by Tony Magee, January 11, 2019
When Chris O'Brien Lifehouse hospital administrator Lorraine Brecard called her friend, conductor Dr Sarah Penicka-Smith and asked “can you throw together a bit of a Christmas concert for our patients”, she and they may well have been happy with a pianist and a singer doing some lovely carols in the hospital foyer, or perhaps a group of youngsters dressed as elves could have chortled Christmas cheer around the wards.
What they received was a performance of Handel’s Messiah featuring an orchestra made up of musicians from the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, The Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, students from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and even a few high-school aged musicians with the right credentials. And the choir? Members from the Sydney Philharmonia Choir and Macquarie University Singers of course!
Besides the orchestra and choir, Messiah is also scored for four vocal soloists - soprano, contralto, tenor and bass. For this performance, many professional soloists offered their services to sing these parts, far more than just the four needed, so it was agreed they could share the parts amongst them. And all conducted by Dr Penicka-Smith.
 |
| Messiah title in Handel's own hand |
The Chris O’Brien Lifehouse in Camperdown, is part of the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and is a specialist cancer clinic, opened in 2010. The vision of Dr Chris O’Brien, a pioneering surgeon and specialist in brain tumours, he himself succumbed to the disease, being diagnosed in 2006 and passing away in 2009. The centre was named after him.
His wife Gail O’Brien is now the hospital director.
A grateful patient donated a brand new grand piano for the foyer in 2016, so musical performances are not a rarity at the Lifehouse, however a performance along the magnitude of Messiah is another thing altogether.
Anna Jurkiewicz is a patient there at the moment and she and husband Mark were two of the many who attended the performance. Both piano graduates of the Academy of Music in Warsaw, they met as students, fell in love and were married after graduating in 1986.
Both reported that the performance of Messiah was first rate and a thrilling and beautiful accompaniment to Christmas.
The foyer of the Lifehouse is massive and all marble, with acoustics rivalling any major performance venue. It extends high up into a huge void that reaches the full nine stories, as an open atrium vista. The sound soared through the space and filled every listener with something truly special.
Regardless of one’s religious beliefs, the music of Messiah probably still reaches people in some kind of emotional and exhilarating way. Handel was a supreme master of the Oratorio form and indeed the most highly rated. He has no equal in this arena and to savour this musical gem at any time of year is a gift.
For Anna and Mark and I imagine many of the other patients, the contrast between a celebration of Christianity and the life of Jesus through Handel’s music and the tragic circumstances in which these patients all find themselves together, was sometimes difficult to reconcile.
Anna says she is not particularly religious, however she stops short of saying she is an atheist. After first being diagnosed, Anna tearfully remarked, “someone has other plans for me”. That was six weeks ago. After two operations to remove as much of the malignant glioblastoma brain tumour as possible, Anna is currently on radio and chemo therapy. She lost mobility on her left side. This is now slowly returning and mobility rehab will commence as soon as they return to their home city of Canberra.
The Jurkiewicz’s have a long journey ahead of them and an uncertain future. What they do have is hope, technology, drugs and medication, ongoing research and the skills and dedication of doctors and staff.
The performance of Handel’s Messiah two days before Christmas at the Chris O’Brien Lifehouse did, at the very least, raise Anna and Mark’s spirits. They revelled in its musical glory and magnificence. If they, or anyone else, also found a spiritual comfort, understanding or peace from listening to it, that is indeed an excellent added bonus.
Author's note: Anna Jurkiewicz passed away at the ACT Hospice, Clare Holland House, March 28, 2019
No comments:
Post a Comment