A NEW YEAR CHARITY CONCERT

A NEW YEAR CHARITY CONCERT

Essex Youth Orchestra with Essex Youth Chamber Choir

Rotary Club of Chelmer Bridge 

at Chelmsford Cathedral

30.12.17

The EYO has been celebrating its 60^th anniversary, and this great concert enabled us to share in the festivities.

Rotary have been promoting these New Year concerts for some years – not always seasonal Strauss, though I recall one memorable evening with John Georgiadis. This year they were joined by the Essex Youth Chamber Choir, another branch of Essex Music.
Simon Warne’s excellently disciplined choir gave us Howard Goodall’s 23^rd Psalm – aka The Vicar of Dibley – Bob Chilcott’s Give Me The Strength, from his Life Cycle cantata, and an arrangement of a traditional spiritual, Standing in the Need of Prayer.
They combined with the orchestra for Vivaldi’s Gloria: a very impressive performance, conducted by Robin Browning. He managed to achieve an excellent balance, despite having a small choir, of largely untrained, sometimes immature voices, behind sizeable instrumental forces. A spirited interpretation, too – lively strings in the opening Gloria – with fine solo work from the players, oboe and cello, for example, and from the singers: three sopranos for the Domine Deus, and Kerensa Newcombe for the later movements, returning after the Qui Sedes to pick up her trumpet for the triumphant ending.
A pity we were not given a little more help in the programme – not necessarily text and translations, but at least a list of the movements.
No such problem with everyone’s favourite Christmas ballet, The Nutcracker. Robin Browning talked us through the extracts, from the Christmas Eve party to the Waltz of the Snowflakes, from the Land of Sweets and its colourful divertissements to the heart-on-sleeve Pas de Deux. A real treat to hear the music at such close quarters, with the wordless chorus behind the violins, Tchaikovsky given a welcome freshness by these young players. As Browning pointed out, what is a bread-and-butter warhorse to the ROH pit band is a new discovery for these youngsters, playing it for the first time.

It was preceded by Witches, a curtain raiser written by Caroline Penn, the EYO’s leader. Her very own hexentanz, with exciting brass and thrilling percussion.

THE OLIVE BRANCH

THE OLIVE BRANCH

Harry Christophers and The Sixteen 

at Chelmsford Cathedral

25.11.2017

Their seventeenth Choral Pilgrimage, and once again Chelmsford is lucky enough to be on their camino.

The programme this year is a blend of Palestrina and Poulenc, two composers separated by more than 300 years, each writing in a very different musical idiom. But both creators of sacred choral music that is sublime, expressing a deep personal belief.

The bookends were both Salve Reginas – Poulenc’s tender setting to start, in a beautifully balanced, perfectly enunciated performance, and Palestrina’s renaissance masterpiece to end, performed with the polish and commitment familiar from the series of recordings devoted to this composer - “allowing Palestrina to breathe”, as Harry Christophers puts it.

It’s a fruitful combination, providing new perspectives on each of these giants of choral music. But it is the Poulenc that is the real revelation here – the “moine” and the “voyou” in Rostand’s familiar phrase. Although one of the finest things on offer was the secular “Un Soir de Neige”, written during the final Christmas of the war, it was the “moine” who was most in evidence, in the exquisite Agnus Dei [from the Mass in G of 1937], and the Four Motets from a year or so later, excitingly varied in their approach, and beautifully shaped by Christophers, with the silences given due weight.

Another imaginative pairing for the 2018 Pilgrimage – Benjamin Britten and the Tudor composer[s] William Cornish. Sacred and Profane begins its journey on March 14 in St Alban’s. At the time of writing, no sign of Chelmsford on their tour schedule ...

THE DREAM OF GERONTIUS

THE DREAM OF GERONTIUS

The Waltham Singers at Chelmsford Cathedral

18.11.17

“This is the best of me,” - words of Ruskin quoted by Elgar at the end of the manuscript. Andrew Fardell and the Waltham Singers made a strong case in support of this assessment.

It is a great work, both in its conception and in the forces required.

As in their Lenten concert earlier this year, the instrumental accompaniment was provided by Ensemble Orquesta.

From the Prelude, with its fortissimo climaxes, it was clear that Elgar’s vision of the soul’s journey to the afterlife was in safe hands.

