There was a large and enthusiastic audience at St. Saviour & St. Peter’s Church on January 30th, when the well-known local Phoenix Choir and Orchestra gave us a musical treat to warm our hearts and souls on a cold winter evening.
First came Haydn’s delightful Surprise Symphony, sensitively directed by John Langridge, whose love of Haydn’s music really shone through. Members of the orchestra led by Pat Beament were, to me, faultless in their technique and expression in all four charming movements – and the Surprise in the second caused quite a ripple through the church!
After the interval came a change of mood, pace and depth in Brahms’ famous Requiem sung here in German with feeling and enthusiasm by Phoenix Choir. This is a really “big sing”, especially in another language, and singers need to take credit for all their hard work that must have gone into preparation for performance.
The first movement Blessed are they that mourn I found really moving, sung as it was with passion, light and shade. The large Soprano section sang out with great confidence throughout the evening, which drew the audience in. More delights followed, including the complex fugue in the third movement after Adrian White’s strong and mellow Baritone solo.
It’s always good to enjoy again the lyrical How lovely are thy dwellings and the choir did not disappoint, relax into the gentle rhythms, and effortlessly reaching the high notes.
But for me, the real shining star appeared in the fifth movement – local soloist Grace Constable filled the church with a voice of such clarity, purity and spine-tingling beauty that I felt priviledged to be able to hear her. Many congratulations Grace – you looked and sounded truly “Amazing”.
The orchestra supported the choir really well throughout, only sounding too strong when the underparts were singing alone. I would like to have heard more volume from the Alto’s, and felt that the Tenor and Bass section would be better heard in the centre of the choir rather than at the back, although they held their own well in spite of their small numbers.
John Langridge conducted with energy and skill – he really leads so well by bringing in all the sections on time .
Well done all of you! We are truly fortunate to have so much talent, energy and enthusiasm in this beautiful church with its excellent acoustics.
There’s no need to travel and pay London prices with music-making of this calibre in our midst.
So, support your local musicians, folks, and enjoy many more pleasant “Surprises”!
Reviewed by: Maggie Bennett
