with attractive flexibility and nice phrasing, joining with Nicholls for a lovely intertwining in De torrente in via bibet. The seven single voices were effective in Dominus a dextris tuis which built up a good head of steam; one of the more notable voices was that of young bass Lachlann Lawton, who successfully stepped into the name part in Elijah three years ago. The Gloria patria finale was delivered at a fast pace and generated something of a level of excitement, ensuring a warm reception at its conclusion.
