Migratory songbirds

First published on 16 Jan 2012. Updated on 27 Jan 2012.

Now that it’s winter in England, three flocks of the most famous voices in Britain will migrate briefly to Australia to sing in full-throated ease away from colds and the cold. We asked two local experts from the great British choral tradition for their opinions on all three. Both experts migrated from the UK to Australia, both have double-barrelled surnames, and have sung in and directed highly prestigious ensembles here and in the UK.

Warren Trevelyan-Jones is head of music at the Parish Church of St James, King Street, Sydney. He rates the Sixteen as one of the world’s finest choirs. Founded along with a period instrument orchestra in 1979 by Harry Christophers and still directed by him, they have recorded around 100 CDs of music spanning the past 500 years. Of their all-Handel programme, Trevelyan-Jones predicts that “the sparkling Dixit Dominus[The Lord said] will show them off at their virtuosic and vibrant best.” Jonathan Grieves-Smith, Chorus Master of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Chorus, calls their sound mesmerising and their concerts unmissable. “Their music-making transforms lives,” he says. 
Sydney Opera House, Mon 27 Feb, 7pm

Trevelyan-Jones has sung in the choir of Westminster Abbey, with the Sixteen, the prestigious Tallis Scholars, and once auditioned with the King’s Singers, drawn by their “impeccable artistry and humour.” They started as six college students in Cambridge in 1968; none of those individuals remain but the number six remained fixed as the a capella group’s reputation grew. Grieves-Smith judges them “the finest troubadours of the modern era” and admires their “wonderful marriage of high art and riveting entertainment. They have brought technical brilliance and sophistication to music of all sorts, always looking to imaginative programming to tell stories and paint pictures, to raise a smile or comfort a soul.”
Sydney Opera House, Thu 16 Feb, 8pm

The Hilliard Ensemble is best known to many Australian fans from their crossover landmark CD Officiumand its haunting saxophone. Trevelyan-Jones finds their pairing in March with the Australian Chamber Orchestra irresistible. In addition to orchestral works such as Elgar’s Seranade for Strings, the programme spans almost a millennium, from Gregorian chant to the contemporary Estonian composer Arvo Pärt. Grieves-Smith is no less enthusiastic.  “Their record is simply unmatched,” he says. “[They have] profound integrity and great skill.” 
Sydney Opera House, Sun 11 Mar, 2pm
City Recital Hall, Angel Place, 17 & 21 Mar, 7pm & Tue 20 Mar, 8pm

With so much superb artistry on offer, choosing just one group would be difficult. If you need variety in colour as well as genre, see the ACO and the Hilliard Ensemble. To just go for Baroque, go the Sixteen. Or if you feel like non-stop entertainment without instrumental accompaniment and wouldn’t be put off by the odd Michael Bublé cover, see the King’s Singers. But don’t miss the chance to catch at least some of these outstanding British warblers before they fly away again.