Scholars Baroque Aotearoa

Scholars Baroque Aotearoa is a chamber choir under the musical direction of Chalium Poppy.

Based in Tauranga, they are the only auditioned early music choral ensemble in the Bay of Plenty. Performing stunning concerts throughout the year, their repertoire spans the history of choral music from early sixteenth century masterpieces to thrilling twenty-first century contemporaries.

Scholars Baroque Aotearoa have received international accolades for the New Zealand premières of choral works by Henry Purcell, Jean-Phillipe Rameau and Michael Haydn.

Scholars Baroque 2024 Season

The Scholars Explore the Romantics

Concert I - May 5, Tauranga

The Scholars are excited to collaborate once again with their friends in the Bay of Plenty Symphonia. This will be the first concert of the Symphonia’s new Musical Director, William McElwee. The Scholars Baroque are proud to be invited to be part of this inaugural concert marking the beginning of this exciting chapter in the life of the orchestra.

The music for this concert has been chosen by the Symphonia’s incoming conductor in partnership with Scholars’ Artistic and Musical Director, Chalium Poppy to both stretch and celebrate the talents of choir and orchestra alike. The Scholars and the Symphonia will present works by Bach and Brahms. Although these composers represent different musical eras, they are nonetheless natural partners. Brahms was viewed as Bach’s great successor and as Bach’s equal in harmony and fugal supremacy. The works we will present in this concert are both fatalistic in the way they explore questions of spirituality and speak to our inevitable destinies as human beings.

J. Brahms - Schiksalslied, Opus 54 (1869)

Along with his German Requiem, the Schickalslied (Song of Destiny) is considered to be one of Brahms’ finest choral compositions. In fact, one 19th century musicologist wrote that, "Had Brahms never written anything but this one work, it would alone have sufficed to rank him with the best masters." Comprising 3 movements, the Schickalslied is an extended musical setting of a poem by German poet and philosopher, Friedrich Hölderlin. The poem’s text focuses on humanity’s inevitable fate and is a portrait of a heavenly vision wherein the souls of the faithful dwell for all time.

In 1868, while staying with friends on vacation in the port city of Wilhelmshaven, Brahms discovered the poems by German poet and philosopher, Friedrich Hölderlin, quite by accident. He had arose early in morning and was snooping through a bookcase in the library for something to read when he stumbled across an anthology of poems by Hölderin. Later that day he was found at the water’s edge having already begun work on the music. Brahms, a composer known for usually working swiftly and efficiently, spent four years in continuous hesitation, constantly visiting and revisiting the composition before he was finally satisfied. The final product is a serene musical meditation on peace and solace. Brahms found great inspiration for this work while sitting by the sea, so the beautiful coast of Tauranga moana is perhaps an ideal backdrop for our performance of this masterpiece.

J. S. Bach - Jesu Meine Freude, BWV 227 (1723)

Bach’s motet for five voices (sopranos I and II, alto, tenor, and bass) is the longest and most musically complex of all his German motets. For his text, Bach selects a Lutheran hymn (first published in 1653) based on the 8th chapter of St. Paul’s epistle to the Romans. The motet is purported to have been composed for the funeral of a significant individual in Leipzig in July of 1723. This would be only a few months after Bach and his family had moved there. He would have been eager to make a strong musical statement and impress the public with his command of harmony and counterpoint. The motet he produced is now regarded as one of Bach's greatest achievements in the genre, with its unique and complex symmetrical structure, its juxtaposition of both hymn and biblical texts, and the variety of styles and vocal textures featured across its 11 movements. Each movement has its own distinct emotional character based upon the text of each corresponding verse. These emotions range from immense joy (as is evidence by the title “Jesus, My Joy”) to moments of significant darkness and trepidation.

CONCERT II - September 14/15, Tauranga & Whakatāne

R. Schumann - Requiem, Opus 148 (1852)

After the Schumanns moved to Dusseldorf towards the end of his life, Robert became interested in the musical forms of the Catholic church, and the Mass and the Requiem also satisfied the streak of mysticism that was present throughout his life, though in greater or lesser proportions depending upon circumstances. Like Mozart, he was composing a Mass for the dead during a time of illness and other hardships, and he expressed his fears that it was his own Requiem that he was writing. During Schumann’s stay in the asylum after his suicide attempt, this was one of the compositions that he continued to work upon. The manuscripts show numerous revisions, far more so than in most Schumann manuscripts, indicating his struggles to adequately capture his musical ideas and suggesting his mental agitation. Most of the writing is introverted; the images are not of a priest celebrating the Requiem Mass, but of a man contemplating his own death. It was not published or performed until eight years after his death, and today is one of Schumann’s more neglected works, though critics vary in their opinions about how justified this neglect is.

