(Nozuko Teto)
Programme of high quality sees a splendid volume of sound
from big choir. (Review by Michael Green)
Religions choral music by Mozart and distinctly secular
orchestral music by Richard Strauss provided a programme of high quality in the
latest concert of the KZN Philharmonic Orchestra in the Durban City Hall.
The Clermont Community Choir, the Prince Mshiyeni Choir from
Umlazi and the Durban Symphonic Choir appeared in a performance of Mozart’s Coronation Mass and his Regina Coeli. About 150 singers shared
the stage with the orchestra, conducted by the visiting German maestro Wolfram
Christ, and four vocal soloists, Nozuko Teto (soprano), Ntokozo Nokubeka
(alto), Wayne Mkhize (tenor) and Andile Dlamini (baritone).
Regina Coeli, Queen of
Heaven, is a bright Easter choral composition by Mozart that runs for only
about seven minutes and it provided an exuberant start to the concert.
This was followed by the composer’s Coronation Mass, so called because it was the favoured music for
ceremonial occasions at the Austrian imperial court. It was written in 1779 and
is a setting of the short mass (missa brevis) of the Roman Catholic Church.
That description sounds solemn but the music is not unduly
solemn. It is cheerful, joyous, at times almost jaunty, and singers and
orchestra obviously greatly enjoyed performing it.
All four vocal soloists had good, disciplined voices, looked
good and had a good stage presence. The dominant singer was the soprano Nozuko
Teto, who comes from the Eastern Cape and is a graduate of the University of
KwaZulu-Natal. She displayed a lovely, accurate full tone, with well-judged
phrasing and expression. Over the past dozen years she has sung in several
operas and she will no doubt continue to build a big reputation.
The big choir produced a splendid volume of sound, and
Wolfram Christ conducted with much animation and vigour.
The second half of the concert was devoted to Richard
Strauss’s 45-minute symphonic poem Don
Quixote, written in 1897 and still a remarkable display of brilliant
orchestration. It has two solo parts, for the cello (representing Dom Quixote)
and the viola (Sancho Panza). These were played by the cellist Peter Martens,
who is based at Stellenbosch University, and David Snaith, principal violist
with the KZN Philharmonic. Martens was outstanding in his widely varied role,
and Snaith was consistently good.
Wolfram Christ drew many grand sounds from the orchestra,
with the horns (one of the composer’s favourite instruments) in particularly
fine form. - Michael Green
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