Tag: Jason Darnell

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REVIEW: Martin Dreyer’s verdict on Ebor Singers & Manchester Baroque, The Quire, York Minster, May 16

Ebor Singers soloists Alisun Russell Pawley (soprano), top left, Caroline Sartin (alto); Jason Darnell (tenor), bottom left, and Jonty Ward (bass-baritone)

WHEN an event is announced as a gala and includes an imported period band, you naturally prick up your ears. This one not only looked good on paper, it was succulent in reality.

Three works by Handel, culminating in his Dixit Dominus, were further leavened by choral pieces of Purcell and Bach. It was worth every penny of what it must have cost to promote.

Dixit Dominus, a setting of Psalm 109, is the first of three concerted Latin choral works from Handel’s time in Rome, where he was primarily honing his operatic talents at the fountainhead. It dates from April 1707, when he was barely 22.

Although thus youthful, its importance lies in its legacy: many of its pseudo-operatic techniques found their way into his later English church music.

The conductor, Paul Gameson, capitalised on its dramatic moods, which seemed to come naturally to Handel despite his Lutheran background. The title chorus was confidently paced and its succeeding aria, with fluent cello obbligato, smoothly handled by alto Caroline Sartin.

The choir was not disturbed by the tempo changes in ‘Iudicabit’ and the soprano duet with male chorus was equally effective. Only the fugal finale would have benefited from a more relaxed momentum, the sopranos, doubtless tired at the end of a strenuous evening, sounding stretched.

Welcome To All The Pleasures, one of Purcell’s three odes to St Cecilia, made a sprightly opening, with chorus members stepping into the solo roles with flair, as throughout the programme. It was aptly partnered by the tenor cantata Look Down, Harmonious Saint, whose aria was despatched by Jason Darnell with considerable brio, although he reserved touching restraint for its central musings.

The steady pace of the opening Kyrie in Bach’s Lutheran Mass in G was well adapted to its testing chromaticism. The busy strings made the Gloria especially exciting, and Jonty Ward’s crisp bass in ‘Gratias agimus’ was a highlight.

The two oboes danced sweetly through ‘Quoniam tu solus’, accompanying Darnell. Their attentiveness typified the contribution of Manchester Baroque (named twice in the programme as ‘Camerata’), who briefly took the spotlight in a stylishly articulated account of Handel’s D minor Concerto Grosso.

The interval had arrived slightly earlier than planned when a performer fainted. Concertgoers will be relieved to know that after treatment in hospital he was able to return home the next day. The incident made no impact on the success of the evening.

Review by Martin Dreyer

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REVIEW: Steve Crowther’s verdict on Yorkshire Bach Choir, St John Passion, Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall, University of York, March 21

James Gilchrist: tenor Evangelist in Yorkshire Bach Choir’s St John Passion

CONDUCTOR Peter Seymour opted for a slower tempo in the opening chorus “Herr, unser Herrscher”. 

While this had obvious merit – polyphonic transparency, clearly layered choral entries, crisp articulation of the text, and finely judged orchestral detail – it lost dramatic intent: the relentless drive and sense of agitation that a quicker tempo – think John Eliot Gardiner – can bring.

It is, of course, a trade-off: solemnity versus torment. And then something quite remarkable happened: James Gilchrist.

His tenor Evangelist proved the dramatic engine of the Passion. From the opening recitative, “Jesus ging mit seinen Jüngern,” he established the narrative with urgency and clarity. Particularly effective were the razor-sharp exchanges with the chorus, as the crowd – here the soldiers – interject in “Jesum von Nazareth!”

One of the most powerful Evangelist moments in Part I is the recitative “Da verleugnete Petrus abermal” – Peter’s denial – a secco recitative for tenor with continuo accompaniment. The rising tension was palpable.

This is followed by the cock crow, conveyed through the text, and then the shock of silence. What ensued was a remarkable depiction of Peter’s emotional collapse in “Und ging hinaus und weinete bitterlich”, again with no string or wind support.

A standout passage of Part II was Gilchrist’s delivery of “Und neigte das Haupt und verschied”. This is the climactic narrative moment of the Passion: after all the drama – indeed, all the operatic intensity – it is over. The music stops.

Gilchrist also shaped the work’s pivotal theatrical moments with real authority: the mob’s blunt rejection in “Nicht diesen, sondern Barrabam!”; the biting, almost grotesque sarcasm of “Sei gegrüßet, lieber Jüdenkönig!”; and, most strikingly, the escalating hysteria of “Kreuzige! Kreuzige!”. In each case, his framing of these interruptions ensured the narrative never lost momentum.

The voice of the choir in the chorales throughout is that of communal reflection: the exact opposite of mob rule. Personally, I felt the tempi were a touch brisk; I missed a sense of real stillness. That said, they were confidently performed.  The final chorus, “Ruht wohl, ihr heiligen Gebeine”, with its warm, reassuring harmonies and gently rocking, lullaby-like rhythm, was very moving.

Yorkshire Bach Choir performing St John Passion at Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall

The success of the performance depends on the contrast between the Evangelist’s narrative urgency and Christus’s centred stillness, each role demanding not only  vocal control but also a finely judged sense of dramatic purpose.

Frederick Long proved an excellent Christus. His performance radiated authority, poise and inner calm. It was refreshing to hear such clarity of pitch in the lower bass register, rather than the all-too-common woolliness.

I found Long’s “Mein Reich ist nicht von dieser Welt” genuinely moving: surrounded by accusation and political tension, his quiet conviction, supported by the halo of strings, created a moment of true stillness and otherworldliness.

The other soloists all acquitted themselves admirably. Tenor Jason Darnell gave a fine account of the demanding “Ach, mein Sinn”, capturing its agitation and urgency. Darnell coped well with the quick, restless rhythms, generating a real sense of unease.

Alto Louise Dobson gave a compelling “Es ist Vollbracht”, beautifully supported by Richard Boothby on viol da gamba, whose intimate, haunting tone was ideally suited to the aria.

Both sopranos, Bethany Seymour and Wendy Goodson,delivered fine performances; Ms Seymour’s “Ich folge dir gleichfalls,” with flute and continuo, offered a moment of light, graceful contrast.

Perhaps most enjoyable of all was Caroline Sartin-Smith’s “Von den Stricken meiner Sünden”. Her rich alto voice suited the aria well, although the two oboes – beautifully played – occasionally compromised the balance.

The orchestra – from Lucy Russell and Agata Darashkaite on violins to Ben Horden on organ – was first-rate. There were moments when the balance did not favour the upper strings, but these are the forces Bach himself conceived, so perhaps best left there.

It was good to see Peter Seymour again, directing from the harpsichord with authority and assurance.

And it was good, too, to see a full house.

Review by Steve Crowther