Concert - Saturday 12 June 2010 –
7.30pm
DONCASTER CHORAL SOCIETY’s "ENGLISH COLLECTION"
The second half of Doncaster Choral Society’s 2009-10 season
has been beset with difficulties, but the end product, in the
shape of its concerts during the period, represents triumph over
adversity. The concert on 12 June, at Priory was entirely
devoted to English music from 1887 to around 1940 exemplified
this triumph. Such a good result owes much to several good
friends of the Society, who have rallied round, among them Simon
Lindley, conductor (also piano accompanist) in this concert,
whose energetic and outstanding musical direction drew work of
passion and commitment from his singers.
The principal work was Elgar’s The Music Makers, which
at one time was slightingly regarded by academic commentators
who should have known better. In fact it is a deeply emotional
and personal utterance. The musical self quotations, most
obviously from the Enigma Variations (theme and Nimrod),
Violin Concerto, Gerontius and the First Symphony, are
not signs that Elgar was running out of fresh thematic ideas
(there are in fact at least two new, and evocative, ones here)
but they underline the words of O’Shaughnessy’s text, which may
not be found from English poetry’s top drawer, but is still
profoundly moving. The Music Makers has only one soloist,
but a notable one, Elgar wrote the part, in affection and deep
respect for Muriel Foster, the first great exponent of the Angel
in Gerontius. On this occasion we were fortunate to hear
Margaret McDonald, surely the finest active interpretation of
the work and who here conveyed perfectly its restrained emotion.
The Society had opened the evening with its earliest music,
Hubert Parry’s Blest Pair of Sirens: magnificent poetry
and music which had, as Parry so often did, the grand manner.
The performance was direct in appeal and, doubtless because the
four part arrangement (by C.S. Lang), rather than the eight part
original, was being sung, of majestic simplicity. This, and the
Elgar, was accompanied, not by an orchestra, but by the very
talented young organist Jonathan Scott. This meant that in the
Elgar we lost his magical orchestral colours but, due to Mr.
Scott’s clarity of articulation, we could the more easily follow
the composer’s musical argument.
That was not by any means Mr. Scott’s only contribution to
this varied, most enjoyable evening. His three solos on the
Priory organ were by Percy Whitlock (the Folk Tune, which
leans in turn towards Delius, Vaughan Williams and Elgar),
Walton’s strong march, Crown Imperial which he wrote
(originally for orchestra, of course – Herbert Murrill did the
transcription for organ) for the Coronation of 1937, and the
first movement of Elgar’s Organ Sonata of 1895, an
expansive work, expansively realised here. In orchestral guise,
and there have been at least two transcriptions of it, it could
hold a worthy place as an Elgar symphony, if a more concise one
than his later efforts.
Miss McDonald’s contribution to the first half of the concert
was a group of three nicely varied songs (Sweet Change,
Green Rain and Tewkesbury Road) by Michael Head,
less well known in English song’s hall of fame than, say,
Warlock, Ivor Gurney and Britten, but not outclassed in their
company. Sweet Chance is the most notable
for Mr. Lindley’s delicate accompaniment; and Tewkesbury Road
is a "tramping song", little, if at all, inferior to, say,
Vaughan Williams’ The Vagabond, if less popular. The
performers’ love of these songs came across with great
immediacy.
So, a fine concert, demonstrating first-rate advocacy for
English music by all concerned.
Orpheus
Requiems from France
- March 2010
Doncaster Choral Society’ spring concert, Priory Methodist
Church (20 March
2010
)
comprised two works, both of them settings of the Requiem Mass,
owing much to plainsong, by two French composers, Gabriel Fauré
and Maurice Duruflé, separated in their first appearances by
almost sixty years (1888-1947). Fauré’s setting, always highly
regarded by musicians, has "leapt up the ratings" during my own
sixty-odd years of listening to music and has been performed a
number of times by the DCS. Duruflé, rather more advanced
harmonically, as one would expect, owes, again surprisingly, a
good deal to Fauré’s. The two together make a rather short
concert and the musical content of the evening was over before
9.15pm. (If this pairing was to be repeated, Fauré’s early
appealing Cantique de Jean Racine might well be added).
(NB It was intended to have either an orchestral
piece or an organ solo but circumstances prevented it)
But, as my tailor is fond of observing, "Never mind the
length, feel the quality." And there was plenty of quality to
revel in. the Society has had its tribulations during the past
few months which has seen the departure of Alan Eost, Conductor
for several years and a consequent reduction in rehearsal time
available for this concert. Several friends of the Society have
however rallied to its cause: David Houlder, Simon Lindley and
last, but not least, Carey Williams, who was once upon a time
the Society’s Deputy conductor and who conducted on the night,
drawing singing of passion, commitment and – dare I say? –
triumph, from a chorus of 62 voices. True, and unsurprisingly,
there were one or two glitches here and there, especially in the
Duruflé, but overall these were performances of much beauty (as
has been said, these Requiem settings, Fauré’s particularly,
take the pain out of death as both reduce the Dies Irae
to small proportions) and excitement in the climactic moments.
It seemed that the Society was determined to put recent worries
behind it and in so doing were indebted to Carey Williams, who
has long been celebrated – in all concerts, for whoever – for
producing notable results from comparatively little rehearsal,
by his sheer energy, enthusiasm and, let it be said,
wide-ranging musicianship.
