A Weekend of Mozart
17 April 2003

Celso Antunes, Artistic Director of The National Chamber Choir, with the choir and The RTE Concert Orchestra, photographed on Saturday night last at The Helix

Last weekend, April 12th and 13th, The National Chamber Choir with guests and The RTE Concert Orchestra performed 'A Celebration of Mozart' in the Mahony Hall at The Helix.

The National Chamber Choir is of course the choir in residence at DCU and it is currently under the artistic directorship of Celso Antunes. Michael Dervan, in his review in the Irish Times of the Saturday night concert, wrote of Celso's painstakingly detailed work with the choir, and of his invigorating and illuminating effect on performances. The extraordinary gift that is Celso's truly has to be seen to be believed.

Saturday evening's programme at The Helix included the Regina Coeli and Vesperae Solennes De Confessore and the soloists were The National Chamber Choir's own and incomparable Sylvia O'Brien, Zane Senavska, Jacek Wislocki and Jeffrey Ledwidge.

The weekend's concerts were further graced with the talents of Hugh Tinney on piano and the Sunday night soloists, Majella Cullagh, Alison Browner, Evan Bowers and Sam McElroy. The French conductor Laurent Wagner who, according to Martin Adams, is hotly tipped to succeed Proinnsias O Duinn as Principal Conductor with the RTE Concert Orchestra, conducted on Sunday night and the programme included the overture from Cosi Fan Tutte and Mozart's final masterpiece, his Requiem.

On both evenings the performers sang and played to deeply appreciative capacity audiences in DCU's grand concert hall. People expressed to me in equal measure their appreciation of the performance and their appreciation of the performance space. Overall the weekend celebration of Mozart was an undoubted triumph.

Christina Quinlan