Music /  2025 Luminous Christmas, Luminescence. At Wesley Uniting Church, December 12. Reviewed by IAN McLEAN.

This was a delightful concert! A program of Christmas music, dating from the 14th century through to arrangements written this year, was well balanced, interesting and quite fascinating in concept.

The concert was beautifully sung with excellent dynamics plus real energy and passion evident in every varied musical offering.

A calm, peaceful atmosphere was initially created with a short organ introduction before a series of compositions sung in Latin. The impressive opening, Hodie Christus Natus Est, originated in Amsterdam in the early 16^th century and was led by the fine tenor voice of Dan Walker.

His tight harmonies and tonal clarity and that of the other five members of Luminescence – AJ America, Josephine Brereton, Lucien Fischer, Rachel Mink and Alasdair Stretch – were evident throughout the evening and the ensemble was conducted with grace and elegance, and an obvious intimate score knowledge, by long-term regular mentor to the group, Roland Peelman.

The Latin-sung section of the concert featured music from France, Germany and Ireland with the Luminescence Children’s Choir, from their position high in the loft at the rear, joining to fill the church with glorious stereophonic sound.

Callum Tolhurst-Close provided subtle and delicate organ accompaniment. His sympathetic playing fully supported the singers while, pleasingly, never became overbearing or dominant. He had a deserved solo moment in the sun with an excellent performance of To His Servant Bach, God Grants a Final Glimpse: The Morning Star, which was particularly moving and special.

An international flavour to the concert remained evident when singing changed from Latin to English. From Ukraine, a clever arrangement by Dan Walker of the Carol of the Bells then Away in a Manager, which combined and paraphrased the two well known melodies of that carol. Peelman played a pulsating drum rhythm to accompany his arrangement of The Little Drummer Boy then to Argentina for a Latin American rhythmic accompaniment to La Peregrinacion, a carol that pictures Joseph and Mary in the pampas, the Argentinian countryside.

To epitomise the stylistic variation on display, Luminescence then took the ’40s popular song, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, and spruced it up with a modern close harmony setting. Off to Sweden for the Nordic carol Sankta Lucia before a Lebanese Christmas song then the Australian carol, The Silver Stars are in the Sky.

This entertaining and most enjoyable concert concluded with the audience enthusiastically, but lacking the close harmony abilities of Luminescence and the Luminescence Children’s Choir, joining in Hark! The Herald Angels Sing and O Come, All Ye faithful.

Artistic Director AJ America and the talented Luminescence team certainly captured the joyous aspects of the festive season and a most satisfied audience ventured home with the real spirit of Christmas firmly in their hearts and minds.