This concert opened on a sombre note with a minute’s silence for the victims of the Paris massacre.
But the tone quickly lifted as the choir performed excerpts from Howard Goodall’s inspiring Eternal Light, A Requiem. Clearly, no detail had been spared in the preparation by musical director, Helen Brind, and the choir moved seamlessly from the thoughtful slow passages to the soaring full-voiced choral climaxes.
Solos were beautifully delivered by visiting soprano Natalie Davies. Her control was sure and gracious throughout, both during the Eternal Light passages and the second half performance of Michael Kamen’s Requiem for a Soldier and during Karl Jenkins’ The Armed Man: a Mass For Peace.
The other visiting soloist who had a triumphant evening was the young local cellist Hannah MacFarlane. Despite her youth, she appeared completely at one with her instrument and delivered with calm confidence delicate pieces by Saint-Saens, Faure and Henry Eccles.
Special mention should also go to accompanist Louise Dukes who underpinned the whole performance, providing a backbone for the choir and offering a delicate balance for the soprano and cello solos.
The choir and soloists achieved exactly the right tone for a remembrance concert and the audience responded with enthusiastic applause.
NORMAN HARTLEY
