Stamitz Sinfonia a Quattro in A | Hamilton Homecoming, Te Hokinga Mai (2018) | Haydn Nelson Mass, Mass for troubled times
Originally called Missa in Angustiis, Mass for Troubled Times, Haydn’s mighty choral work is now forever associated with Admiral Nelson’s victory over Napoleon. Haydn wrote it at a time of intense fear for the future of Austria and the sense of urgency and the unknown can be felt throughout the work.
David Hamilton selected Vincent O’Sulivan’s poem ‘Home Coming – Te Hokinga Mai’, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I. David was drawn to the energy and joy of the country welcoming home its soldiers. One of the most influential figures in European music during the mid-eighteenth century, Johann Stamitz, composed 58 sinfonias. The then cutting-edge mini-symphonies of Stamitz were both energetic and sensuous. The ‘Sinfonia A Quattro in A’ is a fitting overture.
Uwe Grodd conductor
Anna Leese soprano
Kate Webber mezzo-soprano
Jared Holt tenor
James Harrison baritone
Auckland Choral
Pipers Sinfonia
Saturday 4 May 7.30pm
Holy Trinity Cathedral
Hi! I’m Albert Wilson, and only joined Auckland Choral in 2018, as a Tenor.
Like so many contraltos, I first got put in the alto section as a school girl because I could read music and manage to sing a line of harmony. I joined Auckland Choral when I was in high school and now I’ve been a member for 40 years! I started singing with my mum as a toddler, sitting on her knee while she played the piano and sang soprano and tenor Messiah arias. I used to come to Auckland Choral’s Saturday dress rehearsals in the Town Hall and follow the score in my early teenage years, and it was a natural step to join Mum in the choir when I was 15. I remember Choral Hall in Airedale Street where we used to meet (before Mayoral Drive was built). It was a dusty old building and freezing in winter, but the ladies in the alto section were very kind to me and welcomed me into the back row. Nothing really changes in that respect; the Auckland Choral altos today are a great bunch of people as well!
Kimberley joined the choir as a Soprano in January 2015 for Handel's Israel in Egypt. It was a daunting, split choir piece with a short rehearsal period but this didn't scare her away! Kimberley has been singing since before she could talk, her first words were sung, being Old MacDonald's E-I-E-I-O. Kimberley joined the Auckland Girls Choir as a foundation member in 1998 under Leonie Lawson and found she enjoyed Choral Music but left in 2000 as a 13 year old and found enjoyment throughout her high-school years in musical stage performances and often performed singing solos at school assemblies and talent contests. 
