THE ADVERTISER, MAY
4, 1990
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Vaulted
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words from the choir
|
in-. of the twinning of | Guildfdrd
scribed the Missa So- ~with Freiburg, was in great
voice.
lemnis in D “from the
" Tone was lovely, and the
BEETHOVEN
heart — may it in turn
go to the heart.”
Dense, complex and at
times outstandingly beauti“ful, it is very much his per-
sonal interpretation of the
liturgy, reflecting in music
the sensitivity of a naturally
religious man.
Mood, key signature,
everything mirrors the text,
- and it was a great shame that
almost all the words sung by
the chorus were lost to the
vaulted
roof
of Guildford
Cathedral on Saturday.
Guildford Philharmonic
Choir, joined by the Freiburger Bachchor in celebration of the 10th anniversary
discipline was obviously
‘there because conductor Sir
Charles Groves achieved
excellent precise entries and
exiis -— it was just the words
/
:
that were lost.
As a result, the choir, well
coached by Neville Creed,
became another section of
the orchestra, with the soloists providing the anchor of
:
i
the text.
Ann Mackay, a last-minute
- replacement for Jane Eaglen,
who was taken ill, brought a
warm, rich tone to the sopra-
no
solo,
well
matched by
Penelope Walker as mezzo
soprano.
ki
Richard Morton’s reso-
nant, dark tenor voice also
went well with the full-bod-
ied. mellow, bass of Peter
Rose.
- The work begins with a
wonderful Kyrie, the soloist
expressively reflective and
well done.
-
:
)
Orchestra leader Hugh
‘Bean captured the spirituality
of Beethoven’s setting of the
echoing the choir’s prayer in
transformation of the Host in
an accessible setting before
his soaring violin solo in the
of the complexities
:
the onset
Sanctus.
,
‘of the Gloria and Credo.
The sense of meditation
Beethoven’s orchestral
and prayerfulness reached its
brilliance comes to the fore
height however, in the magiin the Gloria and the philhar- -cal Angus Dei, where hope
monic orchestra relished it.
and fear are expressed
The drama of the mbdulation through dark music, military
to the Gratias agimus was drums rumbling behind the
beautifully done and the end
prayer for peace.
of the movement was very
al e
exciting.
- His setting of the Credo
contains an incredibly com-
plex fugue. Soprano top notes
a little unsure and there
were
was a slight feeling of untogetherness here, but the cen- Et Incarnatus Est was
tral
Choirs and orchestra communicated the introspective
and devotional missa very
effectively, and the performance was a splendid 76th
birthday achievement for Sir
Charles Groves.
Jane
Garrett.