Adur Festival 2011 Concert

Adur Festival 2011 Concert with Chanctonbury Chorus, Shoreham Oratorio Choir and Orchestra

In a performance suffused with flowing communication and directness, the collective forces of Chanctonbury Chorus, Shoreham Oratorio Choir and Orchestra (conducted by Siobhan C V Denning) serenely sang and played their way through ‘A German Requiem’, one of Johannes Brahms’ finest and most beautifully crafted compositions. Scored for soprano and baritone soloists, large orchestra and chorus, this performance of a magnificent work took place in Lancing College Chapel during an autumnal-like June evening on Saturday the 18th as part of Adur Festival 2011.

A brave but appropriate decision was taken here by the choirs to sing this masterpiece in its original German, given that the text, music and phrasing are completely connected in such a version as opposed, say, to an English translation. If the vowels might have been longer and the consonants more clearly annunciated on this occasion, all was mostly forgiven for the courage shown by their choice.

The first low chords were ‘still’ enough to convey a sense of mystery; after all, this is a work principally about death, yet at the same time containing music able to deliver a modicum of hope and optimism. And the choir almost masterfully offered a suitably balanced, quiet stillness in their opening choral appearance.

Like many choirs these days, the lack of tenor numbers cause an unfortunate weakness in the texture, particularly noticeable here – perhaps overawed by the challenging acoustic of the building – in their fugal entry during the lighter triple-time section of the funereal second movement. Nonetheless, the tenors that were present gave of their utmost and valiant best.

There was a fullness of sound from the voice of baritone Stephen Foulkes in the third movement, imposing himself in the musical mix. Brahms’ renowned setting of part of Psalm 84 for choir and orchestra allows the singers to enjoy fully their musical lines during the fourth movement.

In the fifth, Lesley-Jane Rogers, soprano, produced a glorious top line that seemed to send shafts of light shimmering through some of the sorrow of this work, here pleasingly accompanied by the choir’s gently blending voices in the background. There was a beautiful moment towards the end of this movement when the soprano’s voice magically dissolved into the sound of a clarinet.

Indeed, with outstanding expressive qualities heard from many of the instrumentalists, the orchestra really came to the fore in movement six with tremendously uplifting playing, exemplarily led by Elaine Patience, encouraging the Chorus and Choir to unleash a real sense of power.

This choral/orchestral jewel comes to a restful conclusion; still, as at the beginning, but with more comfort.

The concert opened with a vigorous rendition of the ‘Academic Festival Overture’ by Brahms, followed by a rounded homogeneous sound in Bruckner’s ‘Four Motets’, both works being conducted by Tony Allen most adeptly and with fine judgement.

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