March 2009
Rossini: Petite Messe Solenelle
The advance literature summed it up.
Rossini's Petite messe solennelle is neither 'petite' - it's a whole evening's performance - and for much of the time nor is it particularly 'solennelle', with Rossini humour and familiarity with farce never far away... often at highly inappropriate times, given the meaning of the text.
The work could also, easily, form the basis for a trivia question on QI. What major choral work uses a harmonium as one of the mainstays of its accompaniment?
That said, it's all there in this work. Drama, even majesty. Superbly intimate moments. Complex choral movements.
Once again, the audience was treated to a disciplined and measured performance from Chester Music Society Choir under conductor Graham Jordan Ellis. It's rare that this ensemble disappoints and there was much to go wrong in this work. It sounds deceptively easy - and yet there are some furiously complex fugal passages, such as that in the Cum Sancto Spiritu movement at the end of the Gloria, but the chorus persevered and shone through.
There was good attack, the diction was refined and, on the whole, clear. And when this large chorus was required to sing quietly, it did: the Agnus Dei was especially moving.
Soprano soloist Janet Fischer was quite outstanding: a big voice but subtle enough to cope with the wittily humorous Rossini confection dreamt up to portray the Crucifixus movement. The same could be said of tenor Richard Pollock, another powerful voice.
The stars, though, had to be the two pianists and harmonium player. Eve Harrington's expertise shone through particularly, though so did that of Stephanie Howard. For Simon Russell, the sheer effort of playing the harmonium should not go unnoticed. Come the Preludio religioso and both Russell - and the harmonium - came into their own.
Liverpool Daily Post
November 2008
Vaughan Williams: A Sea Symphony; Finzi: For St Cecilia; Elgar: Sea Pictures
It's hard to come away from a Chester Music Society choral concert and feel short-changed.
This weekend's offering was another marathon concert which showcased three major English works and was another event commemorating Ralph Vaughan Williams, who died half a century ago this year.
Did they bite off more than they could chew? Looking at the programme, that was always the risk. Yet, as always, the choir proved that it really is one of the best choruses in the region. The opening work, Gerald Finzi's For St Cecilia - a work extolling the virtues of the patron saint of music and performed, by chance, on her feast day - is a challenge, and the choir was for the most part, exemplary, though they were a little uncertain in the second stanza of the Blunden poem.
In Elgar's Sea Pictures mezzo-soprano Rosie Aldridge used her rich, intense voice to great effect. From the reposed, beautiful Sea Slumber song, through the reverential power of Sabbath Morning at Sea through to probably the most famous song of the set - Where Corals Lie - which felt a little rushed. But for sheer excitement, it had to be the performance of the final setting, The Swimmer, which saw conductor Graham Jordan Ellis accidentally pitch his baton into the orchestra at the conclusion of the piece.
Vaughan Williams's Sea Symphony is one of the greatest English symphonic works, placing huge demands on both choir and orchestra. In this, Liverpool Sinfonia felt assured, right from the powerful opening, to the barely heard conclusion.
The choir was controlled and disciplined throughout.
Liverpool Daily Post
