Lancaster and District Choral Society, Lancaster Priory Church

A LARGE audience braved the rain to enjoy the Winter Concert of the Lancaster and District Choral Society under the direction of John Perrin.

The first half of the programme consisted of John Rutter’s colourful and unusual setting of the Magnificat, in which the choir was joined by a 16 piece orchestra, led by Jill Jackson, and Emily Robinson, soprano, with Ian Pattinson, organ. The 64-voice choir played a full part throughout the seven varied sections of the Magnificat, and the women’s voices filled the church with a full rich tone when required. The voices of the much smaller number of men lost some strength to the large empty space behind them, and were occasionally overpowered by the bright and colourful small orchestra. The music moved freely from liturgy to lively dance and soulful song, and from simple melody to complex counterpoint. The difficult acoustics encouraged some loss of togetherness in fast or complex sections. However, there were places when orchestra, choir and organ nobly filled the great nave. For many of us, the most moving section was the Et misericordia, where Emily Robinson sang with great drama, musicality and emotion from the pulpit. Although some of her quieter moments were buried by the orchestra, this was a really fine centrepiece to the work. Emily Robinson’s several contributions to the whole work were beautifully presented and warmly received.

After the interval there was an interesting collection of Christmas music, beginning with Stephen Cleobury’s tuneful setting of the medieval meditation on the 7 Joys of Mary, and ending with the frenetic Noel noel Sir Christemas by William Mathias. Pearsall’s exquisite setting of In dulci jubilo (for semi chorus and full choir) sounded well despite a rather slow tempo and a couple of uncertain moments. Rutter was further represented by three of his many popular short pieces (Christmas lullaby, Shepherd’s pipe carol, and the Angel’s carol), and the audience had its considerable say in three popular carols. For many of us, the whole concert was a stirring musical overture to Christmas.

ROBIN MCILVEEN