Christmas Classics: December 2007

Full marks to the RRCS for content and presentation at their excellent Christmas Classics concert. It was billed as "glorious festive music to capture the spirit of Christmas" and a full house attendance proved the point. The choir brought out the very best of John Rutter's Magnificat, the Irish soprano Sadhbh Dennedy singing the solo roles with a free-flowing ease that made listening a joy. This fine example of modern English choral music is now performed all around the world.

Andrew Laing, who leads the Surrey ProMusica orchestra, turned soloist to deliver a technically flawless rendering of Ralph Vaughan Williams' The Lark Ascending, a thoughtful and delicate violin piece which evokes the composer's admiration and appreciation for this string instrument.

A group of well-motivated students from nearby St. Bedes School had made significant progress after only two workshop sessions with conductor Peter Farrant to prepare their performance of two delightful compositions, Christmas-Tide and For Him all Stars have Shone by another emerging English composer Bob Chilcott. It is so good to see young persons singing joyfully and it was a great idea to include them, so neatly attired, in the evening's programme.

The finale brought Cecilia McDowall to the rostrum to introduce her cantata Christus Natus Est based on five Christmas carols this award-winning composer wrote in 2002. The mix of baroque style harmonies and soaring descants with tuneful carols provides an inventive approach to Christmas music, superbly brought alive by the choir, with solo phrases from the versatile soprano Sadhbh Dennedy. An innovative inclusion to a well-ordered programme. Together with a sprinkling of carols for audience participation, the programme was well balanced and sufficiently varied to bring a high value occasion for all concerned.

Music director Peter Farrant and regular accompanist Ray Maulkin had clearly rehearsed keenly with the choir, whose driving enthusiasm traditionally realises a high standard.

Their performance was well supported by a sizeable Surrey ProMusica who gave quality, depth and variation.

Valuable support by sponsors Legal & General, Josephine Baker Trust and RVW Trust was gratefully acknowledged.

Review by Simon Ames of the Surrey Mirror. Our thanks go to the Surrey Mirror team for their kind permission to reproduce this review.

Essential Classics: April 2008

A full house greeted the Reigate and Redhill Choral Society (RRCS) at their spring concert in Reigate.

The choir, looking resplendent, launched into the Stanford Te Deum with gusto. The dramatic organ introduction gave them a launch pad and their good diction meant we heard every word.

In a concert with an eclectic mix of music, the choir performed the beautiful Pie Jesu from Karl Jenkins' Requiem. They will be performing the Requiem complete at Dorking Halls in June, so look out for that. Although the sopranos seemed to lack the energy for the top notes in this piece they more than made up for it in the King of All Ages by Paul Isom. The choir seemed to find an extra level of sound and obviously enjoyed performing this piece as they produced a lovely balance and excellend communication.

The main piece of the first half was Poulenc's wonderful Gloria and unfortunately the choir didn't quite seem to have the joy that one would expect from this piece. The rhythm ran away from them slightly and some of the tuning wasn't quite there.

The second half of the concert began with Be Thou My Vision by Bob Chilcott which had a lovely beginning sung by soprano Kathryn Sargent and the choir seemed much more together. Bob Chilcott's Little Jazz Mass has a youthful exhuberance which the choir brought out in spades.

One of the highlights of the evening was a performance from a small group of pupils from St. Bede's School. Beautifully balanced singing combined with natural enjoyment took the concert to a different level which the choir picked up on with their own spirituals at the end, by far the best singing of the evening from the RRCS. The style of the spirituals really suited the choir and they sang with a brightness and more even tone than we had heard previously.

The evening ended with an uplifting performance of Every Time I Feel The Spirit.

Review by Sarah-Jane Dale of the Surrey Mirror. Our thanks go to the Surrey Mirror team for their kind permission to reproduce this review.

Essential Classics: June 2008

Reigate and Redhill Choral Society's Summer Classics concert promised a "stunning all-British performance, packed full of energy and drama."

Indeed, there were stunned gasps from the audience when the curtains drew back to reveal the dancers of Reigate School. The twelve Year 10 GCSE students were graceful and confident in their performance to John Ireland's A Downland Suite.

Composer Howard Blake, best known for his enchanting music to The Snowman, introduced his Songs of Truth and Glory, set to the words of the English poet George Herbert.

The first movement (The Call) begins with the tenors in unison. Getting the men to watch is always a concern for a conductor. Tonight, the men began with confidence and I am pleased to say that in all their exposed performances throughout the evening it was not just the tops of their heads that I was watching, which is often the norm as men are generally notoriously bad at watching the conductor, meaning the audience can't see their faces.

Blake's setting is mainly for full choir, with a brief soprano solo in the second movement, beautifully performed by Elizabeth Roberts.

Composer and conductor having taken their bows, there followed a contrasting setting of Herbert's poetry in Ralph Vaughan Williams' Five Mystical Songs. I ws surprised the concert programme made no reference to RVW being a Dorking resident, indeed instrumental in the construction of the Halls in which we sat.

However, the choir paid tribute to him in this the 50th year since his death, in their tender accompaniment of the delightful, sensitive, baritone soloist Christopher Foster, rising to an exhilirating finish with the Antiphon Let all the World in Every Corner Sing.

Karl Jenkins' Requiem is a challenging work - the familiar Latin movements, interlaced with five Japanese haiku poems. The Lacrimosa was undoubtedly the highlight, with the delicate harp and light-fingered drumming complimented by the soprano soaring an octave above the well-balanced choir.

If I were to make one small criticism of the evening's performance, it would be that the dynamic range could have been improved, but Peter Farrant did indeed lead an energetic and dramatic performance.

Review by Jo Forrest of the Surrey Mirror. Our thanks go to the Surrey Mirror team for their kind permission to reproduce this review.

For further information: call 01737 772811 or email info@rrcs.org.uk
	Reigate & Redhill Choral Society is affiliated to Making Music: The National Federation of Music Societies and gratefully acknowledges support received from the Borough of Reigate & Banstead Arts Council. Registered Charity No 280195

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