De Montfort Hall, Leicester

Sat 18 Oct 2008

Arnold - 4 English Dances (1st set)

Rutter - To Every Thing There is a Season

Vaughan Williams - The Lark Ascending

Dvorak - Te Deum

Rutter - Mass of the Children

Leicester Philharmonic Choir

Marylebone Camerata

John Rutter & Richard Dacey - Conductors

Joanne Lunn - Soprano

Jeremy Huw Williams - baritone

CBSO Youth Chorus

LEICESTER MERCURY

23/10/08

MASS OF THE CHILDREN

DE MONTFORT HALL, LEICESTER

SAT 18 OCT 2008

REVIEW BY PETER COLLETT

Vitality and rhythm along with peace and tranquillity

THE first half, conducted by chorus master Richard Dacey, began with a gentle lilt - four English Dances by Malcolm Arnold played by the Marylebone Camerata.

John Rutter's To Everything There is a Season, beautifully conveyed a sense of peace and tranquillity. Word clarity was beautiful.

A deep silence reigned as loana Petcu-Colan performed the gently soaring violin solo from Vaughan Williams The Lark Ascending.

Dvorak's Te Deum had a vitality and rhythm from the chorus, while soloists Joanne Lunn (soprano) and Jeremy Huw Williams (bass) added emotion. Balance between choir and orchestra improved towards the end of the piece. A slightly less English choral sound might have been appropriate.

Mass of the Children was conducted by the composer, John Rutter. The Agnus Dei, in particular, conveyed a real sense of expectation, concluding with an ethereal setting of William Blake's poem Little Lamb Who Made Thee for children's voices.

Stunning and well balanced.

De Montfort Hall, Leicester

Sat 17 May 2008

Mozart - Requiem

Mozart - Piano Concerto No 25 in C

Haydn - Te Deum

Leicester Philharmonic Choir

Marylebone Camerata

Hilary Davan Wetton - Conductor

Erica Eloff - soprano

Louise Poole - mezzo-soprano

Adrian Ward - tenor

Hakan Vramsmo - bass

Chris Lee - piano

Jonathan Gregory - organ

LEICESTER MERCURY

21/05/08

MESSIAH

DE MONTFORT HALL, LEICESTER

SAT 17 MAY 2008

REVIEW BY JOYCE PARKIN

A SPRIGHTLY PERFORMANCE OF GLORIOUS CHORAL WORK

Mozart in May was the title of the latest performance given by the Leicester Philharmonic Choir. They were accompanied by the Marylebone Camerata, and Hilary Davan Wetton was the superb conductor.
The evening began with Haydn's Te Deum. This glorious choral work was given a light and sprightly performance.
Chris Lee was the soloist in Mozart's Piano Concerto No25 in C major, K503. This work had been largely ignored until 1934 although Mozart himself had often performed it as a soloist. Chris Lee gave us a delicate and precise account. The principal item of the evening was Mozart's wonderful well-known Requiem. Soloists were Erica Eloff (soprano), Louise Poole (mezzo soprano), Adrian Ward (tenor) and Hakan Vramsmo (baritone) with Jonathan Gregory playing the organ.
The choir was on good form and, as ever, diction, pitch and ensemble were excellent, giving some lovely moments. I particularly enjoyed the Lacrimosa and Domine Jesu with its magical pianissimos and the disciplined "quam olin abrahae".
The soloists gave us a glorious Benedictus.
A truly melodic concert.

Fauré Requiem & Passiontide Music

St James the Greater Church, Leicester

Sat 15 Mar 2008

Fauré - Requiem

Dvorak - Te Deum

Williamson - Procession of Palms

Jenkins - Benedictus (Armed Man)

Tavener - Song for Athene

Leicester Philharmonic Choir

Richard Dacey - Conductor

Sarah Stephens - soprano

Damian Carter - Baritone

Jeremy Rouse - Organ

Magnificat & Carols

St James the Greater Church, Leicester

Thurs 20 Dec 2007

John Rutter - Magnificat

Selection of Xmas Carols

Leicester Philharmonic Choir

Richard Dacey - Conductor

Sarah Stephens - soprano

Jeremy Rouse - organ

John Aldridge - compère

Messiah (arr. Mozart)