The first entry of the choir – as the Assistants, the friends who pray with him at the last – was beautifully judged. The women [the Angelicals] sang the contemplative passages to great effect - “O Generous Love”. And the final prayers of those left behind “Spare him, Lord” were movingly done. But they could not hope to replicate the huge choral societies that Elgar had in mind, and the “sullen howl” of the Demons struggled to make much impact against the thundering brass and percussion.

Jeremy White’s bass brought gravitas to the Priest and the repeated exhortations of the Angel of the Agony. Rebecca Afonwy-Jones’s pure mezzo was perfect for the Angel; this was a truly uplifting performance – her phrasing of the Alleluia and the moving passage in which she speaks of the fleeting sight of the Almighty were wonderfully expressive. As Gerontius, Joshua Ellicott was superb, a committed, dramatic interpretation, with every word audible, his virile tenor cutting thrillingly through the chorus and the orchestra.

photograph by Martin Cuthbert

THINGS TO COME – The Dream of Gerontius

THINGS TO COME – The Dream of Gerontius

Elgar’s matchless orchestration, a big choir and deeply religious subject matter: The Dream of Gerontius is always a memorable musical experience; and it’s one we can share in Chelmsford Cathedral on Saturday 18 November, thanks to the Waltham Singers and Andrew Fardell.

They’re joined on this occasion by Ensemble OrQuesta, with soloists Rebecca Afonwy Jones as the Angel, Joshua Ellicot as Gerontius and, as the Priest and the Angel of the Agony, Jeremy White.

Cardinal Newman's poem tells of the journey of a man's soul after death - 'Gerontius' means something like ‘old man’. Elgar was given a copy of the poem in 1889 as a wedding present; he eventually set it to music for the 1900 Birmingham festival. His score powerfully suggests the journey from deathbed to Judgement Seat.

The performance begins at 7:30, and tickets can be bought at Dace’s, on the door or via the Waltham Singers’ website

http://www.walthamsingers.org.uk/buytickets.html

AUTUMN CONCERT

AUTUMN CONCERT

Chelmsford Singers at Chelmsford Cathedral

04.11.17

Three dramatic choral works from the Singers made up a very satisfying programme for this second concert of their 90^th anniversary season.

Revelatory, too, since the first offering was Harold Darke’s A Song of David – setting the same psalm as Parry’s celebrated I Was Glad. A rare opportunity to hear this Festival Anthem, with its striking opening from the strings and the Cathedral organ - Christopher Strange. The choir enjoyed the challenge of this bold music – old-fashioned, perhaps, but very stirring stuff. The bridging passage before the prayer for peace was a lovely violin solo from Robert Atchison, leading the Chelmsford Sinfonietta for this concert.

In an inspired bonus, he was joined by Tim Carey for Darke’s Sonata No 3 for Violin and Piano. These two excellent musicians had to prepare the performing edition for themselves – it turned out to be expansively eloquent chamber music in the late Romantic English tradition, with, especially in the slow movement of Darke’s First Sonata which followed, some reflective, more sombre moments.

Two familiar choral favourites followed. Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms, in the version for organ, harp and percussion which seemed ideally suited to this space and these vocal forces. A rousing opening – then the “joyful noise” Hariu. The 23^rd Psalm beautifully sung by Elliot Harding-Smith, his mature treble absolutely right for this soulful setting. Interrupted by the men’s voices as the raging nations, before the optimistic close and its unison Amen.

Duruflé’s Requiem, based largely on the Gregorian Mass for the Dead, is a demandingly intricate work, heard here in the version for organ and string quartet, with contributions from the harp, the trumpets and the timpani. But it did feature both soloists – Colin Baldy’s baritone in the Hostias and the Libera Me, and Katherine Marriott’s richly expressive mezzo in the Pie Jesu. An impassioned plea, matched for drama by the choir, especially in the Domine, Jesu Christe and the Dies Irae. Fine choral singing, under the baton of James Davy, from the tranquillity of the Introit to the beautiful otherworldliness of the In Paradisum, Duruflé’s devout evocation of the life to come.

NINETIETH ANNIVERSARY GALA CONCERT

NINETIETH ANNIVERSARY GALA CONCERT

The Chelmsford Singers

at Chelmsford Cathedral

01.07.17

A glorious celebration for the Singers' ninetieth, with a programme of three dramatic show-stoppers.

Borodin provided the bold opener, with the Polovtsian Dances – a first for the Singers, we think. No actual dancing, but a welcome opportunity to enjoy the choral writing, often omitted in concert performance. The men have the macho posturing, leaving the lovely tune to the women's voices.

