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‘Newbury is very fortunate to have a choir of this calibre’




Newbury Chamber Choir: The Bach Dynasty

at St John’s Church, Newbury

on Saturday, November 30

Review by JULIA ROWNTREE

Musical director Ben de Souza
Musical director Ben de Souza

THE evening began with an excellent performance of Mass in G minor (Missa Breve).

Accompanied by a cohesive chamber orchestra of 16 players, the choir performed the Kyrie with obvious understanding of the contrapuntal structure and style, clearly defining the entries without over emphasis.

Intonation and balance of choral/ orchestral bodies were pleasing. Two things were immediately obvious – the clear, light singing of the choir, particularly the sopranos, and the beautifully sensitive and musical phrasing.

The choir allowed the acoustic of St John’s Church to do the work for them by singing artistically and with quiet projection. It was Isobel Baillie who said ‘never sing louder than lovely’!

The choir did not! This Mass danced its way through and the performance was outstanding.

The Gloria sections were sung by young soloists Chris Murphy (bass-baritone), who sang with conviction and a clear tone, and Morgan Michel (countertenor) who sang with a creamy, beautifully controlled resonance. James Edgeler (tenor) had an open-toned vocal quality and Jenni Harper (soprano) joined in the quartet with a light, floaty tone.

Soprano soloist Jenni Harper
Soprano soloist Jenni Harper

The programme then stepped back a generation to Johann Michael Bach with a choral-like setting competently sung.

“He fell between two stools!” So began a lecture given by a professor of the Royal College of Music referring to CPE Bach.

This comment implies that the Rococo period was merely a gap between the Classical and Romantic periods. However, this was a musical period in its own right.

The choir performed the Magnificat a 4 in C Major by his half-brother Johann Christian Bach. Chris Murphy displayed some lovely ornamentation, typical of this period.

The Gloria section showed that the fugue had not yet gone out of business.

Johann Michael’s ‘Unser Leben währet siebenzig Jahr’, supported by continuo only, showed off Jenni Harper’s clear, light top of the voice as she sang the chorale tune over the choir’s neat ensemble.

The evening, ably directed by Ben de Souza, ended with an exquisite chorale ‘Es ist nun aus mit meinem Leben’ by the older generation Johann Christoph Bach, each verse containing a delightful ascending scale for the sopranos, every time sung with such delicacy.

Newbury is very fortunate to have a choir of this calibre and a director able to put together such an interesting evening.

The well-illustrated printed programme was informative and attractive.

A great evening!

The next concert, In Quadragesima, will be on Saturday, April 5, 7.30pm, at Douai Abbey, Upper Woolhampton, RG7 5TQ



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