Harpenden Choral Society
   Registered charity 275986
President: Hon. Alderman Chris Oxley

Handel’s ‘Messiah’, often thought to be the most popular and well known piece of classical music is, according to conductor John Andrews, “so familiar, often dismissed, but frequently returned to” and its performance last Saturday (1st December 2012) in High Street Methodist Church proved its popularity in many ways. Performing to a capacity audience both Choir and Orchestra were on top form and a credit to their conductor.  The pace was brisk and crisp throughout so much so that I felt almost breathless at the final chord but incredibly, in spite of such brisk tempi no accuracy of notes or phrasing seemed to be compromised.

The Kings Sinfonietta opened with the Overture, playing with great warmth of tone and continued throughout giving reliable support to the Choir. Particularly impressive was the balance achieved not only between players and singers but between vocal lines giving a clean thrilling sound with accurate pitch and discreet use of dynamics. I enjoyed the slick pace of the work and any doubt that singers may stumble over the many semi-quaver runs was, on the whole, unfounded.

Soloists, Natasha Jouhl, soprano; Gillian McIlwraith, alto; Thomas Raskin, tenor and Grant Doyle, baritone greatly contributed to the polished performance with excellent presence of drama and pathos when required.

Preceding the concert was a talk by John Andrews in which he gave a scholarly and informative background to the writing of the oratorio, outlining the situation in 18^th century English social and religious life - interesting details putting into context some of the reasons why Handel chose the oratorio form in preference to the more popular opera.

Harpenden Choral Society and The Kings Sinfonietta thrilled their audience, giving a performance they can quite rightly be proud of and credit once more rests with John Andrews who directed his singers and players with great control and flair. A successful and enjoyable evening. 

Malcolm Thatcher - Herts Advertiser December 2012

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Our concert on June 16th 2012 was not reviewd

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SOCIETY BRINGS DELIGHT WITH SELLOUT CONCERT

HARPENDEN Choral Society is to be congratulated on the concert given to a capacity audience last Saturday at the town's Methodist Church.

The evening was a delight throughout and praise is well deserved for presenting such a challenging and exciting programme.

Conductor John Andrews knew what he wanted from his singers and players and they responded to many demanding challenges with seemingly consummate ease.

The programme got off to a great start with one of the most atmospheric though lesser known of Vaughan Williams' choral works, Dona Nobis Pacem, written in 1936.

Vaughan V\/llliams had witnessed first hand the horrors of the First World War and, with the rest of the country, was facing with equal horror the approaching threat of another conflict. For its text he selected verses from the Bible and Mass, three poems of Walt Whitman and part of a political speech from the time of the Crimean War.

Both choir and orchestra portrayed this admirably, creating moods of anguish and dread accompanied by trumpet calls and drums beats, contrasted with a longing for peace in moments of serene optimism,

Soloists Sarah Redgwick, soprano, and Simon Lobelson, baritone, sang superbly. The rafters literally shook with excitement in the dramatic passages and yet contrasting quieter sections wafted across the audience.

There was good ensemble singing from the choir and apart from a couple of raw top notes from the sopranos in an exposed section in Part III the work was well received as the applause and cheers from an equally impressed audience indicated.

By way of contrast. The King's Sinfonietta gave a warm and relaxed performance of the deservedly popular Pavane by Gabriel Faure. The central  section has some challenging bars where the mood changes slightly with a sequence of melodic and harmonic climaxes but these were played with complete ease and the performance was enjoyable.

The programme ended with a work from another French composer. Francis Poulenc wrote his Gloria for Chorus and Soprano solo in 1959 towards the end of his life. He makes use of contrasting moods, not always easy for the performers to pick up quickly, but again the performance was enjoyable with moments of beautiful singing and playing. A more audible sense of fun from the choir would have improved the Laudamus te and Domine Fili unigenite movements. Sarah Redgwick tackled her solo part well, coping admirably with many awkward intervals and challengingly long phrases.

The weakest part was the opening of the final section Qui sedes where the choir seemed to be surprised by the opening forte passage. Nevertheless a quick recovery was made.

This was a concert of which Harpenden Choral Society, The King's Sinfonietta and conductor John Andrews can be deservedly proud.

MALCOLM THATCHER Herts Advertiser 22nd March 2012