Tuesday 11 November 1997 at 8pm
Xavier College Chapel, Kew
Subscription Series Concert No 4
PROGRAM
Heinrich Isaac Gaudeamus omnes
Josquin Desprez Missa Gaudeamus
John Taverner Audivi vocem de caelo
John Sheppard Audivi vocem de caelo
Thomas Tallis Audivi vocem de caelo
William Byrd In festo omnuim sanctorum
William Byrd Gaudeamus omnes
William Byrd Timete Dominum
William Byrd Iustorum animae
William Byrd Beati mundo corde
| Soprano | Alto | Tenor | Bass |
| Deborah Summerbell | Helena Simpson |
Peter Nesutupny | Andrew Williams |
| Carol Veldhoven | Kate Brian | Stuart Tennant | Tom Henry |
| Maria Pisani | Margaret Arnold | Philip Legge | Jerzy Kozlowski |
| Helen Gagliano | Bernadette Ballard |
REVIEW
Friday 14 November 1997, The Age [Melbourne], page 5.
Exploring range of choral color
Joel Crotty
ENSEMBLE GOMBERT’S penultimate concert for 1997, featuring music by Isaac, Josquin, Taverner,
Sheppard, Tallis and Byrd, was a particularly solid exploration of styles and techniques.
They ranged from the armory of procedures located in the scores of Josquin and Byrd to the more delicate
counterpoints by the other composers. More importantly, the different referential points for each score were
superbly itemised and individualised by the choir under the subtle guidance of John O’Donnell.
The main focus of the evening was Josquin’s mighty Missa Gaudeamus. In this work, one can understand
why, within his lifetime, Josquin was revered by his peers. The penetrating choral colors were evident in
Ensemble Gombert’s rendition.
However, the minutiae of contrapuntal nuance was less successful. O’Donnell divided up the inner voices,
which, due to the vagaries of 16th-century compositional practice, was a valid option, but occasionally these
voices seemed to lose touch with the outer parts.
What anchored the work was the forceful conviction of the basses, who radiated a sonorous warmth.
Of the sections, it was the Sanctus which revealed the choristers’ absolute control of the brilliant writing.
There was never a moment in this part which wavered towards uncertainty in delivery.
Similarly, the altos were strong supporters for the sopranos in the Audivi vocem de caleo settings for high
voices by Taverner, Sheppard and Tallis. It was an interesting comparative exercise, though not one of the
trio stood out. The altos’ luxuriant sound occasionally broke up into strands, while the sopranos had a blended
mix but were particularly thin. This combination, of weak/dominant, unified/disparate, worked, for some
strange reason.
Furthermore, it was sensible programming on O’Donnell’s part to schedule some pieces that resonated with
less intensive emotive fervor than either the Josquin or Byrd’s In festo omnium sanctorum which closed the
concert.
If Josquin’s output represents the high-water mark of the Continental Renaissance, then Byrd’s music is the
bridge between the Tudor polyphonists (as represented in the concert by Taverner, Sheppard and Tallis) and
England’s golden age of music during the early-17th century.
The choristers performed Byrd’s Propers with the right amount of verve, which was occasionally rocked by
some slightly unfocused phrasing.
Joel Crotty/Courtesy of The Age