The accompaniment was in the hands of the South Yorkshire
Symphony Orchestra (leader Ken Mitchell), just 17 strong on the
night; various accompaniments are available for both works and
those used here employed fewer instruments than some.
Nevertheless much of the fastidious instrumental colour, which
illuminates both Requiems was satisfyingly realised; the
experienced and reliable organist Jonathan Gooing reminded us
that both works, and particularly Duruflé, owed much to their
gestation to the ‘king of instruments’.
The soloists made a noteworthy contribution. David Townend
(bass), making his second appearance of the season for the DCS,
appeared in both works (the Domine Jesu Christe and
Libera me sections in each case) and impressed with the
virility and poise of his delivery. Fauré’s Pie Jesu was
sung with great credit by two Minster choristers, Adam Wright
and Jack Parkinson; the corresponding section in Duruflé is
assigned to a mezzo-soprano and it was a pleasure to welcome
back another one-time soloist with the Society, Karin Lucas,
whose reading of this lovely movement was memorable and well
supported by the cello obligato player.
A first-rate evening, then, pleasingly well supported by the
public, despite rainy weather.
Orpheus
The Choral Society’s Messiah for
Christmas
2009
Doncaster Choral Society performs Handel’s Messiah
every other December (although we shall not forget it is a work
for all seasons) and it is good that it does so as Messiahs
are noticeably less frequent in the town than in my young
day. This is a pity as it is a work so firmly embedded in the
culture of this country. It is unique, even in Handel’s oratorio
corpus. A recent attempt to stage it seems to me ludicrously
misconceived and sentimental, almost tacky – an ego trip for
those primarily responsible.
Fortunately no such considerations arose in this year’s
Choral Society reading given to a capacity audience at Priory on
12 December, which was eminently sound, reliable and well
rehearsed under Alan Eost’s thoughtful direction; the choir
wisely kept back something for the final numbers – did Handel
ever compose a finer chorus than the "Amen"? This Messiah
was presented, generally speaking, with what used to be regarded
as "the usual cuts", though the aria "If God be for us" was
included, happily giving the Wakefield soprano Sarah Redgwick’s
admirably clear delivery more exposure.
The other soloists, too, contributed much to the overall
result. Tenor Christopher Clements was singing at short notice,
but I enjoyed his confident, incisive stylish work and contralto
Katherine Allen, a keen Handelian, brought Welsh passion to her
role. Most memorable for many was the bass, Australian-born
Simon Lobelson, who delivered his solos with pulsating warmth,
vigour and originality. We will hear more of him.
Instrumental support came from Ron Law at the Priory organ
and Doncaster’s own Boyce Chamber Orchestra who supplied a very
competent account of Handel’s score. Dave Tonkin was the
confident spine-tingling trumpet soloist; leader Susan King
played the accompaniment of "If God be for us" as a violin
obligato and effectively so – interesting to have two "obligato
arias" side by side.
Orpheus
Passionate Bach 2009
Doncaster Choral Society’s Spring 2009 offering was Bach’s St John Passion (Priory Methodist Church, 28 March): not by any means the first time the Society have programmed it, but for me they can rarely, if ever, have sung anything better or even as well, as this. From the powerful first note of the massive opening chorus, this performance announced itself with fierce commitment and those lucky enough to have been there will remember it. The choral element in a Bach Passion is tripartite: big set piece choruses, just two here, one at either end, both peaks of the choral repertoire; brief, or relatively brief, crowd interjections which generate excitement in what are essentially intensely dramatic works and which did so here in Alan Eost’s admirably paced reading; and chorales, eleven of them in St John, which comment simply and movingly on the action, and, because they are settings of hymn tunes which the original congregations knew well, were a means by which they could take an active part in the performances. The St John ends with one, rather than (like the St Matthew Passion) with a deeply tragic major chorus (which here immediately precedes it) and this underlines the St John’s essential intimacy. The choral performance on this occasion somehow expressed both that intimacy and the drama inherent in the Passion format.
The six soloists contributed greatly to the overall sonic picture. Stephen Liley, admirably clear in delivery and diction, must surely be one of the outstanding of contemporary Evangelists, and the rich, positive warmth of Terence Ayebare’s Christ was also memorable – a small role if one reckons it by the number of its notes, but a huge one measured by its intensity. I was deeply impressed with the bass Georg Gädker, surely a singer with a fine future. He came into his own in the long second half, not merely for his arias – one with choral interjections by the choir – but for the reading of the role of Pilate, which Bach, through St John’s Gospel, makes much more of (and more sympathetically so) than he did in the St Matthew. Another soloist with surely an excellent future is the tenor, Andrew Dickinson, who showed little or no outward sign of the severe back pain which was troubling him, singing his arias with passion (small p!) and the greatest determination. Both lady soloists performed excellently despite the rather different handicaps of taking over at short notice, in soprano Jenny Leadbeater’s case, the notice being no more than a few hours. However she is well known, not only to the Society, but to other local ones as an experienced and stylish Bach exponent and her two arias went well, as did those of contralto Jeanette Ager, not least the superb ‘All is fulfilled’, one of Bach’s finest imaginations, with its incandescent viola da gamba obbligato.
Which brings me to the highly capable instrumental support of the South Yorkshire Symphony Orchestra, both as a whole and in solo obbligati in which Bach’s Passions abound – here oboes (with a cor anglais prominent in one number), bassoons, violins and flutes, as well as the cello. Nor must we forget organist Ronald Law who at one point eagerly embraced obbligato statues as well.
