Gig Review: Bach Musica NZ @ Auckland Town Hall – 14/04/2024

The historic setting of Auckland Town Hall, with its long and celebrated history of live music, was the ideal location for Bach Musica NZ. This was the first of a program of performances taking place throughout the year and bringing to the stage some favourite classical music pieces. Three hundred years after it was composed, Bach’s appeal is broad and devoted.

His musical brilliance retains its emotional appeal and for me, it evokes sheer joy. I can remove the religious connotations from its intention, and I’m left with powerful, moving and transcendent music. I arrived in a bustling and frenetic scene as patrons busied themselves for the 5’o’clock show. I was sat a few feet away from the stage. I could almost feel the breeze from the instruments. There was nothing like coming face to face with an orchestra and the unfolding layers of the sound of the choir.

All clad in black Bach Musica NZ’s, violins, cellos and double bass players were close to the front of the stage. The orchestra sat poised while a few latecomers took their places. The lights stayed up. There was a moment of complete silence before the emergence and a round of applause for the dynamic entrance of the conductor, Rita Paczian. Vibrantly dressed in a silver sparkling jacket, there was a little magic to her enthusiastic performance. The opening notes to Brandenburg Concerto No 3 began. It brought the audience together into a concentration and composure demanded by the pace and thrill of this fabulous work. We can watch films at home, we can listen to music on speakers, but this sort of music’s complexities, elegance and effect are a million times intensified live, in a venue built for music.

Bach Musica NZ perform a variety of music, spanning the Baroque to contemporary classical music. They have an international repertoire. Tonight, it was all about Baroque – Bach is the classic of the classical, but if you think you’ve heard it before and not seen it live, then there’s every chance you are missing out on the genius of the music. Throughout the night characterful solo parts for singers and instrumentalists combined with blazing ensemble climaxes and caused raucous sustained applause. We all just really enjoyed it. Catch Bach Musica with the next instalment, Dvorak, and the idyll-evoking Vaughan Williams’, The Lark Ascending. As the dark evenings of Winter arrive this is sure to offer an opportunity for energy-lifting entertainment.

Photo Credit: Joe Photography
Bach Musica NZ Gallery