Review

Haydn Missa in Angustiis ('Nelson Mass')
Mozart Coronation Mass
​Handel Zadok the Priest
​(March 2016)

There was an excellent turn-out for this concert and the choir was on good form.  It was interesting to have two masses in the same concert and to note the different approaches of the two Classical composers to the same words.  Handel's Zadok the Priest rounded off the concert in regal mode as befits the Queen's 90th Anniversary Year.  The soloists Héloïse West, Rachel Dreese, Thomas Perkins and Owain Browne were well-matched yet distinctive.  As well as some virtuoso and moving solo singing in the masses, they also joined in with the chorus parts in Zadok to great effect.  There was excellent orchestral support from the Wellington Sinfonia, comprising many local players of high calibre.  Laurence Blyth's efficient and polished conducting held all the forces together masterfully, and invited them to give of their best.  The organisation of the evening was as usual exemplary and there was a sense of satisfaction and uplift as the audience left the church after another life-enhancing evening from this enterprising and thriving choir.

Miles Quick