A day of belated winter storms seemed a fitting presage to this tempestuous performance of Verdi’s Messa da Requiem, with conductor James Pratt driving soloists, chorus and orchestra as though the Last Judgement were nigh.

Pratt’s extensive experience as a conductor, soloist and chorister in both the sacred and secular realms guarantees the right balance of liturgical and operatic drama required for a successful performance of Verdi’s choral masterpiece, written in 1874 to commemorate the death of the Italian writer Alessandro Manzoni.

Having the Perth Symphonic Chorus (of which Pratt is the musical director), the Perth Philharmonic Orchestra (which includes some of Perth’s finest orchestral musicians including concertmaster Shaun Lee-Chen) and a crack team of soloists comprising soprano Naomi Johns, mezzo Ashlyn Tymms, tenor Paul O’Neill and baritone James Clayton at his disposal seals the deal.

Perth Symphonic Chorus and Perth Philharmonic Orchestra. Photo © Daniel James Grant

The hushed “Introit” and an exquisite “Kyrie” immediately raise the bar high for the rest of the performance. Choir, orchestra and soloists are mere feathers on the breath of God as plaintive pianissimo passages and a gently refulgent quartet evince superb technical and expressive discipline. 

By contrast, the “Dies irae” erupts with a sound and fury signifying everything, Pratt realising Verdi’s vivid orchestral effects – the bass drum alone reverberated through the hall as though to shake it to its very foundations – and terrifying word-painting with a vividness and clarity worthy of a vast medieval fresco.

Perth Symphonic Chorus and Perth Philharmonic Orchestra. Photo © Daniel James Grant

The remainder of the sequence is equally compelling: standouts include a superb “Mors stupendit” and “Confutatis” from Clayton; a sumptuous “Liber scriptus” from Tymms and the chorus; and a gorgeous, lyrical “Ingemisco” from O’Neill. The chorus shines especially in the multifaceted “Rex tremendae” and a profoundly moving counterpoint to the soloists in the “Lacrimosa.”

The intimacy and relative serenity of the “Offertorio” for the four soloists and the following energetic Sanctus with its complex fugal writing for double chorus and especially colourful orchestration are notable for the sheer accuracy and bravura of the singing and playing – no doubt a tribute to Pratt’s detailed conception of the work and his clear, precise, unfussy direction.

Where Johns and Tymms sweetly unite in the “Agnus Dei” in dialogue with choir and orchestra, Tymms, O’Neill and Clayton do likewise in a luminous “Lux Aeterna” – thus ensuring the impact of the more dramatic elements of the final “Libera me” are fully felt. Here, Johns brings all her expressive range and operatic nous to the fore, while choir and orchestra are again exercised by another fugue and a menacing return of fragments from the “Dies irae.” As demonstrated elsewhere, the choir’s a cappella work is in a class of its own.

As indeed is this performance, for which all concerned are to be congratulated.