12 Sumey Advertiser 7th November 2008
GC
final “Libera me”, we had forces
capable of providing all that
Verdi could have required.
Jeremy Backhouse melded
these forces together into a
seamless whole. Every musical
nuance was at his fingertips
and the way he held Verdi’s
pauses to allow the echo to die
and to hold the emotional
moment
was
beautifully
crafted.
Although a requiem mass,
this is not a work to be contained within church worship.
It is operatic in concept and
needs soloists who can live
their music in a way not usually found or needed in the performance of most ‘sacred
works. Soprano Claire Seaton,
‘mezzo-soprano
Susanna
Spicer,
tenor
Andrew
Mackenzie-Wicks
and bass
Michael Bundy were an excep-
.
Verdi Requiem at
Guildford Cathedral
tionally well balanced quartet,
~with well blended ensemble
singing.
The Brandenburg Sinfonia,
_except for two momentary
THE Verdi Requiem can well be : lapses in violin intonation,
played with verve and with
considered his supreme masterpiece. It draws together his
deepest emotions and all the
musical knowledge attained
through composing 26 operas.
It was first performed in St
Marks Basilica, Venice and the
performance
Cathedral
in
was
Guildford
a
worthy
SucCCessor.
sympathy.
The three choirs sounded as
if they always sang together.
Their choral discipline was
excellent and they rose to every
challenge of dynamic, range
and emotion.
This
was
a
performance
which transported the listener
Vivace Chorus, the Freiburg
and as the soprano soloist
soared up to her final double
Bachchor, and Romsey Choral
Society, four excellent soloists
and the Brandenburg Sinfonia
under the baton of Jeremy
- Backhouse ensured that, from
the breathtaking pianissimo of
forte top C then almost imperceptibly joined the orchestra
four bars later to gently
crescendo into C major, we
were left,
performers and
audience alike, after all the sor-
the opening, through the vast
ranges of dynamic and emotional intensity which culminate in the utter stillness of the
row and the yearning and the
The
combined
choirs
of
switchback of emotions with
the breath of hope.
»
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