De Montfort Hall, Leicester

Thurs 6 Dec 2007

Handel - Messiah arr. Mozart

Leicester Philharmonic Choir

London Mozart Players

Alexander Shelley - Conductor

Kerstin Pohle - soprano

Patricia Orr - mezzo-soprano

Ben Johnson - tenor

Dawid Kimberg - bass

LEICESTER MERCURY

10/12/07

MESSIAH

DE MONTFORT HALL, LEICESTER

SAT 06 DEC 2007

CRISP MESSIAH ENDS ON A REAL HIGH

This year's Messiah experience was provided by the London Mozart Players accompanied by the Leicester Philharmonic Choir.
This is a most exuberant performance of an arrangement by Mozart which trips along with great tempi throughout. There was delicacy and crispness.
Alexander Shelley conducted and I loved his style.
He had great rapport with everyone and got instant reaction to his requests, with great effect - superb differential in dynamics, giving some lovely moments.
Ben Johnson, tenor, gave us an elongated "Comfort ye" but his "Every Valley" was crisp.
Bass David Kimberg used his rich voice to give us a strong "Why do the nations?"
The mezzo-soprano Patricia Orr was superb in "O thou that tellest" and the soprano Kerstin Pohle, with her clear voice, gave us superb examples of "He shall feed his flock" and "I know that my Redeemer liveth".
The choir had excellent ensemble, full toned, balance and gave us very good diction.
This chamber orchestra, as always, was excellent (with a tiny glitch) and a superb accompaniment. The organist was Jonathan Gregory.
Of course, the amazing climaxes were a glorious "Hallelujah Chorus" and the final "Amen Chorus". Such a high!

Belshazzar's Feast

De Montfort Hall, Leicester

Sat 27 Oct 2007

Walton - Belshazzar's Feast

Walton - March for a History of the English-Speaking Peoples

Walton - Henry V Suite arr. Sargent

Butterworth - Banks of Green Willow

Bruch - Violin Concerto

Leicester Philharmonic Choir

English Festival Orchestra

Hilary Davan Wetton - Conductor

Heather Badke - violin

Jacques Imbrailo - baritone

Review by Peter Collett

11/12/07

Sir William Walton's March for a History of the English Speaking Peoples may have a mouthful of a title, but provided a rousing start to an enjoyable concert.

Walton's atmospheric score for Henry V gave an opportunity for the two hundred or so singers of the combined Leicester Philharmonic Choir and the Derby Choral Union to build from a subtle pianissimo to robust fortissimo, which they did expertly.

Banks of Green Willow by Butterworth and Bruch's Violin Concerto showcased a talented English Festival Orchestra under the baton of Hilary Davan Wetton. Violin soloist Heather Badke's performance was stunning, with particular clarity in the first and second movements.

While much of Walton's music has a certain "Englishness" about it, the large scale choral work, Belshazzar's Feast, very much has the drama and outrage of a biblical Babylon about it.

Baritone soloist Jacques Imbrailo gave a strong performance and  Walton's orchestral scoring was used to the full, including organ, giving the King of Instruments the chance to gloriously underpin the sound with rich bass. Sections of brass in the over stage balconies made for vibrant fanfares.

The powerful orchestra made the choirs work hard, although particularly in the final hymn of praise, the choirs soared triumphantly to be the crowning glory.

Dream of Gerontius

De Montfort Hall, Leicester

Sat 15 May 2007

Elgar - Dream of Gerontius

Leicester Philharmonic Choir

with Derby Choral Union

Philharmonia Orchestra

Sir Andrew Davis - Conductor

LEICESTER MERCURY

18/05/07

PHILHARMONIA ORCHESTRA AND LEICESTER PHILHARMONIC CHOIR

ELGAR - DREAM OF GERONTIUS

DE MONTFORT HALL, WED 16 MAY 2007

GREAT PERFORMANCE OF ELGAR CLASSIC

The Philharmonia Orchestra gave a fine performance of Elgar's masterpiece, The Dream of Gerontius, together with Leicester Philharmonic Choir.
The eminent conductor was Sir Andrew Davis, who seemed to have the entire orchestra at his fingertips.

Soloists on this occasion were the glorious mezzo-soprano Jane Irwin, the wonderful tenor James Gilchrist and the rich bass baritone voice of Peter Sidhom.

This proved to be a most memorable performance at De Montfort Hall. With the stunning music of Elgar, the amazing Philharmonia and the Leicester "Phil", how could it have been otherwise?

The Dream, a work of passion, tells of the journey of the soul from life to death, the words of the piece being from a poem by Cardinal Newman.

Gerontius asks his friend to pray for him as he passes over and, having gone to sleep, is welcomed by the angels before judgement.

With its lines of beautiful interwoven melody throughout, we heard glorious swathes of sound, the choir at times angelic or demonic, delicate or powerful, but always in control in this emotive piece.

Praise to the Holiest was a wonderful climax. The end was magical, completed by the stunning silence.

A complete success, the mood encapsulated.