An inspiring evening all round and large audience to enjoy it.
Orpheus
Christmas with Doncaster Choral Society 2008
For their Christmas presentation Doncaster Choral Society alternate Handel’s Messiah with a carol concert; this year’s at Priory Methodist Church (13 December), as usual, was the turn of the carols. In addition to the pleasure given by the alert, well-balanced singing under Alan Eost’s direction, I was impressed by the careful selection giving examples from the many and varied periods of carol composition: the “early” period, when carols were dancelike (not always, though, as the surpassingly beautiful Coventry Carol, not in this programme, is hardly so), through the sentimental Victorian era (though some of the tunes were earlier) to more modern effusions, represented most notably by John Rutter (who could leave him out and what did carol concerts do before they had him?). In addition there was Berlioz’s shapely, now very popular Shepherd’s Farewell, not, properly speaking, a carol but a chorus from his oratorio The Childhood of Christ, very smoothly done here. Ron Law’s piano accompaniments added to our pleasure.
The Society’s guests were, unusually, a brass band, Strata Brass (conductor, David Hirst) from South Yorkshire, who accompanied the audience carols and produced a firm, rousing sound in mainly seasonal items of their own: two marches by notable Salvationists Eric Leidzen and Eric Ball; two clever arrangements by Sandy Smith of Christmas tunes and Darrol Barry’s Christmas Bolero which neatly combined more seasonal melodies with the rhythm and occasionally the tune of Ravel’s popular orchestral showpiece.
All in all, an entertaining confection which would, I am sure, certainly please the reasonably sized audience and which cheered up a miserable day, weather-wise.
Orpheus
Doncaster Choral Society, Schubert, & Ralph Vaughan Williams
The Doncaster Choral Society’s 2008-09 season was launched at Priory Methodist Church on 15 November with a fascinating programme devoted primarily to two contrasting choral works, both highly entertaining in their different ways and both affording evidence of careful and devoted rehearsal under conductor Alan Eost.
The first of them was Schubert’s early (1815) Mass in G Major, almost sinfully melodious, as is Schubert’s wont; the texts of the Gloria and Credo are considerably abridged but the Benedictus and Agnus Dei are more expanded musically and indeed are expansive and beautiful. I like the smooth choral singing and the accompaniments of the South Yorkshire Symphony Orchestra (leader, Amanda Roden-Martin), comprising here strings, trumpets and timpani, with organ (Mary Cobbold). Of the soloists (Debra Morley, Peter Wilman, deputising at short notice for the indisposed Stephen Liley, and Terence Ayebare) Miss Morley had the most to do here and she delighted the DCS’s audience once again. She had a busy first half; as the Schubert Mass is little more than 20 minutes long she began proceedings with more Schubert, but very late Schubert this time. It is, I suppose, impossible to nominate one Schubert song as his best (from out of 600 odd), but The Shepherd on the Rock is not merely his last song but among the very finest – assuming we deem it a song, rather than an early 19th Century aria or a mere solo cantata. Miss Morley’s committed performance was fine advocacy; Mr Eost was at the piano and the few glitches from clarinet obbligato player Laura Cant interfered little with our enjoyment.
After the interval came the Society’s 50th anniversary tribute to Ralph Vaughan Williams. For nearly half a century he was taken with Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, a preoccupation which reached its climax with his “morality” (opera really), premiered at Covent Garden in 1951. It was not an outstanding success then, but when I saw it in Cambridge three years later, I was bowled over by it and it was a landmark in my appreciation of the composer. For all that, it has, regrettably, never been prominent in the repertoire. A few years after Vaughan Williams’ death in 1958 a much shorter – just under 40 minutes – cantata version, entitled Pilgrim’s Journey, was made with Ursula Vaughan Williams’ approval, cherry-picking the opera’s best bits and it was this cantata that the Society tackled (the composer has similarly adapted In Windsor Forest from his 1927 opera Sir John in Love and that works well).
Like the opera (or “morality”, if I must) Pilgrim’s Journey is accessible, built as it is on various hymn tunes, though it is not, I imagine, easy to sing. I was much impressed with the choir’s alertness and their versatility, apparent especially in the savagely sardonic Vanity Fair movement and in the moving final moments when Pilgrim (as VW insisted on calling him) secures his entry into heaven. They were supported memorably in some of the movements by the excellently trained Sheffield girls’ choir Cantores Novae (musical director, Vivien Pike), who underscored the enviable reputation they have built for themselves. The orchestral accompaniment was again in the hands of the SYSO who used the optimal instrumentation of strings, trumpet, flute and percussion (with organ and piano – Ron Law), which produced much colour even with this reduced ensemble many great moments, not only for the flute and trumpet but for violin and viola solos. Of the soloists, Debra Morley had less to do, relatively speaking, than before the interval, though the short woodcutter’s song was powerful in its simple appeal. Mr Wilman, while having no set piece solo, sang intelligently and positively and, most strikingly, Mr Ayebare impressed with the power and focus of Into Thy Hands, O Lord, a largely unaccompanied solo. His is a voice to follow in the future and not least in British music.
I was delighted to hear Pilgrim’s Journey and while it can never be the same as the original opera it does give us so much of its glory in this potted form. Congratulations to all for their enterprise and musicianship.
