Apollo 5 members, left to right, Penny Appleyard, Thomas Mottershead, Augustus Perkins Ray, Joseph Taylor and Lily Robson
APOLLO5 is a vocal quintet featuring soprano, mezzo, two tenors and a bass. Its early evening programme was entitled The Crimson Sun, reflecting both the close of day and the title of a piece by Alexander Campkin.
Despite the title, all the works on the programme were seasonal and most were festive too. Dobrinka Tabakova’s springy, syncopated Good-will To Men was immediately contrasted with Piers Connor Kennedy’s A Spotless Rose, not the traditional tune, but a reworking of two of the ‘O’ antiphons, moving gracefully from the original plainsong into modern close-harmony versions.
Thereafter we backtracked to the 16th century, where the singers’ straight tone was especially apt. Handl’s Omnes de Saba was brisk but lacked shading, whereas Guerrero’s Virgen Sancta – a rare example for its time of sacred music in the vernacular – had all the tenderness you might expect from the Spanish master.
The calmer centre of Byrd’s Laetentur Caeli contrasted well with its vivid frame. The passing dissonances of Poulenc’s O Magnum Mysterium were also neatly tuned.
It is always risky when modern composers attempt to rework established favourites: the results may inspire or annoy, rarely both. In the first camp were Fraser Wilson’s fresh new harmonies for The Angel Gabriel, whereas a new take on The Coventry Carol lacked clarity.
New creations rather than arrangements included Ola Gjeilo’s Ubi Caritas, respectful of tradition but also exultant, the reverent last-verse adoration of James Bassi’s Quem Pastores, the mediaeval feel of James MacMillan’s O Radiant Dawn, with its repeated cries of “Come! Shine!”, and Adrian Peacock’s Spanish-flavoured Venite, Gaudete!.
As for Campkin’s setting of Rev George Grantham’s Victorian carol, The Crimson Sun, it suffered slightly from being heard in the wake of Walton’s frisky Make We Joy Now, but its repeating downward motif in the soprano helped paint the fading daylight and its ‘Gloria’ refrain stirred the spirit.
Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovych’s Carol Of The Bells made an ideal ending. On this evidence, Apollo5 is a versatile, well-balanced ensemble, whose programme was perfectly tailored to the festival.
Review by Martin Dreyer