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LEICESTER MERCURY 26/03/09
LEICESTER PHILHARMONIC CHOIR DE MONTFORT HALL, LEICESTER
SAT 21 REVIEW BY MALCOLM WARNER This was a curiously structured concert. The first half, of barely 30 minutes, was conducted by Hilary Davan Wetton. A resplendent performance of Finlandia, from Marylebone Camerata, opened proceedings. The addition of the choir provided novelty, although it was difficult to tell if the choir was singing in English or the original Finnish. Chris Lee then played Shostakovich's second piano concerto. It was an enjoyable reading of an enjoyable work, but the piano was thin-toned and clangourous in loud passages. A much longer second half followed, with Karl Jenkins's recent Stabat Mater under the composer's baton. Scored for choir and two soloists - Wendy Dawn Thompson (mezzo) and Belinda Sykes (soprano and dudduk, a cross in sound between an oboe and kazoo) - the work is in a variety of languages with the usual Latin text. Again, the languages were indistinct. Middle Eastern instruments provided some ear-catching sonorities, although it is difficult not to think the work is heavy on influences and light on concision. |
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