Archive Page "Remembrance Concert 2019"
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Remembrance Concert - 09 11 19
Remembrance Concert:
Bernstein's Chichester Psalms, Brown's Requiem & 4 Motets
This performance of Peter Brown's "Requiem" was a world première commission for ADCS for soloists, choir, organ, harp and timpani. What beautiful music!
On 9th November, 2019 the choir gave their Remembrance concert in the beautiful setting of St. Paul’s Church, Alnwick. We were singing Leonard Bernstein’s “Chichester Psalms”, a world première of Peter Brown’s “Requiem” and four motets. I don’t suppose professional singers would admit to being a little bit anxious about singing Bernstein’s “Chichester Psalms”, but if pressed, I imagine any of the choir would have freely confessed to being very apprehensive!
As usual we had three rehearsals in the week leading up to the concert, to enjoy the acoustics of the church and practise with the organ, and the percussion and harp soloists. Would we be able to rise to the challenge of the “Chichester Psalms” and do justice to the beautiful, new “Requiem” which Peter Brown wrote for us? Well, to be honest, each of the choir’s four sections had their moments in the “Chichester Psalms” but it didn’t lessen the impact this work had on its listeners. We loved singing Peter Brown’s “Requiem”: it is a beautiful piece, which deserves the praise so easily given to modern composers such as Anersen, Jenkins or Whitacre.
Though some came to experience Bernstein’s masterpiece, “Chichester Psalms”, the choir sang Peter Brown’s “Requiem” with awe: in both pieces, explosions of sound flow on to peaceful sections of lyrical beauty & rest. Thank you, Peter! Our own vocal soloists were excellent; I particularly enjoyed Vicky Johnson’s singing throughout and her duet with Frances Buckingham was simply perfect. Janet Bennett played the harp, the key instrument in Bernstein’s work with sheer class, enjoying the intricacy of the music and evoking a sense of wistful longing; Gerard Rundell triumphed on the percussion, giving us incredible layers of sound, from a single reverberating note on the triangle to an overwhelming wall of sound which closed the first movement of the “Psalms”; Alan Gidney showed his expertise again on the organ and Peter Brown kept us going and was just brilliant. The audience were really appreciative and some were very knowledgeable…..
Fear and faith ……. The music was powerful and deeply moving, a fitting way to honour the dead and comfort the grieving. A remembrance concert with a message of hope that people will dwell together in unity, Yaḥad – ‘together’, a plea for peace.
The Concert Programme:
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