This performance marks only the second time Schumann’s Requiem has been performed in New Zealand and the Scholars Baroque Aotearoa are grateful to Bach Musica for providing us with the manuscript to be able to perform this moving work.

F. Mendelssohn - Psalm 42, Opus 42 (1837/1838)

This popular work is Mendelssohn’s musical setting of Martin Luther's German translation of Psalm 42. Over seven movements, Mendelssohn’s music features choruses, solos, duets, and trios all of which speak to the soul’s longing (literally “thirsting”) to dwell in peace, calm, and above all else, safety. Musically, Mendelssohn takes the listener on an emotional journey which ranges from eager anticipation, bordering on the impatient, to sublime serenity. His music is always informed by the tone of each verse found in the sacred text.

As a result of his strong and proud Jewish heritage, Mendelssohn possessed a great personal passion for Old Testament subjects when deciding upon the subjects of his choral works, of which his oratorio Elijah is perhaps the most famous example. Psalm 42 is yet another excellent example of this preference and follows very much in the composer’s own strong tradition of setting the Psalms of David to music - Psalms 95, 98, 114 and 115 to name a few. Psalm 42 is largely considered by musicologists to be the very finest of all his psalm settings.

At the work's first performance, in Leipzig in 1838, Mendelssohn himself conducted the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. Schumann, often a vocal critic of Mendelssohn and his music, opined that Mendelssohn's setting of Psalm 42 was the "highest point that he reached as a composer for the church. Indeed the highest point recent church music has reached at all." Mendelssohn himself described it as “my best sacred piece… the best thing I have composed in this manner”, a work “I hold in greater regard than most of my other compositions.”

Concert III - November 23/24, Tauranga & Waihi

G. F. Handel - Messiah, HWV 56 (1741)

The Scholars’ highly anticipated annual collaboration with our friends at NZBarok is a highlight of the festive season. Messiah is a musical drama based on Biblical texts describing the fortelling, coming, crucifixion, resurrection, and ultimate victory of Jesus. Handel’s setting spans quiet intimacy, cosmic drama, human hatred, profound grief, and transformative celebration, peaking in the mighty Hallelujah chorus and the transcendent final Amen fugue.

With both the Scholars and NZ Barok being specialists in music of the baroque period, we bring Handel’s much-loved work to life in authentic ways. Each year’s performance is always fresh, with new things for both audiences and musicians alike to find each time we encounter Handel’s incredible timeless masterpiece. Building on the enormous success of previous years’ performances and featuring an amazing lineup of international soloists, our 2024 Messiah promises to be yet another dazzling concert experience.

Don’t miss the opportunity to enjoy this remarkable performance in 2024, as in 2025, the Scholars look to mix things up a bit and pause our Messiah tradition to instead explore Bach’s mighty Christmas Oratorio. Watch this festive space!!!!

SINGERS WANTED

Tauranga’s Premiere Chamber Choir are auditioning singers 

The Scholars Baroque Aotearoa are a chamber choir dedicated to informed performances of period music (often baroque) with an emphasis on stylistic excellence and superior choral sound. 

The Scholars have availability for TENORS and BASSES to join them for 2023.  

The choir seeks singers with previous choral experience.  Although not a requirement, the ability to read music at sight is an asset.  

The choir also offers several scholarships for all voices of $1,000 on an annual basis which are available to high school, polytechnic or university students. Scholarship recipients are expected to be pursuing some form of study in music (e.g. private tuition, secondary/tertiary study; voice or other instrument/s). This is a golden opportunity for good musicians who have fine voices, the commitment to be part of a close-knit team, and a desire to develop first class sight-reading skills.

For more information about the Scholars Baroque Aotearoa, please go to our Scholarships page.

To make further inquiries, arrange an audition, or for more information about choral scholarships, please contact the Artistic & Musical Director at scholars@scholarsbaroque.com