The magnificent interior of St John’s Church a fitting setting for Newbury’s own Chamber Choir

Newbury Chamber Choir Concert

at St John’s Church Newbury

on Saturday, November 18

Review by Barnaby Wheeler

The magnificent interior of St John’s Church was a fitting setting for this performance of the Requiem Mass by the Spanish composer Tomás Luis de Vitoria written in 1603 to mark the death of his patron, the archduchess Maria of Austria. This sparse and ascetic Renaissance choral music, normally unaccompanied, is extremely demanding to sing and Newbury Chamber Choir’s conductor Ben de Souza, wisely opted to support the singers with chamber organ accompaniment, played with great sensitivity by Georgie Robertson.

The Mass is preceded by a lesson from Job, railing against the oppression of his God, sad music gently sung by the full choir. The cantor passages within the following seven sections were beautifully voiced by choir member Laura Vincent, sometimes joined by the upper voices in unison. The choir sang the Introitus with particular clarity and pitch was well maintained through the stately Kyrie.

The Mass concluded with the Communion, Lux Eterna and an unexpectedly modest ‘Amen’ which took some audience members by surprise. It turns out that this is editorial, enabling a performance to exclude the extra-liturgical motet, Versa est in luctum.

Jump forward two centuries to the youthful Schubert’s Rondo in A for Violin and Strings performed with terrific power and sustained melodic phrasing by Madeleine Pickering, supported by a string orchestra brought together by Ben de Souza.

Schubert’s instinctive love of song shines through this piece which is at the same time a well constructed and tightly disciplined piece of chamber music even though it cannot resist rising to some great romantic climaxes along the way. The ensemble was watertight and Madeleine filled the church with the fine toned voice of her instrument.

This piece served as an introduction to the Mass which Schubert wrote in 1815 but never heard performed. The Choir immediately grasped the Kyrie with confidence and authority, clearly enjoying its melodic lines.

Solos for soprano Ellie Hargreaves, baritone Greg Bannan and tenor, the choir’s own Gordon Fry, punctuated the Gloria, Benedictus and the dramatic Angus Dei, increasing the impression that one was at the opera house rather than in church!