Music / Under The Greenwood Tree, ANU Choral Society (SCUNA). At Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture Chapel, Barton. Reviewed by LEN POWER.

Subtitled Shakespeare & Friends, SCUNA’s charming program was made up of the Bard’s timeless poetry set to music by composers of all eras.

As well as SCUNA, the CORO Chamber Choir also performed and the SCUNA Scholars, a 10-member auditioned subset of SCUNA gave its inaugural performance.

The large program began with the entire company singing It was a Lover and his Lass, from Shakespeare’s As You Like It. Accompanied by the drumming of Jesse Brown, it was a rousing opening number.

Conducted by Veronica Thwaites-Brown, SCUNA then sang several songs inspired by Shakespeare’s poetry as well as other songs from the Elizabethan era. The first song, Non Nobis Domine, with music by Patrick Doyle, was written for the 1989 Kenneth Branagh film of Henry V. This moving work was given a heartfelt performance by the choir.

Other songs presented were by composers John Rutter, John Dowland, Thomas Weekes, Franz Schubert and Amy Beach. Dowland’s Come Again showed the choir’s confident singing, while the same composer’s atmospheric Flow, My Tears was hauntingly sung. Strike It Up, Tabor by Thomas Weekes demonstrated the strength of the choir’s singing.

Baritone Lachlan Rankin, gave a fine solo performance of Who Is Sylvia? from Shakespeare’s Two Gentlemen of Verona with music by Franz Schubert and Through The House Give Glimmering Light from A Midsummer Night’s Dream was sweetly and accurately sung by the sopranos and altos.

The SCUNA Scholars then performed three madrigals by Thomas Morley. The group impressed with their confident, relaxed singing.  The well-known and joyful Sing we and Chant it was particularly well sung. Hopefully, we will hear more from this group in the future.

CORO Chamber Choir was next on the program, performing works by William Byrd, Thomas Tallis, Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina and Jean Richafort. All were beautifully sung with the atmospheric Tallis work If Ye Love Me the highlight of their chosen songs. David Mackay conducted.

The concert ended with the combined choir singing Five Shakespeare Songs with music by Penelope Thwaites. These melodic contemporary songs were refreshing and enjoyably sung. Veronica Thwaites-Brown, Jason Green, Lachlan Rankin and Aditya Chilukuri nicely performed the solos.

Pianist Anthony Smith accompanied the choirs. His playing of Blow, Blow, Thou Winter Wind by John Rutter and the introduction to When The Icicles Hang By The Wall by Penelope Thwaites was particularly notable.