Cathedral performance

Press, 21 July 1980, Page 4

Cathedral performance

By

DAVID CHILDS

Instrumentalists and sing-, ers enjoyperforming in the| Cathedral - of the Blessed Sacrament. The -resonant! acoustics of the'building impart a bloom and vitality to j the sound that encourages performers to give of their I best. The .'blurring' of detail can be easily over-! looked when the perform-i ances are vital and alive. I The works presented 'yester-! day afternoon by • the Uni-1 versity of- Canterbury choirs • and ’orchestra exploited to; the fullthe fine properties? of the building.' -... 4 Antonio Bon'oncinia’s “Stabat Mater” is a skilful set-, ting of a now familiar text.,! There are many unexpected . harmonic and melodic turns, the work- being characterised over-all by long drawn-out ; phrases — a severe test for,; the singers — and poignant; chromatic passages dictated ; by the ; emotionally charged i text. 1

1 Under Heath Lees’s assured direction the - University ■Singers and orchestra'gave a ! committed and stylish reading of the work. The choir ; sounded some-what ■ lighti weight in the building but -succeeded in producing a (clear, fresh sound underlined by firm rhythmic control. i Patricia Middleton, suffer|ing from a throat infection, ■ must have been relieved that i she did not have much to Ido. But she. did what was I required of her more than (adequately. Judy Bellinghatn •was in good voice, bringing jto her, part- a , warmth of ‘tone and a sure sense of i phrase. Franz Kney and Martin Thomas acquitted -themselves very creditably ,in the tenor and bass arias. ! In the second, half of the concert the. University Singers and the University Choir joined forces for a perform■ance of Britten’s cantata, (“Saint Nicholas.” It is an absorbing work; scored for; solo tenor, chorus, a gallery ' choir of female voices, piano?:

duet, organ, string orchestra, and percussion. Martin Setchell- co-ordi-nated and controlled his forces with firmness and skill,;judging his tempi well and eliciting from his singers a freshness of sound and a rhythmic control that bespoke a thorough knowledge of the score. The University orchestra, led by Chloe Moon, projected the percussive sonorities of the Britten score- with clarity and precision. ..Franz Kney was. most impressive in the difficult role of Saint Nicholas. He made light of the work’s considerable technical demands and sang with apparently effortless delivery and a fine sense of style. ■ The audience appreciated the opportunity to indulge in a little hymn singing towards the end. That they entered so readily into the spirit of the performance is a measure of their appreciation of a very enjoyable afternoon’s music-making.