Saturday 12th December, 2009
'Concert spans most of creative life of Haydn'
Haydn concert, Knaresborough Choral Society (with members of Leeds Symphony Orchestra) - Holy Trinity Church
THE concert in Holy Trinity Church, Knaresborough offered a programme of music that spanned the greater part of the creative life of the composer Haydn, the bi-centenary of whose death is commemorated this year.
The Mass, with its jubilant movements, notably the Gloria, contrasting with the more reflective and poignant Kyrie and Benedictus made a welcome start to the evening.
The balance between orchestral and choral forces was better on this than on former occasions mainly due to the lighter scoring and the disposition to one side of brass and timpani.
There were, however some very moving quieter sections, for instance in the ‘Et incarnatus’ from the Creed to name but one..
The soloists, of course made a very significant contribution to the performance. Heather Jane Taylor’s strong Soprano lead was particularly notable as was Sally Daley’s beautiful rendition of the solo in the Agnus Dei. David Bainbridge did full justice to his allotted sections in his higher register but lacked the power and timbre in the lower range that Haydn’s writing demands.
After the interval followed the 1771 setting of the Salve Regina, the antiphon to Our Lady that has traditionally been sung at the Office of Compline from the fourteenth century to the present day. We do know that Haydn was very devout and there is no doubt in my mind that this, the longest of his three settings of the words needed a good deal of fervour preferably of a Catholic nature to sustain its performance. It must be admitted, however, that at this juncture in the Concert, it would have been difficult to muster any sort of fervour because of the rapidly decreasing temperature.
The concert, attended by a respectably sized audience concluded with a resolutely defiant and resounding “Non confundar in Aeternam” – “Let me never be confounded!”
Richard Darke
Saturday 20th June, 2009
“A full house and wonderful team spirit”
Music for a Summer’s Evening concert, Knaresborough Choral Society Gracious Street Methodist Church
NEW venue, new format, different conductor. What an enjoyable evening this was, and it was enjoyed by a full house at the Gracious Street Methodist Church.
It was a more relaxed informal concert, with the choir ably accompanied by Brian Hoare at the piano.
The acoustic was not quite as good as that of Holy Trinity Church, but this was made up for by the clarity of the performance and volume of the accompaniment, which was just right. The choir also sang several of the songs unaccompanied and held the pitch perfectly throughout.
The programme was very varied, from sacred to secular, serious to humorous.
There were three soloists, all members of the choir, which I think is a very good thing. Neil Robinson sang an amusing ‘Geordie’ song, ‘PotPies and Puddens’ by Robson, as well as the solo in the haunting ‘Rose’. Catherine Ostler sang ‘Come Holy Ghost’ by Attwood, and Carmel Wake sang ‘Oh Take Those Lips Away’ by Dring and the contrasting solo in ‘Can’t Help Loving That Man’ with backing from the choir.
The conductor was Gordon Smith, and it was a pleasure to see, for once, the eyes of the whole choir upon him watching for every nuance, dynamic or dramatic pause, which they carried out to perfection. There seemed to be a wonderful team spirit between them all.
This is a format I would like to see more of.
David C. Ayre
December 11 2004 'Choral Society pulls off triumphant performance' Judas Maccabaeus by George Frideric Handel
Knaresborough Choral Society with members of the Leeds Symphony Orchestra Conducted by Martin Binks HOLY Trinity Church, Knaresborough, was the place to be on Saturday evening, December 11, when Knaresborough Choral Society presented Handel's Judas Maccabaeus with the able assistance of members of the Leeds Symphony Orchestra and soloists, Diane Peacock, soprano, Sally Daley, mezzo soprano, Graham Webber, tenor, and the rich bass voice of David Bainbridge.
The acoustics of Holy Trinity are excellent for this type of performance and the very solid sound produced by the chorus more than complemented the orchestra. There is always a danger of the orchestra swamping the singers, but in this case it did not happen, even when the trumpets joined the ensemble for 'Sound an Alarm' in part two. This was, in part, due to the excellent conducting of Martin Binks.
The continuo for the solo parts was beautifully supplied by Jonathan Newcombe on the electronic organ and harpsichord with the assistance of Tina Thrippleton on the cello. The highlights, to my mind, were the choruses of which Handel was a master, especially the triumphant choruses such as the well known 'See, The Conquering Hero Comes'. This started with a trio of three of the Choral Society's, own members, Carniel Wake, Sue Hale and Christine Willoughby, who made a very pleasing sound. And when the full chorus joined them the effect was magnificent.
I have always found Handel's music most tuneful and dramatic with rich harmonies in the choruses and masses of decoration in the solo parts. I'm sure Handel couldn't have been a singer or he would have known that they need the chance to take breath occasionally.
The part of Simon, brother of Judas, was sung beautifully by David Bainbridge, while the part of Judas Maccabaeus was sung by Graham Webber.
The two ladies sang the parts of various Israelitish men and women as well as several delightful duets. Sally Daley opened part three as the priest, singing the beautiful 'Father of Heaven' in her silky alto voice.
Although the programme was quite long and the seats quite hard, the time seemed to fly by as this excellent performance was enjoyed by all.
David C Ayre
