By Ben Nielsen
Hailing from the grand halls of England, Grammy award winning vocal ensemble The King’s Singers make a welcome return to Australia after nearly thirty years.
Celebrating their 45th anniversary next year, The King’s Singers are Britain’s premier vocal ensemble. Since its conception at King’s College in Cambridge in the late 1960s, the group has experienced great success, both in the UK and internationally. The group now tours worldwide, performing at near to 130 concerts each year; garnering awards and receiving much critical acclaim.
Joined by the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra with guest conductor Ollivier-Philippe Cuneo, The King’s Singers performed a vast repertoire including traditional classical and folk tunes to more contemporary pop and jazz pieces. The concert also featured songs from the group’s most recent release, Swimming over London.
The opening half of the concert included more traditional tunes, beginning with the characteristically British orchestral march, Crown Imperial by Walton. This was followed by a selection of folk ditties- the humorous Dance to thy Daddy, and Langford and Park’s extravagant medley A Jubilee Sequence.
Following the interval, an assortment of contemporary tunes were performed; of particular note was the faux pop version of Jason Mraz’s I’m Yours and Over the Rainbow by Arlen. A moving arrangement of the Beatles classic, Let it Be and the traditional folk tune Greensleeves concluded the performance.
Throughout the concert, The King’s Singers and the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra performed both together and individually, giving each ensemble an opportunity to showcase their own musical aptitude. While The King’s Singers had no difficulty impressing the audience with their outstanding musicality, the two pieces performed only by the orchestra (Walton’s Crown Imperial and Chabrier’s Suite Pastorale), were admittedly not the best to do justice to its exceptional talent and ability.
While the presence of the theatre drapes and cyclorama contributed to the ambience of the performance; the absence of the acoustical sound shell usually utilised for a music concert seemed somewhat detrimental to the sound quality. There is certainly a notable difference between the pure sound of an ensemble playing acoustically and the tinniness and thinness of an audio system. This of course was unavoidable, as it was necessary for both vocalists and instruments to be amplified for balance reasons.
Sadly the biggest disappoint of the evening was Adelaide’s inability to completely fill the auditorium to capacity, despite a world class ensemble such as The King’s Singers performing to sold-out venues around the world.
With impeccable vocal blend, serene and precise sound, The King’s Singers and the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra provided an evening of magnificent music.
For those who missed this performance, “The King’s Singers: A Lover’s Journey” will be broadcast live from Melbourne on 103.9 ABC Classic FM on Tuesday February 14.
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