Christmas Oratorio, UWA Choral Society with Australian Baroque ·
Winthrop Hall, 4 December 2022 ·

There’s something very infectious about the UWA Choral Society’s approach to choral music. Their enthusiasm and love for music is evident on their faces and in their voices as they embark on the leviathan task of successfully delivering Bach’s lengthy and musically challenging Christmas Oratorio.

Conductor Kristin Bowtell leads the ensemble with confident assurance and draws out some admirable and graceful phrasing from the chorus sections. What the UWACS occasionally lack in strength of vocal tone, clarity and dynamic variance, they make up for in excellent intonation and attention to diction. Christmas Oratorio is devilishly difficult in many sections and the UWACS are not professional choristers so I congratulate them and their leader for a job very well done.

Aside from the choral loveliness, there are more treats in store from and they are supported and enlivened heartily by Helen Kruger’s excellent leadership of the Australian Baroque Orchestra who offer enlivening support under the leadership of Helen Kruger. Boosted by interstate and international wind soloists, the AB deliver uniformly excellent playing in what is apparently the first WA performance of Christmas Oratorio on historical instruments.

Early brass instruments are renowned for their temperamental nature, but we are none the wiser with Richard Fomison (in particular), Matthew Manchester and Peter Miller delivering some of the finest early trumpet playing I have heard.

Scattered throughout this lesser-performed work (at least next to Bach’s monumental Passion pieces and Handel’s Messiah) are also more intimate, gem-like moments of reduced instrumentation, and tiny vocal trios and duets that continuously engage within the larger whole. There are some beauteous woodwind sections from sensitive and musical Robin Hillier and Andy Skinner on flutes and Joel Raymond and Kailen Cresp on oboe/oboe d’amore.

The continuo sections are admirably supported by cellist Noeleen Wright, harpsichord/organist James Huntingford and the excellent Libby Browning backing everyone up on double bass.

Kruger has excellent moments to shine as a soloist and show her elegant interpretation of Bach’s challenging score, often pairing with the sophisticated soloists who display fine phrasing and intonation.

Tenor Tom Buckmaster displays some formidable virtuosity in several very fast solos with a fruity and lively tone, and soprano Bonnie de la Hunty shines brightly with her gorgeous light and silvery soprano almost designed by nature for Bach. Her echo duet with soprano Lucinda Nicholls ‘Flösst, mein Heiland’ is so delightful it brought a smile to my face.

Bass Jake Bigwood navigates a challenging bass part with ease and musical confidence and mezzo Brigitte Heuser – due to the lowering of the pitch to baroque standard – delivers more of a contralto vocal line that is warm, rich and regal.

Winthrop Hall is a spectacular venue to sit and absorb visually, but the acoustics are not amazing and I’m not entirely sure where the sound goes most of the time. I suspect straight up into the rafters! Unfortunately, it means at times the larger ensembles sounds very muddy, and the sound from the soloists sometimes get a little lost. This is a fault of the venue though, and in all UWACS is to be congratulated on a musically vibrant and stylish afternoon of baroque loveliness.

UWA Choral Society’s next performance is ‘Baroque Easter Celebration’ in April 2023.

Pictured top: the choristers of the UWA Choral Society are supported by the lively Australian Baroque. Photo Jordyn Montague