Britten's St Nicolas was the centre-piece, the popular cantata giving all the vocal forces a chance to shine, under the hortatory baton of Musical Director James Davy. Only the audience, perhaps, failed to rise to the challenge of the congregational hymns. A splendid Nicolas from tenor Paul Smy – a spine-tingling moment when the boy [sung by chorister Nicholas Harding-Smith] becomes the man, and a touching final movement in which the choir's Nunc Dimittis is blended with the saint's acceptance of death. The Cathedral boys were present at the ordination, and the girls made excellent contributions in the storm and in the episode of the Pickled Boys. The accompaniment, with lovely string sounds in the Nicolas from Prison movement, was by the Chelmsford Sinfonietta, led by Robert Atchison.

This memorable evening ended with Orff's cod-medieval Carmina Burana, in the 1956 version for percussion and two pianos [Robert Elms and Helen Crayford, both brilliant] which lets the choir take centre stage. Despite the composer's intentions, and all the show-off effects, there is less drama here than in the Britten, but this was a hugely enjoyable performance – the Singers gave us sublime simplicity in the Springtime, and rustic energy On the Green.

Three superb soloists: Smy again as the unfortunate roasting swan, a sublime In Trutina and a spectacularly abandoned Dulcissime from Elizabeth Roberts, singing from memory, and baritone Colin Baldy, bearing the brunt of the solos. In the Tavern – a men-only zone – he gave us a crisply articulated confession, and a bibulous abbot. Later, in the Court of Love, after a marvellously risqué number from the men of the Cathedral Choir, he led the Cathedral Boys from east to west – the abbot and his acolytes, maybe – in Totus Floreo.

And through the open North Door, unbidden birdsong from the churchyard paid tribute to the music, and to the Singers as they enter their tenth decade.

pictures from the post-concert gathering in the Chapter House

THINGS TO COME – CHELMSFORD SINGERS

THINGS TO COME – CHELMSFORD SINGERS

The Chelmsford Singers celebrate their 90^th anniversary with a gala concert on July 1^st. Sung in Chelmsford Cathedral, traditionally their principal venue, it's an ambitious, but popular, programme, with Britten, Orff and Borodin in the mix.
The Singers were formed by William Bush back in 1927 – he was their conductor until 1945, when he was succeeded by Roland Middleton, the first in a distinguished line of Cathedral Masters of the Music to hold the post; James Davy, the present incumbent, will conduct this gala concert, when the Singers will be joined by voices from the Cathedral's choirs, as well as soloists and the Chelmsford Sinfonietta.

picture shows the Chelmsford Singers on their tour to Belgium earlier this year.

MOZART AND HAYDN

Waltham Singers at Chelmsford Cathedral

19.11.16

Impressive music-making in the Cathedral. The massed ranks of the Waltham Singers, directed by Andrew Fardell, joined by the St Paul's Sinfonia and two outstanding string players.

Mostly Mozart, but Haydn to begin: the dramatic motet Insanae et Vanae Curae, one of his most popular choral works. A piece of two halves, with the urgent string passages setting the mood of fear and dread, underlined by brass and drums, before the calmer, more lyrical Quid prodest section. The voices conveyed the trepidation and the meditation in a beautifully controlled performance.

Mozart's C Minor Mass had its monumental moments, too – the closing pages of the Gloria, for instance – but precisely delivered pianissimo passages were equally powerful, from the opening Kyrie on. The soloist here was soprano Laurie Ashworth, whose contributions, notably the wonderful Et Incarnatus Est, were magnificently musical. The choir too were generally on excellent form, the diminuendo in the Sins of the World typical of their disciplined attention to detail.

Between these pillars of the sacred choral repertoire, the orchestra was joined by Julian Leaper and Martin Outram [both of the Maggini Quartet] for Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante. A constant delight, with lyrical phrasing and impassioned dialogue between violin and viola. The emotional Andante was taken at a tempo which allowed the music to breathe, without losing its impetus, before the energetic Contradanza brought the work to a sunny conclusion.

LE NOZZE DI FIGARO

LE NOZZE DI FIGARO

Aurora Voices at Chelmsford Cathedral

03.06.2016

The seven singers of Aurora Voices brought their Figaro to the Cathedral last week.

Sung in the original Italian, but for much reduced forces {Philip Prior and a succession of piano partners from the dramatic personae] and boiled down to less than an hour. The chamber potted version, as Wolfgang might well have said.

