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Article from Henley Standard, 16th November 2007
CHAMBER'S PROGRAMME PROVED A POPULAR CHOICE
The popularity of Goring Chamber Choir's choice of
programme for Songs of Love and
Loss
was apparent from the packed and appreciative
audience in St. Thomas's church in
Goring on Saturday evening.
The choir, conducted by Frances Brewitt-Taylor,
made a very good start with a selection of well known English, Welsh, and Irish
folk songs. Each was performed with great
musicality, and the blend of parts
was excellent.
Janet Pound, the choir's regular accompanist, performed Un Salut d'Amor by
Coleridge Taylor and Lost Happiness by
Mendelssohn with a most accomplished and
sensitive interpretation that was worthy of any
international concert hall.
Between the two piano solos the tenors
and basses sang
Lamento della Ninfa
by
Monteverdi with soprano soloist Tanya
Houghton and a splendid 'harpsichord'
accompaniment. The piece portrays a distressed maiden lamenting
her faithless love, with the men's chorus sympathetically commenting
on her situation in Greek chorus
style.
This spirited and well prepared piece
showed the choir's ability to ably tackle
intricate cross rhythms and (intentional)
discords. Tanya Houghton's mellow voice
provided the perfect foil to the
men's chorus, and she
performed the emotion of the distressed maiden most convincingly.
Three contrasting pieces from the whole
choir brought the first half to a close. My
spirit sang all day
by Finzi was followed by
Cangiano's arrangement of Te
quiero by Favero, in which
Stan Lawrence and Mary
Rollinson performed the extremely difficult solos admirably, with both
soloists using highly skilled vocal techniques and being
rewarded with spontaneous applause.
The first part of the evening ended with
Arthur Sullivan's truly beautiful and poignant
The long day closes, which the choir sang
with great sensitivity.
The second half of the programme was
devoted to the popular and well loved
Requiem by Gabriel Faure, which was accompanied by Michael Howell
on the organ; Robin Wills providing the baritone solos in the
Offertory
and Libera me.
The beautiful soprano solo Pie Jesu was sung by
Lesley Lambert, and her pure clarity of tone perfectly suited the piece.
Songs of Love and Loss
was a concert that
had much to offer emotionally, and created
a fittingly reflective mood in
preparation for Remembrance Sunday.
Goring Chamber Choir's Christmas Concert is on Thursday, December 20th at St.
Thomas's Church in Goring, and you would
be well advised to get your
tickets early.
S.M.
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