Orpheus
An Uplifting “Elijah”
In my younger days there were two, among countless others, tenets of received wisdom among musical pundits who should have known better: (1) Mendelssohn was, at best, a good but not a great composer and (2) his best works were written early in his (sadly short) composing career. Elijah has however given the lie to both and in its 162 years of existence musical connoisseurs have eagerly looked forward to taking part in or listening to performances of it. Unsurprisingly this was the case with Doncaster Choral Society’s unabridged reading under Alan Eost at Priory Methodist Church on June 14th and we were not disappointed.
It has been said that a performance of Mendelssohn’s masterpiece stands or falls by how well the title role is realised. To an extent this is true and more of this in a moment, but surely the chorus has claims to be reckoned the chief protagonist, one which has to fulfil several roles in the course of the work, including depicting the desperation of the Baal worshippers – rather simplistic, maybe, but Victorian devotees loved that – and, more strikingly, the changing emotions and allegiances of the Israelite people. The chorus is given marvellous music, often dramatic and always with an inspiring breadth, which is Mendelssohn’s hallmark, and a visionary quality which constitutes Elijah’s claim to be reckoned one of the greatest of works in the choral repertory. The Doncaster Choral Society responded to their opportunities with admirably prepared singing of great power, well judged balance and focus, most of all, maybe, in the chorus of thankfulness which concludes Part 1 (how ironical, in view of last year’s events, that a South Yorkshire choir should so enthusiastically salute the arrival of heavy rain), one of the supreme moments in all oratorio, though in this performance the final chorus (in which the singers, after a long and big ‘sing’, somehow found something to provide a memorable climax) rivalled it. Gentler choral movements – like ‘Lift Thine Eyes’ and ‘For He Shall Give His Angels’ – showed the Society’s sensitivity and burgeoning musicianship.
It was doubtless helped in the impact it made by the increased numbers brought about by its third “membership drive” in three years. The previous ones, the Mozart and Salieri Requiems and Brahms’ Requiem resulted in around half the “guests” staying with the Society and hopefully a similar encouraging outcome will be signalled this time as the new recruits realise they are part of something special.
Of course others contributed to this satisfying result. Mendelssohn was one of the finest orchestrators and Elijah affords much evidence of this. The South Yorkshire Symphony Orchestra (leader Amanda Roden-Martin), a generally reliable support to the Society down the years, realised many of the score’s felicities, not least in its woodwind section.
I come finally to the vocal soloists. Three of the four major ones (though I must not forget treble Adam Wright, a Doncaster Minster chorister and Danum School of Technology College pupil, who on the strength of his brief, but significant contribution at the end of Part 1, has undoubtedly much musical potential which I look forward to seeing developed in the years to come) have delighted Choral Society audiences on several previous occasions. The newcomer was Nicholas Ransley (tenor), whose operatic experience was well suited to Elijah’s dramatic qualities, although for me his delivery of the air ‘Then Shall the Righteous’ – which, by Mendelssohn’s own account, is reputed to have moved him to tears at its 1846 Birmingham premiere – lacked something in lyricism. Soprano Debra Morley sang with enterprise, being heard at her best in the quasi-operatic exchanges between Elijah and the bereaved widow; perhaps Mendelssohn’s little regarded operatic output might be worth exploring. Margaret McDonald, arguably this country’s finest current contralto, was another soloist, who shared with us her delight in Elijah’s dramatic opportunities (she is required to impersonate at different moments Jezebel and an angel and did both convincingly). Finally, though far from least, Adam Green (bass) gave a wonderfully authoritive account of the title role; his readings of ‘Is Not His Word?’ and ‘It Is Enough’, vastly different solos, will long live in my memory. He commanded the attention and not just in the vocal set pieces. Before long, perhaps, he may be challenging Bryn Terfel as our leading Elijah.
Elijah should always be an uplifting experience. This is the aim, not always, of course, attained, but how splendid for Doncaster that this one indeed was.
Orpheus
Renaissance Easter Festival
Doncaster Choral Society’s early spring concert (15 March), which took place at the Minster, was entitled “Renaissance Music for Palm Sunday”, but this title did not quite tell the whole story in all three respects. The theme of the programme was extended from Palm Sunday into Easter Day and all that it entails; it included, besides music, a substantial proportion of appropriate, stimulating and imaginatively chosen readings delivered by Jan Townend and Kevin Spence. The latter excelled himself in the closing sequence from Dennis Potter’s Son of Man, though I – and perhaps others – were surprised, in view of its strongly male associations, that he did not also declaim Martin Luther King’s I Have a Dream, done here by Ms Townend.
Not quite all the music was from the Renaissance era. Besides the astringent, but striking and joyful, Palm Sunday Antiphon by DC Morgan (b1946) at the very beginning, we had fine choral settings by JS Bach (2) and Handel, all of a Passion connotation and Purcell’s marvellous anthem Thou Knowest Lord. I enjoyed all these and they did serve to put the rest, which came from the 16th and early 17th centuries, “Renaissance” in musical terms. These were British and continental motets or anthems; the Choral Society, directed by Alan Eost and singing from various positions within the Minster’s generous acoustic, delighted a gratifyingly substantial audience with their carefully prepared, well balanced, beautifully poised singing. To give a taste of the range of repertoire I can best list a few composers’ names: Thomas Mudd, Adrian Batten, Thomas Morley, Richard Farrant, represented by no fewer than three anthems, including the popular For Thy Tender Mercies’ Sake, and the great William Byrd (Ave Verum Corpus and Sacerdotes Domini) for the English ones, Giuseppe Pitoni, Lassus Schütz and Victoria (three motets, all superb) for the continental practitioners.
