York Musical Society in concert at St Lawrence Parish Church, York
WHAT was immediately striking at the start of the concert was the vertigo-inducing podium from which musical director David Pipe conducted the choir.
Indeed, if he had swapped his baton for a paintbrush, he could have given Michelangelo a run for his money and painted a few contemporary murals whilst he was up there.
York Musical Society’s concert opened with five excerpts from Handel’s Messiah. And The Glory Of The Lord was tight; the imitative lines were clearly articulated and the soprano high notes well executed. Like the male voices, I struggled with the over-articulation of the consonants in the quick, fugal chorus, And He Shall Purify.
Ellie Miles-Kingston was a delight; the recitative (There Were Shepherds) and the aria (Rejoice Greatly) – duetting with the excellent organist, Shaun Turnbull – were beautifully delivered. The set closed with a lovely performance of His Yoke Is Easy.
David Willcocks’ arrangement of the English traditional Sussex Carol sounded both joyful and effortless. This is no easy thing as the writing is deceptively difficult, especially for the sopranos. This was followed by an utterly splendid performance of O Come, All Ye Faithful by us, the People’s Choir.
Interlude on The Coventry Carol by the splendidly named William Southcombe Lloyd Webber inhabits an entirely different sound-world to that of the Willcocks or indeed the later Rutter: austere, internal and actually technically quite challenging.
David Pipe’s performance was nothing short of poetic: emotional restraint, long unbroken lines, the carol tune always audible – tricky when played using the pedals. A real concert highlight.
Richard Shephard’s Christmas Cantata (after Corelli) was extremely effective and, on the whole, enjoyable. The writing for the sopranos was attractive, but I thought the tessitura sat high for too long with a tendency to drift sharp-wards. I really enjoyed the solo contribution from tenor Leo Fulwell. On the whole, I found the Cantata stylistically ambiguous but that’s probably just me and not the fine performance.
We, the People’s Choir, returned with yet another flawless performance, this time in the uplifting It Came Upon The Midnight Clear.
William Mathias was a truly outstanding composer. As this exuberant performance of his Sir Christèmas clearly shows, what seems like surface good, festive fun – fast tempos, bright brass-like organ writing, motor rhythms – is also a really well-crafted piece of music. The choir captured the energy and drive, and I heard a joy that was forged rather than decorative. Impressive.
What’s not to like about David Willcocks’ Silent Night? Given this rendition, clearly very little indeed. The YMS Choir delivered justice to the composer/arranger’s setting, enhancing the carol’s natural beauty.
Indeed, what’s not to like about John Rutter’s Shepherd’s Pipe Carol too? Again, given this rendition, clearly very little indeed. I just loved the persistent ‘dum-da-dum’ ostinato, which gave the music groove as opposed to flow. Add the syncopation into the mix and we are closer to pop, even jazz, rather than the traditional Christmas carol.
David Pipe’s performance of Leroy Anderson’s Sleigh Ride, arranged by Thomas Trotter, was a festive joy. We heard trotting hooves, bell-like figurations, crisp winter air, a season of goodwill and Butlin’s. I’ll get my coat.
After a standing, standout blast of Hark! The Herald Angels Sing – us again – the choir wished us a merry Christmas and directed us to free glasses of mulled wine. I felt we had earned them.
Review by Steve Crowther