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Hexham Orpheus Choir's annual Christmas Concert took place at St Aidan's church on Saturday November 29. The programme this year was different from the usual music written for, or about, the Christmas story. This year we were treated to A Night at the Opera. The change was refreshing, because from now on we shall hear carols and Christmas music in abundance. For much of the first half of the evening we were firmly in the era of 19th century Grand Italian Opera, but other excerpts from Mozart, Massenet, Gounod, Menotti, Tchaikovsky and Mussorgsky added to the wide ranging choice of the programme - so, a feast of styles, not to mention foreign languages. This half was shared by the choir and soloists. the first set consisted of three well-known choruses. Two by Verdi - Hebrew Slaves (Nabucco) and Scottish Refugees (Macbeth) followed by the Easter Hymn (Cavalleria Rusticana, by Mascagni.) It was a tentative start with a few ragged entries in the double chorus of the Mascagni. This is a deceptively tricky piece, consisting of full harmonic writing for two groups of choruses as well as contrapuntal entries involving each section of the ensemble. This smallish choir did well in tackling it. Singing, when established, was lyrical and well balanced, considering the outnumbering of sopranos by altos. Tenors and basses offered Mozart's Priests' Chorus (Magic Flute), singing it absolutely to style, simply and with excellent balance. Russian opera served us with a contrast. Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin is a gem in the genre of smaller scale opera. The chorus of peasant girls gave the ladies a chance to shine, and like the men, they took it. Boris Goudunov (Mussorgsky) is opera on a grand scale. It is seldom performed because of difficulties in staging as well as singing. The choir, singing in Russian, made a good stab at the Coronation scene. Particularly effective were the Slava (Glory) exultations. This bravura style could perhaps have been employed in earlier parts of the piece to add greater impact and gravitas. Robert Seaton brought a rich tone to his rôle as Boris. Robert and Rachel Orr were the two guest soloists, singing solo parts in choruses as well as individual solo items. Rachel's rendition of Una voce poco fa (Barber of Seville) was coloratura singing at its best. In a tour de force of an aria in terms of technique, she climbed its heights with apparent ease, with a voice of dramatic quality allied to purity of tone and stunning high notes. My favourite of Robert's items was his evocative and lyrical singing of When the air sings of Summer from The Old Maid and the Thief by Menotti. The second half of the programme gave us another American composer - Aaron Copland. His two choruses, Stomp Your Foot and The Promise of Living well demonstrated the contrasting styles of declamation and sustained lyricism. The opera from which they were taken, The Tender Land was written in 1952 at the invitation of Rodgers and Hammerstein. A compete rendition of Trial by Jury (Gilbert and Sullivan) ended the evening. In a concert version, it is difficult to get the balance right in terms of some choreography or none. The Orpheus achieved a good balance, using the venue and available props to good effect. The two guest soloists were Judge and Plaintiff. Another guest, David Huntington, sang the Defendant with excellent tone and projection. From the choir, Tim Grew, Richard Dixon and Simon Partridge sang other small parts with credit. Glenn Davis conducted with confidence and sensitivity, showing his usual attention to the fine tuning of blend, balance and dynamic. The programme, made up of so many different parts, was a challenge to choir, conductor and accompanist alike. In the latter rôle, Margaret Huntington excelled at the piano, as did Ruth Armishaw, who accompanied the two guest soloists. Together they provided duet accompaniment for the Copland extracts. This was the first concert under the choirs new Chairman Janet Davies and by the sound of the appreciative applause, it was a very successful start to Janet's term of office.