David Houlder (organ) supplied the few accompaniments needed and also played five interludes, by Pachelbel (showing he did compose other things besides that infernal Canon), Josquin des Prés, John Bull (by his name an archetypically English figure though this was written in the Netherlands) and two little known figures, the Spaniard Santa Maria and, from the North German school, Delphin Strungk; all well executed and together showing Mr Houlder’s wide, enterprising sympathies.
Doncaster’s own early music group, The Doncaster Waites, provided three groups of instrumental items from either side of the 1600, mostly continental. I have long admired the devoted work of the Waites and I was delighted with their polished playing here (if the harsh-sounding shawms can ever be regarded as polished instruments!). Perhaps the marvellous surroundings – I should have said previously that this concert was one of many celebrations this year of the 150th Anniversary of the Minster building – inspired them as they surely did the Doncaster Choral Society.
A fine concert, then, if maybe just a tad too long for a programme of (almost fifty) short items, and one appealing to both music specialists and the more general listener.
Orpheus
Welcome Back 'Messiah'
At one time Doncaster heard Handel's
Messiah every year and more than once in many years. It now relies in that direction entirely on Doncaster Choral Society who nowadays perform it every other Christmas. This year, at Priory Methodist Church (15 December), it was Handel's turn and unsurprisingly it was a sell-out. And the audience had good value for money.
In many performances of Messiah these days, live or recorded, it often seems to be the aim to take it, and especially the choruses, as fast as possible. Admittedly it is likely that Handel and his contemporaries favoured quickish tempi; but some present-day essays are so rapid that chorus and audiences alike run the risk of nervous breakdowns. That risk was not likely in this performance as conductor Alan Eost's tempi, in the main, allowing his choristers a measure of comfort in projecting this well-loved music and his audience the opportunity to appreciate Handel's marvellous contrapuntal invention (every bit as good as, if different from, Bach's in the opinion of this writer at any rate). Balance between the parts was nicely judged and the climactic choruses had the requisite power.
The four soloists, a well-matched team, contributed much, all decorated their vocal lines in the manner of Handel's period, though not excessively so. Doncaster's own Alison Hudson (contralto) sang with both poise and warm intensity (she was given 'But who may abide', which is historically correct, and her 'He was despised' was memorable indeed). It was a great pleasure to welcome back Martin Hindmarsh (tenor), whose experienced, intelligent singing was particularly notable in his sensitive Passion sequence. Bass Adrian Powter was new to the Society, but I hope we see him again, as his diction and vocal line alike were worthy of high praise and soprano Rebekah Coffey, a powerful and incisive voice belying her slight build and bringing many exciting moments which a slight glitch in 'I know that my redeemer liveth' was of relatively little account; she included 'If God be for us', often left out. In this number, however, one might ask questions about the tuning of the solo violin obbligato, but Gordon Truman was a most capable trumpet soloist and generally speaking the accompaniments of our own Boyce Chamber Orchestra, who have always had something of a specialism in 18th century music, had a good sense of period style. The continuo was in the able hands of Ron Law (organ) and, when not exercising the baton, Mr Eost, on harpsichord.
Orpheus
Doncaster Choral Society in Vivaldi and Rutter
Doncaster Choral Society's first concert of the season (Priory Methodist Church, 17 November 2008) was a double feature, presenting two canticle settings, respectively from the early 18th and the late 20th centuries. The latter was John Rutter's Magnificat, albeit with two non-liturgical insertions, which is easy on a listener's ear and makes use of considerable and characteristically well digested popular music idioms. It is, however, by no means easy for a choir to sing, but, that said, the Society performed it with great spirit and devotion; the accompaniment, as always with Rutter, is full of persuasive orchestral colour, much relished on this occasion by the South Yorkshire Symphony Orchestra. Rutter also supplied a very grateful role for his one soloist, here the soprano Andrea Ryder-Smith, who sang Et Misericordia and Esurientes, both with the choir, most beautifully (incidentally, the Esurientes sequence always seems to me to draw the best out of whichever composer, from Bach, and even before him, onwards, who has down the years set those words.)
Miss Ryder-Smith had been heard before the interval in the more famous of Vivaldi's two settings of the Gloria; in this the two alto soloists were Karina Lucas and in the duet Laudamus Te, the Society's Chairman Sue Dumican. All three, in their relatively small contributions, did well; the chorus (the whole evening was a big sing for them) would have surely delighted their conductor Alan Eost with their alert singing and good sound ' they were well backed up by the SYSO, who had begun the evening with a tidy, crisply phrased account of Handel's Concerto Grosso, Opus 3 No. 5, from an attractively fresh set of concertos, sometimes, though misleadingly, styled 'oboe concertos'.
All told, this was a splendid start to the Society's 2007-2008 season, to the remainder of which I shall look forward eagerly. The sad demise of the Priory Concerts series means that the activities of the Choral Society and also those of the Boyce Orchestra (who will accompany the Society's next concert, Messiah, in December) are now even more significant than they have been previously. The Choral Society's unremitting search for ever-higher standards is of the greatest importance for good music in the town.
The Society will have been pleased at the size of the audience, good for a November concert.
