Music for Passiontide

Minchinhampton Church

Saturday March 31st

Once again the Cappella Singers were back at Minchinhampton Church for this concert.

Having given such a superb “Carnival in Venice” concert just 6 weeks ago, they had a hard act to follow, but they rose to the occasion and did themselves proud.

The concert opened confidently with the 8-part Super Flumina Babylonis by Victoria, followed by Versa est in Luctum by Lobo. Both pieces beautifully expressed the sadness and mourning of Passiontide, and the multi-layered voices brought a spine tingling emotion, best listened to with eyes closed. Vivaldi changed the mood with a bright start to his setting of Psalm 115.

Another real weepy was the singing of Lord, let me know mine end, by Maurice Greene. The alternating voice parts and lyrical singing were enhanced by the good acoustics of the church. The first half was ended by a rather edgy performance of Wesley’s In exitu Israel. Sharp singing in the upper voices tended to dominate the sound, making a lively vigorous piece even more so.

The second half again didn’t disappoint. The men particularly shone in their opening section in Save us O Lord by Bairstow, with a full rich sound. The Brahms canon Geistliches Lied, is not only a joy to sing but also to listen to with its crunchy suspensions.

This was followed by an organ solo played by an old friend of the Cappella Singers, Mark Blatchly. He not only accompanies the choir in concerts, but also on tours abroad. This time he used the very good organ of Minchinhampton to delight us with a Fantasia and Fugue by Bach, and a Sonata by Elgar.

Hear my prayer by Mendelssohn is usually sung by a boy treble but this time it was performed by Celia McCabe, one of the sopranos, together with the rest of the choir. It was nice to hear it sung with a fuller tone in such an expert manner. She was well able to hold her own with the rest of the choir, well done!

We must thank the vicar of Minchinhampton for the very warm welcome he always gives the choir, and the loyal following they seem to have in Minchinhampton. Though I had had a very hard day in the biting wind, I was very glad I made the effort to go this concert. JG