Chris Archer reviews Noteworthy: Celebrating 150 Years of University of Canterbury, presented by the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra in conjunction with UC, conducted by Mark Menzies, MCed by Oscar Days and Alexandra Watson, Saturday 26 August 2023 at the Christchurch Town Hall.
This concert, described by one of the UC student MCs as a ‘concert featuring talent from the past and present – a smorgasbord of music’ is certainly that – something for everyone. It kicks off with John Ritchie’s Papanui Road Overture, a candidly populist work colourfully scored, and with many associations that anybody who knows Ōtautahi Christchurch might identify with. There’s a large percussion section including tram bell and car horns. The work hints at the bustle, vitality and occasional peace of the area. It is a brilliantly orchestrated work and serves well as a festive opening to the concert. It’s jaunty, comic in places, and unashamedly programmatic. Conductor Professor Mark Menzies directs with energy and precision.
The selection of Four Songs by L A Mitchell were arranged for the orchestra for a 2013 performance. L A Mitchell is a tutor in contemporary voice at UC. She is, to my thinking, one of the best kept secrets in Aotearoa. Her songs are melodic and she is adept at using a range of vocal nuance to communicate tender lyrics that explore the complexities of life. “Almost Home”, the third song of the set, arranged by Alex van den Broek, is definitely my favourite, with its lighter scoring giving the audience the opportunity to relish the voice. L A Mitchell’s tender phrasing and vocal timbre are impeccable in this number. It’s always a challenge for a singer, even mic’d, to get above a full orchestra, especially when singing in the lower register. Fuller orchestrations can work in a recording scenario, but often not as effective in a live situation. This was the case here. Upping the vocals in the mix would have certainly helped.
Certainly one of the highlights of the concert is Associate Professor Justin DeHart’s premiere performance of a newly commissioned gamelan-inspired solo percussion and electronics piece by Gareth Farr: Macet. Having this work in this part of the programme is genius. Nothing like a bit of structured cacophony to shake one from the contemplation on the songs in the programme and create a talking point for audiences during the interval! The title of the work is Balinese for ‘traffic jam’. The work has an electronic backing track which includes real and sampled sounds. It requires the performer to wear an in-ear monitor, adding to the complexity level. The musical insanity is at a way more intense level than the stylistically predictable musical traffic depiction in Ritchie’s overture. The sound world of the work takes me back to the days of Gareth’s Drum Drag tours around the motu – minus the gamelan gangsa. Justin’s performance is electric and engrossing. The fact that he plays the work from memory is astounding. We’re so lucky to have Justin in this city. He really is an incredible musician and performer.
Master’s student Rakuto Kurano’s Concerto Grosso was the penultimate work on the programme. Rakuto has had six works commissioned to date and was invited to perform at the ISCM and Asian League double festival in 2022. Rakuto has a particular interest in the historically informed performance practice of baroque music, and this work, which was commissioned by the Baroque Music Community and Education Trust of New Zealand in 2021, clearly displays his affinity for this style of music. The work is in essence a Vivaldi mash-up imbued with the odd twist here and there, such as the musical representation of the bouncing pīwakawaka in the eighth movement. Soloists Mark Menzies on violin, Jeremy Garside on cello and the composer on violin bring a sense of fun, enjoyment and friskiness to the performance. The CSO string players, under the expert guidance of Concertmaster Sarah McCracken, sound cohesive and energised.
The final work on the programme is Reuben de Lautour and Mahina-Ina Kingi-Kaui’s Te Reo Ki Ōtākaro (Voices of Ōtākaro). Specially commissioned to mark the 150th anniversary of the university, the work uses Te Reo and English texts and pepeha that are installed along the Ōtākaro Literary Trail. Snippets of these texts serve to tell the stories of the past, present and imagined future of Ōtautahi from a range of perspectives. On another level, the work celebrates the past and present achievements of the university and those who have studied or currently study there.
This is an affecting and exceptional work that is imaginatively conceived and skillfully composed. It’s beautifully evocative. This tone is established from the opening, an eerie sound world where upper strings blow across the sound holes of their instruments and Zara Ballara intones a chant-like motif. At times I feel a sense of melancholy. Perhaps it is the voices from my past that tug at my feelings and memories, of my own whakapapa, which I think about as I experience the work? I also get the sense from the singers and Mahina-Ina King-Kaui on taonga pūoro that they are drawing from their own whakapapa, imbuing atua, the whenua, knowing, learning and being into their sonic contributions.
In addition to Mahina’s tranquil playing, it was the job of the singers Zara, Yumeka Hildreth and Naomi Ferguson to be the vessels of the writers’ voices. These three are a force to be reckoned with – individually possessing a unique instrument, yet able to blend seamlessly. I loved the moments when Yumeka’s luxurious soprano sailed above the texture, and Naomi’s repetition of ‘How serenely’ still stays with me as an earworm. The work closes as mysteriously as it began, this time with strings connecting with the atua gift – river stones, which players elicit earthly sounds from. The second earworm I am left with for the evening, ‘I am learning’ is intoned as I reflect on my own learning and think about the massive contribution made by the University of Canterbury over the last 150 years, especially as someone who works on the site of Canterbury College now know as Te Matatiki Toi Ora The Arts Centre. Gaudeamus Igitur.
Noteworthy was presented in collaboration with the CSO as part of the University’s 150th anniversary celebrations.
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