Archive for the ‘Reviews’ Category
Verdi Requiem – Deon Irish
Concert heralds choirs’ turn-around
CHORAL CONCERT, Thursday October 7, City Hall; Verdi: Messa da Requiem; soloists Hanli Stapela, Elizabeth Frandsen, Matthew Overmeyer, Monde Masimini; Philharmonia Choir, Symphony Choir and CPO conducted by Victor Yampolsky.
DEON IRISH reviews
SOME of the most exciting concerts I attended at the City Hall in the 1970s and 1980s were choral: vivid presentations by both the CTSO’s Symphony Choir and the Philharmonia choir, each having well over a 100 singers. They included memorable performances of works as diverse as Dvorak’s Requiem, Orff’s Carmina Burana and Britten’s War Requiem. And, of course, the CTSO’s final concert before its mid-year break, traditionally concluding with the Beethoven Choral Symphony.
Both choirs fell on difficult times in the past decade, so it is very gratifying to record an increasingly apparent turn-around in their fortunes and some headway made on what we must hope will be a return to former glories. Read the rest of this entry »
Verdi Requiem – Carl Fourie
I thoroughly enjoyed Thursday evening’s performance of Verdi’s Requiem. Combining the two choirs was a good idea, not just because of its obvious dramatic import, but it was actually vital in passages like Dies Irae, with its descending inner voices. Each choir on its own would not have enough of especially tenors.
A powerful vocal contrast was set up between the dulcet opening Requiem Aeternam, and the thundering Dies Irae: well done!
The counterpoint in Sanctus was effective, with entries clearly accented. However, the opening two entries felt as if they were pulling against the time, and not quite in step with the orchestra.
The a capella sections in the final Libera Me were very beautiful, and exhibited a beautiful balance between the various choral voices. It was obvious that the choirs were aware of the resulting harmonies, as their voices blended naturally and plaintively. Read the rest of this entry »
Die Burger Review of Verdi Requiem
Wayne Muller
Verdi se Requiem is sekerlik die mees dramatiese toonsetting van die Rooms-Katolieke dodemis – dit is inderwaarheid net so groots soos die komponis se operas. Hierdie Requiem verg ’n koor met ’n groot klank en vier sterk soliste.
Twee Kaapse kore, die Philharmonia-koor (onder leiding van Antoinette Blyth) en die Simfonie-koor (onder Alexander Fokkens), het saamgespan vir die jongste aanbieding van hierdie werk in Kaapstad, met Victor Yampolsky as dirigent. En in die algemeen was dit ’n uitvoering wat die grootsheid van die werk na vore gebring en jou vervul gelaat het.
Die saamgestelde koor was groot en het ’n grootse klank voortgebring. Hul teks was grotendeels duidelik uitgespreek, maar sterker konsonante sou hier vir ’n stewiger vertolking kon sorg. Read the rest of this entry »