Cosmic Coincidence

At a little after 5am this morning I was outside in -7C temperatures watching Jupiter, Venus and Mercury rise just above the eastern horizon. Twelve hours later, at a little after 5 pm I was in UNE's Madgwick Hall listening to the thunderous end of another celestial work - in more ways than one - and the outside temperature had reached 15C. That's a 22C daily range! What caused the thunder inside? Well, it was the conclusion of Haydn's brilliant oratorio, the Creation, an event that preceded this morning's planetary extravaganza by about 13 billion years.

The Armidale Symphony Orchestra has rarely, if ever, exceeded the quality of this afternoon's concert, performing just the one two hour long work. They fielded amonst 50 musicians, many of whom I've known personally for decades, playing the complete suite of instruments directed by the score, including a harpsichord which had a key continuo role. And the quality of their ensemble and bit-part playing matched Haydn's great score, with its many subtleties such as attempts to portray the entropic chaos before the big bang and the mysteries of the early universe.

The Creation also makes large choral demands and Armidale was up to that task as well, fielding a choir of almost 80 persons, many of whom I also know ... including one of my doctors. Alas, two of the three soloists were imported for the occasion, with only Bethany Shepherd, the soprano, having local connections. The choir and soloists also discharged their roles very creditably under the tutelage of Wendy Huddlestone, the wife or Dot's former, but long retired, boss! Wendy might have retired from her music teaching career at Armidale High School 11 years ago, but she kept the ensemble of nearly 130 musicians under tight control and kept a cracking pace. Indeed she made the choral climaxes truly exciting and vibrant, far from the often flagging tempi of amateur orchestras. No wonder, then, that the applause at the end went on for a long time. The audience of maybe 250 people was thrilled by the classy performance.

For the record, Haydn's Creation was inspired by listening to Handel's oratorios, including the Messiah, in Westminster Abbey, and by his meeting with the Astronomer Royal, Herschel, who had recently discovered Uranus. The first public performance was in 1799 and it became an instant hit, but I doubt if it were much more polished than today's Armidale performance. If you ever get the chance, which may be unlikely given the rarity of performance, please try to attend. You'll be charmed and entertained. How can a town of 25,000 people can keep on performing major and demanding works in the classical repertoire - another was Mahler's Resurrection Symphony - based largely on its own home-grown and high quality talents. I'll let you, dear reader, figure that one out!