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What's new?
A busy year of conducting
engagements
The year 2010 will see two significant
invitations to conduct regional choirs. In mid-August Napier Civic
Choir's mid-year concert will feature Haydn's "Nelson Mass" and the
premiere of the conductor's own "Awful Ogre's Awful Day". In late
November an invitation from South Auckland Choral Society to conduct
their Christmas concert will see performances of Saint-Saens "Christmas
Oratorio" and a new Christmas work from the conductor. Work with St
Mary's Schola from St Mary's College also continues throughout the year.
Experiences in Trelew (Argentina)
at the 9th International Choral Festival
From 13-19 September I was privileged to
be on the jury for this choral contest in Argentina. Trelew is a
regional city, about 2 hours flying south of Buenos Aires in the
Patagonia region. Occurring every two years, the contest largely
attracts choirs from Latin America, but this year the Latvian Male Choir
also attended. A pre-selection process ensures that the choirs taking
part are of a good standard, and the prize money on offer is not
inconsequential. First prize in one category was 6000 pesos – about
NZ$2,200.
One of my tasks was to conduct the massed
choirs in one piece, rehearsed during the morning massed singing
session. For this I used an arrangement I had made of “Me He Manu Rere”.
The massed singing was led by Steen Lindholm from Denmark, a
delightfully engaging conductor who had the singers right in the palm of
his hand.
A second task was to lead a workshop each
morning. The choirs were divided amongst the jury members, and we saw
the same group four times for an hour and half each time. For this I
conducted my arrangement of “Hine e Hine”, my own “Blessing”, and
Anthony Ritchie’s “Timepiece”. The last of these proved a challenge for
the group, but they were determined to sing it on the last day in
concert – and they managed a very creditable performance. I was a little
dismayed on arrival to discover my workshop had been called “Traditional
Maori Music”, so I swiftly emailed SOUNZ for some material that I could
show to my workshop group to give them an idea of what true traditional
Maori music sounded like and how it looked when notated.
The final duty of the five jurors (two
from Argentina, and one each from Finland, Kenya, and New Zealand) was
to judge the competitive sessions. These were done by theme: folk music,
and sacred music, and then by choir type: female choirs, chamber choirs
(up to 20 voices) and mixed-voice choirs. Several of the choirs sang in
more than one voice-type category by entering their women’s section, or
their best singers as a chamber choir.
The standard of the best choirs was very high and there was some heated
discussion amongst the jury members on several occasions. Repertoire
ranged from Renaissance polyphony through to contemporary Argentinean
works. There were several special awards including one for a piece first
heard at the contest. Set test pieces were also included in some
categories.
Everyone was very welcoming and generous,
and Trelew is in an interesting part of the country. There is a strong
Welsh presence in the area, and in nearby Gaiman Welsh is still spoken
and taught to young people. It even boasts its own Eisteddfod! The next
World Choral Symposium is also based in this area – centered on the
nearby coastal city of Puerto Madryn. The Trelew festival director,
Daniel Garavano, is heading the Symposium organisation for 2011. The
next contest in Trelew is therefore not until 2013.
Auckland Choral premieres new work,
plus some other first performances in 2009...
"Orpheus" written to mark the 200th anniversary of the death of Haydn,
was premiered in Napier on 25th July 2009 by Auckland Choral. The choir
then presented the work to Auckland audiences a week later. Setting a
poem by American poet William Jay Smith, this 9-minute work is scored
for alto solo, choir and organ. NZ Herald reviewer William Dart
commented:
"After a robust start, with a bracingly confident choir against John
Wells' sometimes tumultuous organ toccata, Hamilton carefully drew
out specific words and images through his music. (Kate) Spence's
shapely melodic line was beautifully turned, especially when the
poem transported us to places extraterrestrial. ...the final
combination of vibrant vocalising and instrumental splendour were
the perfect celebration of both Haydn and the composer's singing
colleagues."
(William Dart in the NZ Herald, 4 August 2009)
In
mid-June Auckland Chamber Orchestra gave the first performance of "Hine
Raukatauri", the flute concerto that won an international competition
for composers in 2007. The soloist was Alexa Still. The work is being
used as a test piece in the performers' part of the same competition in
Haifa, Israel this year.
On 6th
August, the orchestra of Auckland Grammar School gave the first
performance of the Concertino for Percussion and Chamber Orchestra.
Written specifically for the school, the work featured young
percussionist Laurence McFarlane, and the performance was conducted by
Head of Music Dr Nelson Wu.