A concert performance, enlivened occasionally by some expressive acting from, inter alia, Beverley Lockyer's lively Susanna, and Joanne Webber's excellent Cherubino. Amongst the musical highlights, the lovely line of Lucy Miller-White's Contessa in the Cavatina, Susanna's aria just before the finale, and Gary Griffiths stealing Figaro's Non piu andrai and sending Cherubino off to war. Completing this vocal septet, Martyn Woodland's Figaro,  Frances Gwynne's Marcellina and Andy Heard's Bartolo.

This lovely concert venue is more accustomed to W A Mozart's motets or the Requiem, so this pocket opera made a refreshing, challenging change. Even if it did send me back to the McVicar staging on DVD …

POULENC FOR PASSIONTIDE

POULENC FOR PASSIONTIDE

Chelmsford Singers in Chelmsford Cathedral

19.03.16

James Davy's visionary programming of an all-Poulenc concert to mark the start of Holy Week was preceded by a talk on the composer - ”le moine ou le voyou” - by composer and author the Revd Canon Chris Chivers.
This fascinating evening culminated with a rare chance to hear a live performance of the Stabat Mater. Like much of Poulenc's religious work, it is a heady blend of the sensual and the austere. Beginning with a sombre march, reminiscent of the more emotional moments of Dialogue des Carmelites. The Singers gave an impressive account of the challenging choral writing: the emphatic Quis est homo, the celebratory Eja Mater, the urgent Inflammatus et accensus. They were joined by soprano soloist Julia Wilson-James for key moments such as the tenth movement – and soaring wonderfully over choir and orchestra in the climactic Paradisi Gloria.
The orchestra was the Chelmsford Sinfonietta, led on this occasion by Robert Atchison. They provided powerful underpinning to the other major choral work on offer, the Litanies à la Vierge noire, the timpani and the strings foreshadowing some of the effects in the Organ Concerto which followed, with soloist Oliver Brett.

This popular showpiece – moving deftly from Bach to burlesque and back again - had a plaintively eloquent string sound to start, then the orchestra bounding playfully through the Allegro Giocoso, the organ excelling in the viscerally thrilling fortissimo passages before the tranquil Largo coda, solo viola against rhythmic strings and a sustained pedal note.

BERLIOZ AND SAINT-SAENS

BERLIOZ AND SAINT-SAENS

Essex Symphony Orchestra in Chelmsford Cathedral

05.03.16

Saint-Saens' magnificent Organ Symphony was the climax of this feast of French romanticism, relocated from Christ Church to the Cathedral for the occasion.
A robustly eloquent performance from the ESO under Tom Hammond. The expressive Poco Adagio was exquisitely played – the strings [leader Phillipa Barton] and the organ [Laurence Lyndon-Jones] blending to excellent effect. The Maestoso finale was tautly handled, with the piano duet played by two more of the Cathedral's music staff, James Davy and Rosie Vinter.
After the Overture, Berlioz's Roman Carnival, starting with a solemn procession and ending with exuberant cymbals and tambourine, we heard a rare treat. Les Nuits d'Été – Berlioz again – is a song cycle setting six poems by the composer's neighbour Gautier. They trace an arc of romantic love, from youthful exuberance through the pain of loss to new horizons.
Superbly sung here by mezzo Anna Harvey, her rich tone sitting comfortably in the Cathedral acoustic, especially perhaps in Le Spectre de la Rose. The ESO's fine accompaniment reflected the changing moods, and the final setting – L'Ile Inconnue – conjured up a powerful image of the boat sailing over the waves to the “faithful shore” of the unknown island.

MERRILY ON HIGH!

MERRILY ON HIGH!

Chelmsford Singers at the Cathedral

19.12.15

David Willcocks, doyen of choral Christmas, who died in September at the age of 95, was well represented in this upbeat selection box for choir, audience and brass.

Ding Dong ! Merrily on High, with decorative organ filigree from Laurence Lyndon-Jones, O Come All Ye Faithful, God Rest You Merry Gentlemen, and a rousing Hark the Herald to start, with fanfare from the excellent Westminster Brass. We were treated to four instrumental pieces from them, including a jolly Sussex Carol, two sleigh rides from East and West, and a Christmas Cracker which turned out to be more of a garland, a string of carols from Realms of Glory to Wenceslas.

The choral highlight was Cecilia McDowall's brand new Cantata for Christmas, A Winter's Night. An inventive sequence of five English, German and French carols linked by instrumental bridges from brass quintet, percussion and organ, given an impressive, joyous performance by the Singers. The quintet also featured in Rutti's Three Carols; the Presto climax a rhythmically exciting Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing Day.

