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Wells Cathedral Somerset Chamber Choir with London Festival orchestra |
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Somerset Chamber Choir welcomes you to a spectacular summer concert of Haydn and Duruflé in Wells on 30 July. The Theresa Mass is a great showcase for all the performers alike – choir, soloists and orchestra - and Haydn’s wonderful music is so engaging and life affirming. The line-up of soloists is hugely impressive – both established and new stars. Andrew Kennedy tenor was a finalist most recently in the televised Cardiff Singer of the World competition, as well as winning the competition’s coveted Song Prize. This autumn he sings Tamino in Mozart’s The Magic Flute at English National Opera. Also at ENO in the same production as Papagena is Elizabeth Watts, this summer’s soprano soloist. Who can forget her stunning performance of MacMillan’s Christus vincit in Wells last summer? Elizabeth’s solo career is really taking off. Who could also resist the opportunity to hear the internationally acclaimed baritone, Christopher Maltman? His operatic roles have included Figaro (Mozart’s Figaro’s Wedding), and Tarquinius in Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia at ENO, Figaro in Berlin, Valentin in Munich, Laurent (Therese Raquin) in San Diego and the title role of Britten’s Billy Budd at WNO and in Seattle and, at Glyndebourne, Figaro, Ned Keene (Britten’s Peter Grimes) and Sid (Britten’s Albert Herring). His future engagements include Guglielmo (Munich, Seattle, Covent Garden), Tarquinius (Munich), Billy Budd (Turin) and Papageno (Glyndebourne). Christopher makes a welcome return with his wife, mezzo-soprano Leigh Woolf, who also has a very promising solo career. Performing with the choir for the first time this summer is the renowned London Festival Orchestra. The London Festival Orchestra was established in the 50's as an elite house orchestra for the great Decca Recording Studios. In 1980 it was incorporated - and liberated from the confines of the studio - to fulfil its role as a premier British orchestra. Under the direction of Ross Pople the LFO made an immediate impact on the concert platforms in the UK and abroad. So, there’s a real treat in store….! |
“A choir of responsive and musical singers” ‘No other orchestra comes close to the LFO in bright-eyed alertness and clear grasp of style’ Gramophone HAYDN Theresa Mass DURUFLÉ Quatre motets DURUFLÉ Requiem Leigh Woolf mezzo-soprano Elizabeth Watts soprano, Andrew Kennedy tenor Christopher Maltman baritone Graham Caldbeck conductor
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A review of the Somerset Chamber Choir concert, Saturday 30 July 2005 One of the county's finest choirs, The Somerset Chamber Choir, conductor Graham Caldbeck, produced yet another well-balanced and imaginative programme of choral music for its summer concert in Wells Cathedral last Saturday (30 July). Haydn's Theresienmesse with its sublime late Classical eloquence, its deep sincerity, its scale - lasting some 50 minutes and involving soloists, chorus and orchestra - was wonderfully counterbalanced by the brevity, intensity of thought and economy of means that Duruflés Quatre Motets Opus 10 provided. Finally, the forces of soloists, chorus and small orchestra were joined by the organ (played by Rupert Gough) for a moving performance of Duruflés 1947 Requiem, a work much likened to Gabriel Faurés and one that within itself has balance of structure, much contrast yet great cohesion. Bringing together disparate forces - the London Festival Orchestra, the soloists Elizabeth Watts (soprano, Leigh Woolf (mezzo-soprano), Andrew Kennedy (tenor), Christopher Maltman (baritone) and a chorus that meets infrequently - requires a conductor with musical authority and clear direction. In Graham Caldbeck the musicians in this concert could have every confidence. There were moments when this writer would have welcomed more dynamic contrast from the chorus, particularly in the Requiem, and perhaps more risk taken at points such as rallentandi, but the conductor's intentions were never in doubt and this gave the performances great security. Graham Caldbeck also drew some sophisticated phrasing and subtle word-shading from the chorus in the Theresienmesse demonstrating that he has a choir of responsive and musical singers. Balance between instrumental and vocal forces is always a testing challenge at moments of high drama and this proved to be so in the Requiem Sanctus where after a hair-raising approach to the climax the choral numbers seem to lose out. This was obviously never to be a problem in the unaccompanied Quatre Motets which saw the singers at their best, relaxed and enjoying themselves with a commitment and accuracy that presumably stems from their joyful respect for the conductor and a high regard for the organisation to which they belong. The soloists were admirable with Christopher Maltman possessing a voice of real character and used with powerful effect in the Requiem while Elizabeth Watts fine clarity of sound was particularly well suited for the Haydn Mass. Indeed all four soloists were suitably inspired to sing the Et incarnatus est section of the Credo in the most moving way. The London Festival Orchestra (Principal Conductor Ross Pople) has a deserved and established reputation. This was particularly apparent in the demands of the Haydn Mass where a wide gamut of articulation and refined phrasing is required, not unlike the demands of the late Haydn symphonies. Cathedral acoustics are notoriously difficult to work with and this presumably was the reason for the lack of tonal impact and clarity of attack in Duruflés Requiem by the trumpets and timps. And again the resonance was presumably responsible for a loss of harp clarity. Congratulations to all those who gave much of their time behind the scenes to the organising, promotion and presentation of this concert. The printed programme and its contents was informative, well-laid out and epitomised the general quality of the evening. Andrew Maddocks
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