There’s something so restorative and creatively fulfilling about doing something that you love but don’t get to do often. That’s how I felt about seeing the new concert Horizons presented by Voices New Zealand. I used to sing in choir through my school and uni days, but I haven’t been to a choral or orchestral performance in quite a few years. I came away from Horizons feeling nourished and peaceful, with a strong motivation not to let so much time pass before my next trip to see a choir.
The season of Horizons features the choir Voices New Zealand, alongside percussionist Jeremy Fitzsimons and narrator Nathaniel Lees. The show was toured around Tāmaki Makaurau earlier this year and will be visiting Pōneke later in the year. I was lucky enough to see the show at St Matthew’s in the City.
St Matthew’s in the City is a huge, beautiful Anglican Church right in the Tāmaki Makaurau CBD. I’ve caught buses outside this church, I’ve walked past it many times, and I have often been pleasantly surprised by the progressive and supportive billboards posted outside. I have not, however, been inside this church ever before. I can safely say that until this day I was missing out because the inside is grand and impressive, and comparable to churches I’ve paid money to visit in other countries. The vaulted ceilings and intricate details make for a beautiful setting for a concert, and I’m sure some kind of audio scientist or sound engineer could explain how the architecture enhanced the quality of the music.
Seating for the audience was laid out in a big oval, with chairs and also big cushions on the floor. The very diverse audience took up almost all available chairs, which feels impressive for a Sunday afternoon concert. I’m very grateful to the man at the ticketing desk who recommended I sit on a floor cushion. Though my butt did get a bit stiff by the end of the 75-minute show, I still felt like I had the best seat in the house.
For their first song, the choir all made their way into the centre of the church, filling the oval space in the middle of the audience. They sat themselves down amongst an assortment of fake flowers and I mistakenly assumed they would stay there for the entirety of the show. They did not. For the next number, they assembled in a more traditional group at the back of the church, arranged by vocal part.
With each new song, there was a new formation for the performers—sometimes standing as a group, sometimes mingling throughout the audience as they sang, sometimes they were sombre and still, sometimes upbeat and full of life. The result of this was that by the end of the concert, I felt I had probably heard each member of the choir individually and in every possible combination, as they stood in different configurations for each number. Each new voice I heard was a new treat to behold and I was blown away by the skills of this group to create such a cohesive, well-rounded sound from such distinct performers.
Horizons is a celebration of diversity themed around the experience of being an immigrant. The programme features songs from a range of composers in a variety of different languages, including English, te reo Māori and Arabic. What sparked my interest in seeing the concert was that it featured the world premiere of a new piece entitled ‘Huwiyati Muhajer/Citizens of Horizons’ by Palestinian-Jordanian artist and composer Shireen Abu-Khader. Each song in the programme was incredible, but for ‘Huwiyati Muhajer’ in particular, the sun was setting outside as the song was being performed and its rays coming through the stained-glass windows of St Matthew’s gave an amazing visual accompaniment to the already deeply emotional piece.
This show took the audience on an incredible rollercoaster of emotions, highlighting the practical and emotional challenges of the migrant experience. As most of the concert was in languages I don’t speak, I can’t say I understood 75% of the words that were sung, but it wasn’t really needed to follow the message the performers were communicating. In the middle of the show, we were taken from a joyful upbeat song set in a marketplace to a beautiful haunting piece about migrating by boat, to a piece where the choir sang behind the audience, and in the middle of the room, the narrator Nathaniel Lees sat openly weeping.
Having been born and raised in the same country as my parents were, the experience of being an immigrant is something I hear about and read about but have never personally experienced. I feel like through this concert series, Voices New Zealand is allowing audiences into the emotional reality of being an immigrant. In our present political climate, it is so necessary for us to be continually seeking out diverse stories. Every time you learn about a life experience that’s different to your own, you create an opportunity to become a more compassionate and empathetic person. What a great thing, then, for this group to be using their amazing singing voices, speaking voices and percussion skills to foster more compassion and understanding through the power of music.
Horizons will be performed in Te Whanganui-a-Tara from 26–28 October and tickets are available from the Voices New Zealand website.
Featured photos by Jo Miller Photography, supplied.
