Review: Profound Performance of new Song Cycle

Christopher Moore    /    Christchurch

The English poet Edward Thomas, one of World War One’s neglected literary voices, has now been given a voice 101 years after his death in 1917. In Memoriam - a new song cycle by New Zealand composer, Janet Jennings – is a contemporary musical meditation incorporating four of Thomas’s war poems.

The New Zealand String Quartet and tenor Jared Holt’s first performance of the work in Christchurch’s St Michael’s Church can only be described as profound. It was a perfect partnership as Holt’s richly powerful voice wove itself into the NZSQ’s textured and subtly nuanced playing. Words, music and musicians grabbed the emotions until the final note. But the impact of the performance lingered for much longer. Unforgettable.

- Christopher Moore, Christchurch