2004-05 Season Concerts

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Israel in Egypt

The Carlisle International Summer Festival concluded with Handel’s oratorio Israel in Egypt. The Wordsworth Singers, under their inspirational conductor James Alexander Grossmith, were accompanied by the RSAMD Early Music Players, and soloists who were also students from the RSAMD.

All the soloists had clear, expressive voices – the two sopranos, Erica Parrish and Alexandra Cassidy, sounded beautifully even in their duet The Lord is my strength. Alto Roslin Agnew negotiated the low tessitura of The land brought forth frogs with ease and style. The baritones Phil Gault and Ross McInroy also had light, lyrical voices – perhaps they could have been a little more fierce in the duet The Lord is a man of war! and tenor Alistair Digges was also a little gentle in his aria The enemy said.

But the evening really belongs to the chorus and orchestra who dramatised their many contrasting choruses perfectly. Israel in Egypt is remarkable for the amount of work there is for the choir, including one section with eight choruses in a row: the Wordsworth Singers showed the extent and variety of Handel’s writing as they sang each section with wonderful agility and variety of tone. A remarkable achievement.

Mary Hitch

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Christmas Concert

In the reverential setting of St Michael’s Church in Dalston, The Wordsworth Singers proved that the music of Marc-Antoine Charpentier sounds just as fresh and lively today as it did when it was first written almost 350 years ago.

The Singers were under the direction of their new conductor, James Grossmith, also director of choral music at the Royal Scottish Academy, who was handed the baton by Michael Hancock.

The evening began with the glory of the first Christmas Day and the great mystery of Christ’s birth as portrayed in the serene music of William Byrd and the exultant glory of Victoria’s O Magnum Mysterium.

The centrepiece of the concert was the Messe de Minuit pour Noel.

Charpentier based the mass on folk carols. Jeremy Suter on the organ announced the sprightly rhythms and the choir transformed them into seasonal images of harmonic peace and light.

The choir’s pleasure in the music and the disciplined liveliness of their performance conveyed the natural joy at the heart of the sacred music.

A solo performance of Messiaen’s depiction of the shepherds by Jeremy Suter on the organ was followed by two medieval French carols to complete the second half of the concert.

Michael Hancock, the founder of The Wordsworth Singers, has found a worthy successor in James Grossmith. To the very fine voices and ensemble singing and the eagerness to perform challenging programmes, James has added an historical understanding that has given new depth to their performance.

Steve Matthews

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Songs of Heaven and Earth

The Wordsworth Singer’s audience, at St Andrew’s, Penrith on Saturday, enjoyed a rare treat.

Interesting harmonies, occasional dramatic dissonance and very singable lines of melody sung by a first-class choir all combined to produce some moments of exquisite beauty.

The first piece was Kenneth Leighton’s Sequence for All Saints, at times dramatic, at others contemplative. The bass solos in the second and fourth movements were sensitively sung by Jim Johnson.

Next came two unaccompanied pieces by Scotland’s premier composer of his generation, James MacMillan. In The Gallant Weaver, a setting of Robert Burns, the sopranos excelled themselves, and the contemplative alto solo was beautifully sung by Hilary Hodgson.

Christus Vincit, to a short Latin text, starts quietly and builds up to an impressive climax sung by the soprano Emma Harper.

After the interval we heard Dvorák’s Songs of Nature, performed with the appropriate delicacy.

Finally Kodály’s Missa Brevis. In the Kyrie and Agnus Dei the sopranos split into three solo parts and go very high, soaring above the rest of the choir – a most moving moment.

Nicholas Howard