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Sunday 20th June 2010 at Loughborough Endowed Schools School of Music Songs and Sonnets Take a conventional choral group: the Leicestershire Chorale. Choose Music for Shakespeare and his period, and you’d expect something ordinary. But add jazz pianist Nicholas Scott-Burt and double bassist Pete Moore, nine music students from the Loughborough Endowed Schools (LES) and conductor, Tom Williams, who is also an exceptional counter tenor, and you have a concert which delighted the packed audience in the Music Centre of the LES. It was a triumph: a beautifully
balanced concert, with some very good singing indeed. It began with
George Shearing’s (remember ‘Fascinatin’ Rhythm’?)
5 settings of Shakespearean songs in jazz style. The first half ended
with the most unusual setting by Jaako Mäntyjärvi of the witches’ exchanges
in Macbeth , ‘Double, double, toil and trouble’, complete
with cackles and stamping of feet. In the second half, three Vaughan
Williams Shakespeare songs were given a fine interpretation, the choir
managing the shifting harmonies in ‘The cloud-capped towers’,
and the rapid passages in ‘Over hill, over dale’ with accuracy
and élan. It was lovely watching the Chorale obviously enjoying
the concert greatly.
Brilliant with the Bard’s words With a smile
in their voices, Leicestershire Chorale joined forces with pianist
Nick Scott-Burt and Pete Moore on double bass, for Songs and
Sonnets, a concert of Shakespeare’s words set to music. Little known in the UK, Australian composer Arthur Young wrote four unpublished songs for Cleo Laine and exchanging his conductor’s baton for his wonderful alto voice, Tom Williams gave a fine performance of this attractive jazz music. Members of Loughborough Endowed Schools Chamber choir joined the Chorale for several numbers, an opportunity which they clearly enjoyed and made the most of. Jaako Mäntyärvi’s Come Away Death had a religious feel
to some of the harmonies and intonations, enclosed in a light jazz wrapping.
His Double, Double, Toil and Trouble was brilliant in the terrifying
madness of its recreation of the witches from Macbeth – a simply
stunning performance. Another show in which the brilliant Chorale displayed its versatility, sheer musicality and ability to present an excellent concert around a theme. Peter Collett, Leicester Mercury, 23rd June, 2010
Saturday 28th March 2010 at Holy Cross Priory, Leicester Christ is the Morning Star Music to take the world’s cares away The beautifully reverberant acoustic of Holy Cross Priory church provided an ideal setting for the Leicestershire Chorale’s concert, Christ is the Morning Star. It was a wonderfully reflective selection of music for Passiontide, which took the mind far away form the cares of this world. Tallis’s Lamentations of Jeremiah the Prophet and Byrd’s Ave Verum Corpus both have a rich musical texture and the performances created an intense peacefulness.
Sunday 28th February 2010 at De Montfort Hall, Leicester Youth Finds A Voice It was a marvellous sight - the De Montfort Hall platform crowded with young singers giving their all in Poulenc's Gloria, in this year's Youth Finds a Voice concert organised by the Leicestershire Chorale. It would be hard to imagine a more engaging personality to lead this event than conductor Tom Williams, his work with the Chorale is consistently outstanding and here he showed himself to be equally inspiring. The singing of the massed choir had tremendous enthusiasm and spirit and the playing of the Bardi Symphony Orchestra was as impressive as ever: Soprano Rita Cullis provided the finishing touch with radiant solo singing. The first half consisted of solo spots from the Chorale (exemplary accounts of Monteverdi and Arvo Part) and five of the participating school choirs. Neil Crutchley, Leicester Mercury 2nd March
Leicestershire Chorale ~~ Registered Charity No. 1007773 ~~ secretary@leicestershirechorale.org.uk |