Orpheus
Pot-Pourri Par Excellence
2007
Concert Review 09.06.07
The concert at Priory Methodist Church on Saturday 9 June brought Doncaster Choral Society's 2006-07 season to an impressive close. This was noteworthy for several reasons. It was the fifth concert of a busy season for the Society; for those with longish memories it does not seem too for back in time to when DDCS, as it then was styled, put on just two concerts a year, in December and March. It was later, calendar-wise, than usual even for a summer concert. And it was something of a miscellany (indeed the Society, making a virtue of necessity, dubbed it "A Musical Pot-Pourri"): no full length choral masterpiece, nor yet a "double bill" but four pieces (plus an instrumental filler) differing widely in intention, period and idiom. For these reasons a large audience was hardly expected and this was in the event the case; that the 'gate' was not embarrassingly small is, I think, due, at any rate in part, to the fact that the public is becoming aware of the excellence of the Society's work under Alan Eost's thoughtful direction. Those who did attend would not have been disappointed.
We began with the unaccompanied motet Totus Tuus, by the listener-friendly Polish composer Henryk G'recki, inspired in part by the rich heritage of Orthodox church music: an imposing, if repetitive, eight minute item enhanced by the balance and smoothness of the chorus work here. Even more recent was Passion to Ascension by the Society's Hon. Accompanist, Ronald Law, which was being heard for the first time as a complete entity. Described as a cantata but more correctly reckoned as a suite, or sequence, of anthems and direct in its appeal (there was a hint, as often in Law's work, of jazz-related influence), this explored a variety of emotions with such effective simplicity as to be almost a 21st century equivalent, albeit a briefer one, of Stainer's Crucifixion, by coincidence also in the Society's prospectus this year. One was only surprised that its ten sections take scarcely twenty minutes.
This is Elgar's year, indeed this was still Elgar's week, and due note of this was taken with a performance of his extended anthem Great is the Lord, a work of his nativity (1910) and characteristic in its breadth and emotion. Again the performance was dedicated, moving even; the short bass solo in the middle was taken by Carey Williams, who was also heard in the final, longest composition, Purcell's festival ode Come ye Sons of Art, one of the finest of the composer's "occasional" works. Purcell was an acknowledged master of setting solo singers against a chorus in similar material; the three soloists (the other two were dependable soprano Christine Starr and the Society's Chairman, Sue Dumican, alto) matched the choir in style and accomplishment. Purcell's choral works are on the short side to make convenient building blocks for a concert, which is a pity as his genius is undoubted. How good to have a demonstration of this; may we have more Purcell in the future, perhaps in 2009 to celebrate his 350th Anniversary?
The Purcell was originally and often is now, accompanied by a small orchestra; here we had instead the Leeds organist David Houlder, who was once again a welcome support to the Society throughout the evening. He also contributed, as a further nod to the Elgar sesquicentennial, his Organ Sonata No.2 in G Major, adapted by Sir Ivor Atkins from the Severn Suite, originally for brass band ' a late piece (though based on early sketches) in which Atkins left out a movement from the band original but added a cadenza of his own based on the principal theme. Mr Houlder's positive reading did much for an item having a rare performance in Doncaster in this version.
Orpheus
Stainer's The Crucifixion 31.03.07
The Crucifixion is of course Sir John Stainer's meditation on the central episode in the Christian faith, designed primarily for parish choirs of limited aspirations (and for that reason derided by musical snobs for much of its 120 year span, whose extent may well have surprised the composer). True, much of the idiom is sub-Mendelssohn, but that is by no means a bad influence and the unaccompanied centre piece of the work, which is little more than an hour in performance, God so loved the world, is undoubtedly a gem in the British choral tradition. Stainer followed Bach's Passions in having hymns comment on the story, composing his own, indeed, unlike JSB who arranged, albeit superbly, existing Lutheran tunes.
That The Crucifixion was written for smaller, less sophisticated choirs does not prevent those of greater ambition discovering its by no means inconsiderable qualities for themselves and it was a great pleasure to hear Doncaster Choral Society, under Alan Eost's baton, do so at Priory Methodist Church on 31 March ' its second concert of the month. The Society sang throughout with great confidence and sensitivity, God so loved the world impressed with its perfectly judged balance and musicianly phrasing. It was ably supported by the two main soloists (choir members Les Ward, Hugo Dunkley and Philip Shergold ably managed their brief roles) tenor John Dunford and bass Carey Williams who told much of the familiar story with considerable poise and clarity of diction. Organist David Houlder impressed with his account of the often intricate accompaniment. Surely Stainer's work, which has kept his name alive for so long, is good for another 120 years. A reasonable sized audience would probably agree with such an assessment.
Orpheus
Brahms Requiem 10th March 2007
Doncaster Choral Society's latest concert (Priory, 10 March) was a highly committed account of Brahms' A German Requiem, sung in English, a moving piece characteristic of its composer in the warmth of its writing both for chorus and orchestra; Brahms is indeed a composer for all seasons. The piece is a big sing, an endurance test for any choir, which is involved in all seven, generally substantial, movements, which are not elements of a liturgical requiem but settings of passages from the Bible which seek to afford comfort in the ultimately universal experience of death.
Under Alan Eost's sure guidance the Society, expanded in numbers for the occasion, produced an exciting sound, especially in the second movement ('Behold all flesh is as the grass'), and expressiveness in the first and last section ('Blessed are they that mourn' and 'Blessed are the dead'). They were well supported by the South Yorkshire Symphony Orchestra who found much in the instrumental detail which adds so much to this work. The vocal soloists, Ben Davies (bass) and Elizabeth watts (soprano) have essentially a subsidiary, supporting role, even allowing for the soprano's exquisite solo 'Ye are now sorrowful', with its rich accompanimental choral and orchestral tapestry, but both did well.
