Concert premiers Kiwi choral work
The Hastings Choral Society concert, Animal Antics, in St Matthew’s Church, King St, Hastings, at 4pm this Sunday, will feature the world premiere of a new choral work — A Kiwi Bestiary — by Napier-born New Zealand composer David Hamilton, commissioned by the East Coast Branch of the New Zealand Choral Federation.
Directed by Joe Christensen, Hastings Choral will be joined by choirs from Iona and Hereworth schools, and guest instrumentalists. The rest of the programme will include short songs about all sorts of animals — crocodiles, mice, geese, swans, hippopotamuses — and more. The odd carol sneaks in as well!
A Kiwi Bestiary is based on New Zealand poetry about animals.
It starts with a reminder that we are animals too, and includes the tuatara, morepork and pekapeka and covers sheep (obviously!), a rat, dog, cats as well as spiders.
The work had its genesis in the year 2000 at the Annual Conference of the NZ Choral Federation, hosted by the Hawke’s Bay and East Coast region, in Havelock North. It opened on Te Mata Peak with a dramatic telling of the legend of Te Mata by members of the Kahurangi Maori Dance Theatre. A speaker at the conference talked about commissioning choral and other musical works in New Zealand. Over the following years, a number of successful events were held in the region — workshops for singers and conductors, concerts by local organisations and the hosting of concerts by touring international choirs — to raise funds for a commission.
David Hamilton suggested a focus on New Zealand texts, originally thinking about the landscape, which then shifted to poetry about animals and birds. He hoped the work would be accessible to as many choirs in New Zealand as possible.
“Quite a coup for Hastings Choral,” says society publicist Kate Hartland. “There can’t be that many world premieres in Hawke’s Bay. It promises to be a fun afternoon.”