Chorus Oz – Mahler’s 8th Symphony – reviewed by Shirley Politzer
Do you like to sing in the shower? Dance around the house singing songs? Have you always wanted to share your love of singing but perhaps have no opportunity, then Chorus Oz is for you.
With a year (hopefully) of hard work to learn some very challenging music in your own home, you can join some more experienced singers and be rewarded with the most amazing opportunity of being on stage with 800 other singers, a 120-person orchestra and eight soloists who excel in their field. Top this off with a highly experienced and successful conductor and artistic director, Brett Weymark, with his Associate Music Director, Dr Elizabeth Scott and their team at the helm, and you have the recipe for two days of musical bliss.
Sydney Philharmonia Choirs/ChorusOZ Photo: Keith Saunders
Chorus Oz, not presented since 2019 due to Covid, is the brainchild of Weymark. This year the work chosen was the 8th Symphony (written in 1910) by the German Jewish-born composer Mahler. It is a work that does not have the standard four movements of a symphony but instead is in two sections and sung throughout. Part 1 is Hymn “Veni, Creator Spiritus” (sung in Latin) and Part 11 (sung in German) is the final scene from Goethe’s Faust, Part 11. The two parts are unified by a common idea- that of redemption through the power of love, a unity conveyed through shared musical themes. Mahler offered the 8th Symphony as an expression of confidence in the eternal human spirit.
In 1897 Mahler converted to the Roman Catholic faith as there was a ban against appointing Jews to the Vienna Hofoper (Vienna Court Opera) where he wanted to work as a director. This work was the only successful premiere in Mahler’s life, and unfortunately, he died shortly after.
Walking into the Concert Hall of the Opera House, I saw a sea of excited faces waving to their family and friends in the fully sold-out hall. About 12 singers flew in from overseas. About half the choir were from outside Sydney. We learnt this while Brett introduced the Chorus Oz concept to the audience-in case they thought they had come to a professional Sydney Philharmonia concert. However, there was nothing to worry about here, as Weymark and Scott did an excellent job getting the best out of this enthusiastic group in a day and a half of rehearsal.
Participation in Chorus Oz, other than requiring “a passion for singing”, required a registration fee for the choristers covering the music, text, digital access to rehearsal tracks, a souvenir program, a fetching black performance t-shirt, meals, endless coffee and tea, and a weekend of rehearsals. The choir rehearsed on Saturday with a German language coach- I am told the choir’s pronunciation at the performance was excellent. Standing out in their blue shirts (the rest of the choir all in black) were the singers of the Children’s Chorus, most of whom were members of the NSW Public Schools Singers, The Arts Unit and the NSW Department of Education. They sang beautifully.
The soloists needed excellent vocal stamina, needing to sing often loud and dramatically. This was mostly achieved successfully, despite being required to sing over Mahler’s enlarged orchestra (performed by a mix of the Sydney Youth Orchestra and the Sydney Philharmonia Orchestra) and the massive choir in the 1 ½ hour production with no interval. One soloist surprised the audience by singing from the middle section of the Concert Hall. Her voice was gorgeous, singing with long lyrical lines of melody.
The romantic era orchestra has a larger orchestra than in the classical era, but Mahler added even more instruments, including six flutes, eight French horns, five oboes and four harps. Over and above this, the orchestra included mandolins, celeste, piano, harmonium and organ. This work opens with the organ, and it is featured near the end as well. The Opera House organ was damaged by a water sprinkler during the Concert Hall renovations, dousing the pipes in a shower of water. This was the first time the organ has been heard in several years. David Drury must have been very excited to be performing again on the organ in this performance.
The combined orchestra supported the choir very well. I especially enjoyed the quality musicianship of the performers when individual sections of the orchestra were playing together in harmony.
There was a screen behind Weymark, showing his conducting to the singers sitting behind him in the boxes. It would also have been a treat for the audience to see the conductor’s face rather than their back. Everything about this production was a treat. The audience thought so, too, by clapping and cheering the achievement of their friends and family for several minutes.
The success of the Chorus Oz experience could be put down to the great opportunity to sing in a choir, make friends, meet like-minded people, and get expert professional tuition and if nothing else, they can all proudly say, “I sang on the Sydney Opera House stage”.
