A review by Jeff Hyde:
Saturday evening’s concert (18 May) in St Mary’s Church was a magnificent performance by The Reading Phoenix Choir of a programme of mainly unaccompanied choral music from the 12th century to the present day, conducted by Christopher Hann.
Few will have heard Hildegard von Bingen so effectively rendered in the vastness of the building’s hard walls, stone pillars and with too many empty seats! Profits for Macmillan Cancer Support lost out as did those who did not attend. Still, for the small audience that barely outnumbered the thirty singers, they were treated to pure soprano top notes and the rounded full timbre of the deepest of basses. Both diction and dynamics (loud and soft) were highly effective.
The choir was not only of superb quality in every one of twenty-two works sung, but to have done so without the use of scores was worthy of any professional choral group. The balance of voices was achieved by a great deal of practice and the skilled repositioning of the individual singers apt for the piece being performed. Indeed, on two occasions, the singers were spread around the perimeter of the audience, something fraught with risk, but on this occasion carried out with perfect timing and sound.
The first half included Samuel Wesley, Mendelssohn, Bruckner up to the 19th century. The second half by modern composers, many still alive. The final encore was not only unaccompanied but enveloped the audience without needing a conductor. If this choir visits Marlborough again, it is too good to miss.
Jeff Hide
World premiere exploring the life of Fanny Mendelssohn opens at The Watermill Theatre