Plenty of opportunity for us to match our lung power against the might of brass and organ, including a lighter Willcocks arrangement of Jingle Bells. Musical Director James Davy, sporting a festive scarlet bow tie, confessed to blowing the entire budget for this Christmas Concert on the band, imploring us to jingle our car keys in lieu of Sleigh Bells ...

NELSON MASS

NELSON MASS

Hutton and Shenfield Choral Society at Chelmsford Cathedral

11.07.15

The link with Nelson may be tenuous, but this “Mass for Troubled Times” has remained popular since its première in 1798.

A good choice for choral societies, too, since the part of the chorus is prominent and dramatic. This performance began with a thrilling account of the instrumental introduction, followed by the Kyrie and Gloria, with the splendid soprano of Alexandra Kidgell joining the chorus.

Bass Simon Whiteley had his finest moment in the Qui Tollis, with a beautifully shaped choral “Miserere”. The Credo section, a masterpiece of composition, was well handled; the solemnity of “sepultus est” contrasted with the excitement of the Resurrexit, sustained to the end of the movement.

The choir, and the Aurelian Ensemble [leader Bradley Winand] under Tim Hooper, began the evening with two of Handel's greatest hits: Zadok the Priest – a splendidly magnificent curtain-raiser – and the Queen of Sheba, before giving a fine account of an earlier masterpiece, Purcell's birthday ode Come Ye Sons of Art, in which the countertenors – Tim Carleston and Joseph Cryan – made an authentic contribution, and the brass and drums of the orchestra added colour and brilliance. A large chorus for this repertoire, which did not always match the crisp delivery of the soloists, but, as in the Haydn and the Handel, made a richly textured sound in the sympathetic acoustic of Chelmsford's Cathedral.

WAR AND PEACE

WAR AND PEACE

Chelmsford Singers at Chelmsford Cathedral

28.03.15

Seventy years ago, the Allies, Canadians in the forefront, were busy liberating the Netherlands. In a matter of weeks, the war in Europe would be over.

This timely concert commemorates the end of WWII, with a masterly sequence, beginning with Richard Tanner's setting of Desmond Tutu's Prayer for Peace. More of an affirmation, in truth, with powerful singing from the choir, and a moving diminuendo at its close.

The accompanying musicians – Tim Carey, piano, Joy Farrall, clarinet, David Juritz, violin, and Adrian Bradbury, cello, played five movements from Messiaen's extraordinary Quartet for the End of Time, written and performed in a German PoW camp. Farrall exploited the clarinet's versatile voice impressively in The Abyss of the Birds; Carey and Bradbury gave a wonderful account of the mesmeric Homage to the Eternity of Jesus. It would have been good to hear the whole work, especially in the context of this “meditation”, as the Dean called it, which concluded with Annelies, by James Whitbourn.

It is a tuneful musical setting of words from Anne Frank's diary, haunting and heartfelt without ever being sentimental - a unique opportunity to share the experience of this most intimate writing with the musicians, the choir and the audience in the Cathedral. The composer's palette encompasses sounds and symbols from life in the Amsterdam annex, moments of Music Hall, Bach and plainchant, with clarinet and violin giving a Jewish colour to much of the scoring. Nicola Howard, soprano, gave an operatic – in the best sense – reading of her sequences, bringing the character to life, lifting the notes off the stave. The choir, under the empowering baton of James Davy, gave an expressive account of the many different moods and emotions: the determined trudge of We're Jews in Chains, the optimism of the spring awakening, and the passion of the Kyrie, a plea for mercy between Anne's nightmares – the dread of discovery, bitter sadness for the loss of friends.

SAXOLOGY

SAXOLOGY

lunchtime concert at Chelmsford Cathedral

27.02.15

Saxology have been championing the sax repertoire for decades now, arrangements, commissions, classics.
This springtime showcase featured pieces from across the range, from JS Bach's Art of Fugue to Benny Goodman's Flying Home.
The French repertoire was well represented: Clérisse's Sérénade Mélancolique, and, to finish Pierné's wonderful Introduction et Variations.
Homegrown work, too, with the world première, no less of Joy Ellis's Sailing in to Shanghai, and Jeffrey Wilson's charming Megan and Cei, written to celebrate the birth of two Saxology offspring, and introduced in the Cathedral by Megan herself, back home briefly from music college.
The playing throughout was impeccably styled, and sounded marvellous in the sunny acoustic.