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Concert Reviews

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 18^th 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 18^th and the late 20^th 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

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 250^th 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 Süssmayr, though the exact extent of Süssmayr’s part in it is still problematical. To say that Süssmayr 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 Süssmayr 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, Süssmayr 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 Süssmayr) 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