CRYSTAL CLEAR CHOIR BRINGS COMFORT TO ABBEY
CONCERT THE ACOUSTICS in Hexham Abbey are renowned for their difficulties, but the cognoscente in the audience headed straight for the middle ground just behind the stairs to the crypt, last Saturday night. They were at the concert of 20th century music for the church, performed by the Orpheus Choir and invited musicians including Michael Dutton on organ, Sally Wood on flute and Helen Kelly on harp. I was settled right at the back, but the intriguing thing about the Abbey's soundscape is that I felt, even to the tiniest pluck on filigreed harp strings, that I was able to hear everything in crystal clarity. Under the direction of Glenn Davis, the evening began with a lovely and sonorous Vaughan Williams piece, O Taste and See, which seemed likely as an aperitif to the main course. The unaccompanied voice of the choir was very strong and confident as Jonathan Dove's Into thy Hands flowed on in a near seamless continuo. The ecumenism of the evening too was apparent as a couple of spirituals showed off the rich individual lines, with some supplementation in the men's sections from partner choir the Priory Singers of Tynemouth. I was very taken by the instrumental solos, a Ravel piece played with seductive grace on oboe by Robin Crinson and a Fauré piece on deep and mellifluous cello by Julia Watson. These interludes seemed to highlight the enlightened programming. They sought to bring an enriching variety to our experience of the very best music written in the past century for appreciation in a church setting. The Chichester Psalms brought, with Leonard Bernstein's idiosyncratic and deeply felt heritage to the fore, a sense of the encompassing reality of worship from the ancient psalmist to the modern day. We experienced this when the boy treble voices (Matthew Belcher, James Padmore and Chris Passmore from the Abbey choir) were juxtaposed with gruff shouts and exclamations from the men. It was the lovely alternation of Val Hooker's full and roundly moving alto voice and Pip Emler's inspired soprano, especially on a sustained note at the end of the Adonai, that lent believability to this section. It also inspired a collective desire to remain on hard seats after the interval. If you were attuned to the Psalms, you would certainly call it a note of hope for the future delivered from the ancient past. Those in the know, who regularly attend the Music in the Abbey series of concerts, bring their own cushions so that they may comfortably enjoy rich classical music in a natural live setting. There is something unique in listening to a choir of your peers sing through a disciplined offering. It was clear that the Orpheus had practised diligently, with the particular expertise of Margaret Huntington accompanying in rehearsal, in the confident expectation of offering a worthwhile evening of stimulated enjoyment and listening pleasure. Most in the audience would have been familiar with John Rutter's Requiem, which filled out the second half of the concert, along with the special Sanctus Sanctus and Lux Aeterna. Listening to the chords and music that felt both new, and yet familiar in its contemporary time, I had the impression that music for the church does live on. This is relevant whether you count yourself a true believer, or merely a hopeful supplicant at the altar of humanistic endeavour. If indeed music hath these charms, quelling the twin beasts
of apathy and despair, then the Orpheus Choir deserves our profound
congratulations. They also deserve thanks for presenting such a varied and
satisfying programme in a space that can be daunting even to professional
voices. FRENCH CUISINE IS DISH OF THE DAY ON MUSICAL
MENU RECENTLY the Hexham Orpheus Choir seems to have undergone a PR make over. Stimulated, no doubt, by a sponsorship/booking agent deal with Cogito Books there has been a noticeable improvement in pre-concert publicity to attract an audience other than friends and family. The initiative has extended to the choice of music. Their recent concert in St Mary's Church, Hexham was titled The Music of France ranging from the 17th to the 20th century. In the true French style we were regaled with a delicious selection of hors d'oeuvre followed by a light, frothy Christmassy dessert. No heavy main course to induce a snooze. Good presentation enhanced by an excellent anonymous concise informative programme note and translations by Davina Dwyer. Of course the proof of the pudding is in the eating. Maurice Duruflé, with his own Requiem 50 years later, is often regarded as the natural successor to Fauré but he was more influenced by Gregorian Chant, four themes from which inspired a series of unaccompanied Latin motets. The Orpheus Choir opened the concert with three of them; jumping in at the deep end with individually exposed voice parts showing up any fluffed entries or wrong notes. Although few in numbers, tenors and basses confidently established their Gregorian credentials at the start of Ubi Caritas (Where there is charity). The ladies occupied the