Early
June 2009 also saw the premiere performance of "Kristallnacht". This score
was written for a group of students at New Plymouth Boys High School,
and their performance won the regional section of the Chamber Music NZ
chamber music contest. The unusual scoring is for flute, guitar, 2
percussion, and piano.
Another Hamilton
success in international competitions
Late in
2008 David Hamilton took 2nd place in a composer's competition run by
The Chapter House Choir (York, England). Setting a text by New Zealand
hymn writer Colin Gibson, "Carol of Cold Comfort" was one of 67 entries
from around the world. The work was scheduled for performance in the
choir's annual carol concerts in mid-December, broadcast by
the BBC. One of the adjudicators was the choir's founder Andrew Carter,
who spent a year in Auckland in 1984 conducting choirs. There is further
information about the choir at its website:
www.chapterhousechoir.org
Treble-voice choral music
Volume 2 CD now available
Click the above headline to see an image of the
new CD of David Hamilton's treble voice music. Available directly from
the composer (not available in shops!). Performances by various choirs.
Includes the Christmas cycle for SSA choir, harp and percussion "A Child
Comes Forth".
Auckland Choral in Hamilton
celebration
On July
5th 2008 Auckland Choral's 2nd subscription concert was a celebration of
Hamilton with 4 works on the programme, alongside Haydn's "Te Deum" and
Bach's Cantata No. 98.. Conducted by the composer the programme featured
"Well Done, Mister Bach" (for string orchestra), "Whisper to me" (for
women's choir and strings), "Monday's Troll" (for bass clarinet, choir
and orchestra) and a new orchestral scoring of "Te Deum". Of this last
work, reviewer William Dart in the NZ Herald said:
"Hamilton's Te Deum has pedigree. Originally commissioned by the
Auckland Choral Society, it was impressive 22 years ago, and, a
over-boisterous 'Amen' excepted, it wears its age well. (Kate)
Spence was at her radiant best, Auckland Choral threw themselves
into some radical 80s vocalising, while youngsters from the Auckland
Youth Choir, Kentoris and Diocesan Senior Choir, sprightly brass and
percussion, and John Wells rumbling away on the organ ensured this
was the full Technicolor splash."
Concerto wins 1st prize in Israel
composers' competition, plus another choral composing success
"Hine
Raukatauri", a concerto for flute, string orchestra, harp and
percussion, has been placed first in the Haifa International Composers
Competition 2007. The work is intended for performance by the Israel
String Ensemble, a group consisting of leading players from the Israel
Philharmonic and other top Israeli string players. The competition was
open to composers internationally, and the jury selected 11 entries to
compete for the prize. Hine Raukatauri is the Maori goddess of the
flute, and the work includes music suggestive of New Zealand birdsong.
This was
followed at the end of the year by a second place in the Longfellow
Chorus Composers' Competition in the USA. A setting of "The Singers" by
American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was awarded the Longfellow
Chorus Director's Prize. of the work the adjudicators said: "'The
Singers' is a work of artistry that will engage singers and audience on
several levels: intellectual, creative and expressive".
Recent major performances
"Elysian Fields" received a performance by
the Auckland Philharmonia on 31st May 2007. Writing in the NZ Herald,
reviewer William Dart said:
"David Hamilton's "Elysian Fields" gave
full vent to (the conductor's) inexhaustible energy. Hamilton's
unbridled celebration of sound, written a decade ago for Auckland
Youth Orchestra, was given the full professional upgrade. Stirring
string themes had a prairie sweep to them, minimalist textures
bubbled appropriately, and percussion were at their tintinnabulating
best, with cascades of glockenspiel and tubular bells."
(NZ Herald, 4 June 2007)
In its
second subscription concert for 2007, Auckland Choral (with Manukau
City Symphony Orchestra) performed "The
Dragons are Singing Tonight". Originally written in 1996 for choir and
brass band, this performance was the first in a new scoring for
orchestra. In the NZ Herald's review, William Dart commented:
"David Hamilton's "The Dragons
are Singing Tonight" worked its spell on both musicians and
audience. Hamilton's settings of Jack Prelutsky's Seuss-ish poems
has charm. If a rough orchestra conspired against the suspense of
waiting for the dragon's egg to hatch, the players injected high
spirits into 'The Mechanical Dragon'. A bored dragon was
delightfully sketched in wandering time signatures and the Manukau
musicians relished the breezy backing to a tale of a dozen dragoons
in a closet. "
(NZ Herald, 29 June 2007)
Another
review, in the local paper Franklin Life Newspaper, gave this composer
one of the most 'over the top' reviews ever received. It referred to
the work as 'glowingly humorous' and continued:
"What
does "I've been waiting, waiting, waiting for my dragon's egg to
hatch" tell us? Well, for one, it tells us that an incredibly
versatile New Zealand composer, one who relates adroitly to Kiwi
musical tastes as well as introducing a sense of humour, has
unexpectedly come out of the ether and made Peter Watts' job a
little easier."
