Exquisite music, performed by some of the best chamber singers in the world
Presented by Adelaide Chamber Singers
Reviewed 13 March, 2025
Once again the world-renowned Adelaide Chamber Singers have put together a program which is everything a great choral recital should be.
Heal You takes the theme of healing, whether that be the healing power of the human voice, or the healing words of the composers, and asks us to put aside the stress and worry of our times in order to listen and mend together. Artistic Director Christie Anderson, in her introduction, even alluded to the Choir’s recent work on Kaija Saariaho’s Innocence for the Adelaide Festival, and their subsequent need for some healing themselves.
This exquisite program opened with Caroline Shaw’s delightful And the Swallow, moving into another bird-allusion, with Stanford’s The Bluebird. Local composer Anne Cawrse who has been commissioned several times by the Adelaide Chamber Singers, was in the house to hear her masterful piece, Night/Light. Alongside these lyrical pieces were some lighter, joyful works, such as Sally Whitwell’s hilarious The Lightness of Being, and British-Hindustani composer Reena Esmail’s jubilant Tuttarana. The eponymous work of the program was the piece Heal You by Anna Meredith, and a highlight of a program made up almost entirely of highlights was Arvo Pärt’s I Am The True Vine.
It is difficult to write about this group without sounding slightly foolish: one runs out of superlatives after a while. They are individually, and of course ensemble, divine singers. Anderson has the ability to curate a program which works on every level. Their performances are full of passion, joy, and humanity. And they continue to support new and emerging composers from Adelaide, and elsewhere, thereby encouraging the growth of contemporary music. And they often get to do all this inside one of the best chamber music venues in the world: our own Town Hall. The audience on Thursday night kept them coming back for more applause, and no wonder.
Heal You was only performed for one night. However, ABC Classic broadcast the concert live, and this is still available for the next month on their website.
And grab a ticket to anything the Adelaide Chamber Singers do next!
Click here to listen to the concert. https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/special-features/adelaide-chamber-singers-live-at-adelaide-festival/104942930
Click here for further information about Adelaide Chamber Singers. https://adelaidechambersingers.com/
Reviewed by Tracey Korsten
Venue: Adelaide Town Hall
Season: Finished
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