field appropriately in Tota Pulchra, dedicated to the Blessed Virgin. I was struck throughout the evening by warm, blended singing from the altos - sopranos were not far behind - but some nervousness perhaps led occasionally to forced tone and unsure intonation. The whole choir came together again with great effect, overlapping like an acclaiming crowd, in the final motet Tu es Petrus (you are Peter), building up to a splendid climax. In contrast the choir later sang two French part songs by Camille Saint-Saëns. A prolific composer now well-known only by a handful of orchestral works, these songs show there is much treasure to explore. Unfortunately, words were less in evidence in Fauré's Cantique de Jean Racine, sung just before the interval. Probably the most familiar work in the programme, it was sung to an accompaniment arranged by John Rutter - not only a fine composer for voices but one with a flair for imaginative instrumental colour. So I was quite baffled by the addition of two bassoons who not only upstaged the strings but overwhelmed the tenors and basses (at least from my seat). The ladies fared better in this lovely motet, a favourite with choirs. Two tasty morsels, neither vocal nor even French, filled out the first half. They were performed by three members of the instrumental ensemble: Pauline Aitchison (violin), Julia Boulton (viola) and Peter Richardson (cello), calling themselves the Moeran Trio. First up was the opening movement of Mozart's Divertimento for String Trio in E flat (K.563) the longest (six movements) and one of his greatest chamber works. Later we were treated to a Scherzo by Zoltan Kodaly, full of Hungarian folk tunes and rhythms. The evening's piece de résistance formed the second half. Messe de Minuit (Midnight Mass) by Marc Antoine Charpentier who, on the strength of this work, might be called the 17th century John Rutter. The choir were obviously having a great time in this delightful music, singing securely to Charpentier's colourful instrumental scoring which included two recorders as well as strings, bassoon and chamber organ.The last was played by Margaret Huntingdon with some nice Baroque registrations. For added variety there were five excellent soloists from within choir ranks. Sopranos Pip Emler and Ayleen Weatherspoon, alto Val Hooker, tenor Donald Wright (standing in at short notice) and bass Bill Weatherspoon. Congratulations to all concerned, particularly conductor Glenn Davis, whose hard work, dedication and clear direction on the night was the inspiration for a most enjoyable evening. The enthusiastic audience may well have been much larger without competition from Messiah in the Abbey. An unfortunate clash. Let's hope the Orpheus Choir have better luck with another adventurous concert next May featuring works by Rutter, Bernstein and Jonathan Dove.
TRIUMPHANT
ELIJAH ON SATURDAY 18th May 2002 the Hexham Orpheus Choir joined once again with the Priory Singers of Tynemouth, this time to present a performance of Mendelssohn's great oratorio Elijah. It turned out to be a most exhilarating evening both for the choir and the capacity audience in the King's School, Tynemouth. The oratorio takes a number of episodes from the life of the Old Testament prophet Elijah and sets them to music which reflects the events of the stories and the emotions of the participants. It is far from easy to convey the intensity of the drama, but in this performance, every musical device succeeded. To take but one example, the contralto soloist has to sing the famous aria of trust and devotion, "O rest in the Lord" within a few minutes of reprising vocally the archetypal evildoer Jezebel. Susan Davis accomplished this with complete aplomb, and all the soloists, Rachel Orr, Robyn Lyn Evans and Robert Seaton, were equally convincing as they moved from one extreme emotion to another. The choir also change their personalities, being at one time desperate starving people, at another the wild and defiant priests of Baal, and then later, angels. Neither their energy nor their precision flagged, and they are to be congratulated on this, as the piece makes heavy demands on the choir as well as on the soloists. The orchestra, ably led by Julia Boulton, performed the very testing score with equal expertise. Some of the smaller solos were sung by members of the choir, Val Hooker, Emma Davis and Ronald Bridgett, and all gave excellent performances. Special mention should also be made of young Katy McDermott, who sang beautifully the small but difficult cameo rôle of the youth. Although the two choirs had not rehearsed jointly until a couple of weeks before the performance they somehow sounded as though they had been singing together for years. The credit for this and for the entire performance must go to the inspired leadership of Glenn Davis, who conducts both choirs and who certainly brought the best out of everyone on this special occasion.  We are indebted to the Hexham Courant for allowing us to reprint reviews, editorials and articles relating to the Hexham Orpheus Choir. |