The
2007 secondary schools choral festival, The Big Sing, saw some Hamilton
premieres including "Psalm 121" written for Kentoris of St Kentigern
College, and "Night Watch Song" written for Mainly Men of Rangitoto
College. Of the more than 50 choirs in the Auckland regional event, 17
included Hamilton pieces as their New Zealand composition.
"Missa semplice" receives premiere
in New Plymouth
The first performance of this work took
place on 31 March 2007 by the combined forces of City Sounds of New Plymouth and
Stratford Mountain Singers . Scored for SAB
choir with piano or organ, it is tuneful, not rhythmically complex, and of modest
dimensions lasting about 25 minutes.
The review in the local paper commented:
"...the main interest was in David
Hamilton's new piece 'Missa semplice'....No turgid musical
arguments, but an attractive work that will become popular with many
a choir, and listeners, who will love its direct appeal of bouncy
rhythms, simple harmonies but effective polyphony managed mainly
through canons and imitative sequences. The choir sang with the
composer on the rostrum, determined to do well by him. And this they
did, singing with understanding and an enjoyment that was
infectious."
(Harry Brown in The Daily News 2 April 2007)
The same weekend saw two other Hamilton
premieres: A short setting in Maori of the Hosanna from the Mass was
performed at the church service which was part of Epsom Girls Grammar
School's 90th anniversary celebrations. "Ohana i runga rawa" is set for
SSA choir and oboe.
Another sacred choral work in Maori,
"Whakarongo ki te reo", was also first performed on 1st April by the
choir of St Luke's Church Remuera in Auckland.
"Missa Pacifica" premiere
and subsequent performances
"Missa Pacifica", commissioned by Auckland Choral
to celebrate its 150th anniversary in 2005, was premiered on 6th
November 2005. The piece set the
traditional Latin Mass text with additional texts from traditional Maori
sources, New Zealand writers Joy Cowley,
Patricia Grace and Hirini Melbourne, and Singaporean writer Edwin
Thumboo. The performance, conducted by Peter Watts, featured soloists
Morag Atchison and Kate Spence, Piper's Sinfonia and several of Auckland's best secondary school choirs.
William Dart, reviewing the work in the
NZ Herald on 9th November, called the work "...a triumph of innovation
and vibrancy". He said:
"A more welcoming score you could
not imagine, with Hamilton sneaking in a few progressions from the
Howard Shore chord book. But, Hollywood moments aside, it was the
sheer inventiveness of the composer that made the work so
vibrant....This was a solid and exciting piece, written with the
balance of expertise and sensitivity that should ensure it is picked
up by other enterprising choral groups."
Read the entire review through this link
(note that this may only be available as "subscription only" material) :
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/search/story.cfm?storyid=00005743-18FC-1370-8A6483027AF10333
You can also read an article published on
2nd November which previewed the performance of "Missa Pacifica". The
article came from an extended interview with the composer and includes
background on David Hamilton and also Auckland Choral. Follow this link:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/author/story.cfm?a_id=185&ObjectID=10353062
Within a year of its premiere performance
in November 2005, "Missa Pacifica" chalked up 4 performances - the
latest in Dunedin on October 7th 2006. Under conductor David Burchell,
it was performed by the City of Dunedin Choir and the Southern Sinfonia,
with soloists Anna Cors and Kate Spence. The Otago Daily Times headlined
their review: "Outstanding NZ choral work well received". Reviewer
Anthony Ritchie commented: "Given the background to the work, it is
hardly surprising there are several references to Pacific Island styles
of music as well as Maori. These provided some of the work's most
vibrant sounds, from pounding of the log drums to the gentle strumming
of the ukulele-like violins. The inclusion of a youth choir as well as
the main choir in these sections was a masterstroke: it provided a
freshness of sound to the work."
"Missa Pacifica" also received 2
performances by The Queensland Choir (conductor Kevin Power) in June
2006. The performances were in Brisbane (4th June) and Ipswich (17th
June). The performances featured two different groups of school choirs.
The performances were accompanied by a specially constituted orchestra,
and the soloists were Amy Wilkinson (soprano) and Georgia Hawes (alto).
"School's out as composer gets serious"
This
headline in the Monday November 18 2001 issue of the NZ Herald, headed
an article about the move from teaching full-time to composing.
The
article can still be checked out at the NZ Herald’s website by accessing
the following link:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/6/story.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=228873
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