To fill out the evening, as the Requiem is awkwardly short of full concert length and to take advantage of the soloists' particular skill in lieder singing, both contributed groups of lieder by Brahms (Miss Watts) and, appropriately, Schumann (Mr Davies). Though better known songs (respectively Schumann's The Two Grenadiers, sung with persuasive virility, and Brahms' passionate Von Ewiger Liebe) provided the most memorable moments, I was pleased to hear less heard songs by both composers; the Schumann Geibel mini-sequence was, I believe, new to me. Mr Eost (piano) accompanied with sensitivity.
Miss Watts, incidentally, is to represent England in the Cardiff singer of the world competition later this year and we hope that she delights Cardiff as much as she undoubtedly delighted Doncaster ' a near full house, satisfyingly ' on this particular evening, which might prove to be a landmark for the Society.
Orpheus
Musick's Jubilee and St Nicolas: Doncaster Choral Society's First Concert of 2006/07
This concert (Priory, November 18) was in a word, a winner, a signal illustration of the fact that, performed with conviction and enthusiasm, modern music can be a positive, entertaining and uplifting experience. The first, and shorter, of the two works heard was Andrew Carter's Musick's Jubilee, dating from 1993, a sensitive, yet exuberant, setting of poetry by Andrew Marvell, John Dryden and Alfred Tennyson, for chorus, small orchestra (here the South Yorkshire Symphony Orchestra), organ (David Houlder) and soprano, (Claire Strafford) and mezzo (Rachel Anne Oakes) soloists. I took great pleasure in the admirably prepared chorus work (under Alan Eost's assured guidance), underlining the joy in music, which is the cantata's message. The orchestra supported excellently, highlights being the important roles taken by oboes, trumpets and percussion. Both vocal soloists did well, too; the mezzo's line was rather more angular than the soprano's, but the contrast was stimulating. A heart-warming piece all round.
In a sense its 23 minutes was here a curtain raiser to Benjamin Britten's St Nicolas cantata of 1948, which is 50 minutes packed with incident. It is laid out for chorus, semi-chorus (the McAuley Chamber Choir), orchestra (just strings and percussion), organ, piano duet (Jonathan Gooing and Nigel Gyte), three boy soloists from Leeds Parish Church Choir) (Toby Ward, Michael Ojengbende and Andrew Whitelaw) and last, but far from least, in the title role, Martin Hindmarsh, the part created for Peter Pears but here given more power, more body and fuller tone than Pears, fine artist though he was, could ever manage. The Choral Society again sang very positively, clearly relishing the music, which is of unfailing interest and variety. The McAuley youngsters, just 12 of them (directed by David Allison) sang with the greatest credit, as did the Leeds choirboys in their brief appearances. This was a memorable evening for the Society and a noteworthy contribution to the town's music.
PLS
Doncaster Cultural Festival 2006 Review
For some years now Doncaster Choral Society has contributed to the Doncaster Cultural Festival, held this year on Sunday 16th July and which featured a variety of choral presentations: the juvenile Barnburgh Spanish Choir, the extrovert offerings of the Quirky Choir; the delicious miniatures of The Cusworth Singers (twice); and the Doncaster Choral Society, relishing, as doubtless did its audience, the benign coolness of the Museum & Art Gallery's William Appleby Room.
In its half hour slot the latter recalled two of its triumphs of the 2005/06 season. I particularly welcomed the opportunity to hear two Renaissance motets, Viadana's triumphant Exsultate Justi and Palestrina's Sicut Cervus, having, through absence from Doncaster that weekend, missed hearing them in the May concert at the Minster. I was delighted with the well-balanced sonorities secured by Alan Eost from the 35 voices available on the afternoon, even if the church acoustic envisaged by Palestrina etc. could obviously not be replicated. Karl Jenkins has extracted a five movement suite from his Armed Man ' a Mass for Peace, performed complete in November 2005 and in this it was good to be reminded of its accessible, yet striking invention, not least the martial qualities (rightly) accorded to the familiar words of the Sanctus and Agnus Dei in particular.
P.L.S.
Concert Review: The Requiems of Mozart and Salieri.
Doncaster Choral Society's concert at Priory on 11 March constituted its tribute to the 250th Anniversary celebrations of the birth of Mozart, with the performance of two settings of the Requiem. Mozart's essay in that direction was left unfinished when he died in 1791 and was completed by his pupil S'ssmayr, though the exact extent of S'ssmayr's part in it is still problematical. To say that S'ssmayr is a second rate composer is probably a kind observation, but the bits of the Requiem which by common consent are his ' the Sanctus, Benedictus and Agnus Dei ' have a direct appeal which, perhaps shamefacedly, I have always enjoyed, while recognising they do not have the subtlety of the earlier sections which are 100% Mozart. Can we say that what Mozart started brought out the very best that S'ssmayr was capable of?
However that may be, the Society, substantially increased in numbers for this concert and hopefully for future ones, too, gave it, whether Mozart, S'ssmayr or somewhere in between, their fullest commitment, with brisk, positive, well focussed singing and conductor Alan Eost judging balance and tempi to perfection. All the problems about who composed what paled into near-insignificance. The soloists (Nicola Mills, Cari Searle, Stewart Campbell and our own Carey Williams) made a well-balanced quartet, being generally heard as such, though Miss Mills' radiant soprano had brief solos in the Kyrie and Agnus Dei and Mr Williams' solo which led off Tuba Mirum was impressive. Instrumental support came from Ron Law on the Priory organ and from Doncaster's Boyce Orchestra (leader, Jean Fletcher), the first time for many years that Boyce have played for the Society and how well they did, realising excellently the fine instrumentation of the real Mozart bits (clarinets and trombones in particular).
To precede the Mozart in the programme we had the Requiem in C minor by Antonio Salieri (1750-1825), who was said by some to have been jealous of Mozart, though the suggestion that he poisoned him is absurd. The 'needle' between them was in my view probably greatly exaggerated; Mozart composed a set of piano variations on a theme by Salieri, which does not exactly suggest enmity. Salieri was not, of course, the equal of Mozart as a composer (though he was better than S'ssmayr) but he knew his job and much of his music is worthwhile. I had not previously heard this Requiem but found it well worth occasional revival and an interesting comparison with Mozart's. The writing for chorus is generally good and it was certainly showed to best advantage by the Society's well-prepared singing. Again the orchestration furnished many interesting and enjoyable moments, oboes and strings particularly prominent and again Boyce did well as did the soloists, heard as a quartet on three occasions in a piece similar in length to the Mozart. So, a fascinating pairing devotedly executed.
PLS
Saturday 10th December 2005 - 7.00pm MESSIAH Handel
Some words from the President: P.L. Scowcroft
� For the Society the autumn 2005 has again illustrated its capacity for tackling the familiar and less familiar in the choral repertory. The familiar came on December 10 with its performance of Handel's Messiah. It has long puzzled me why this is nowadays performed, most usually, at around Christmas time (its world premiere, in Dublin, was in February 1742 and its Doncaster premiere took place in September 1787). It has quite as much of Easter as Christmas in it and is indeed a work for all seasons. Perhaps it is the most popular work in the choral repertory but choirs and audiences never seem to tire of it and this was clear from this performance, a good-sized audience giving a good reception to the Society's fresh, very committed and excellently prepared account of the choruses under Alan Eost's direction. All the choruses were performed on this occasion ' it is not uncommon for two, even three, to be omitted. Of course, for Messiah to end at a reasonable hour, some cuts ' or, alternatively, unreasonably fast tempi ' are necessary. Unusually on this occasion most of the usually made cuts (except for the middle sections of two arias) were restored but uniquely, in my experience of hearing Messiahs over a period of about 60 years, we were denied 'And He shall feed His flock' and the Pastoral Symphony which sets the Nativity scene so magically.
The Society was splendidly supported by both soloists and the orchestra, the South Yorkshire Symphony, playing stylishly, with Ron Law on the Priory organ reinforcing the choruses. We will remember Rebekah Coffey's clarity of line, contralto Jennifer Westwood's warmth (she was assigned 'But who may abide?' and correctly so, having regard to the air's earlier history) and the tenor Alistair Digges' dramatic and narrative qualities (the tenor role is the nearest we get to an Evangelist in Messiah), but the pick of the soloists for me was the rich and commanding bass Ben Davies, surely a soloist to look out for in the future.
So, a notable occasion. Messiah may or may not be Handel's greatest oratorio (it is certainly atypical in the genre), but its place on the social and musical fabric of this country for two and a half centuries is undisputed and I like to think that the Society's fine work in it owed something to that awareness of that tradition.
A month earlier (12 November) it tackled something much more recent, though a piece communicating at least as directly to singers and audience, Karl Jenkins' The Armed Man Mass of 2000. This was the major item of a so-stylish Concert of Remembrance and its eclecticism is apparent in both words and music. It does set four movements of the standard Mass, Kyrie, Sanctus, Agnus Dei and Benedictus, in that order, but interspersed with these is a memorable and varied collection of more recent words, portraying between them the clamour and excitement of war but also its ultimate futility (the work subtitled A Mass for Peace). Musically it quotes the medieval song The Armed Man, appropriately so for two reasons, the other being that around 1500 this song was incorporated in several otherwise standard settings of the mass. The musical language is generally accessible, if fierce, and the choir relishes it with Alan Eost securing singing of much power and excitement. Soloists Rachel Anne Oakes (soprano) and Carey Williams (bass) made important contributions and so did the instrumentalists! Peter Heginbotham (organ), Ron and Monica law (piano duet) and seven members of the South Yorkshire Symphony Orchestra: flute, doubling piccolo, three percussionists, contributing much to the work's sound and fury, cello which has a marvellously lyrical role to play, and two trumpets, the first of whom, with more to do, earned high praise for his excellent work.
The Jenkins was preceded by other aspects of the 'remembrance' theme, both words and music. The choir provided four short choruses; loosely described as 'anthems' though two of Parry's Songs of Farewell are not strictly so though at least one has long been in the cathedral repertory and they were published appropriately, in 1918. The real anthems by Charles Wood and Thomas Tertius Noble were not quite their equal but I was delighted to make their acquaintance, especially in these interpretations notable for particularly good diction. In between Kevin Spence and Jan Townend provided imaginatively chosen and well-delivered poetry and prose readings on the subject of war, widely interpreted. Altogether this was a strikingly moving act of remembrance with words and music complementing each other remarkably. The Society's enterprise in putting them on was, pleasingly, reasonably well rewarded at the box office.
P.L. Scowcroft
