Kendal South Choir,

St Thomas’s Church, Kendal

Kendal South Choir brought a little French warmth to Kendal on a cold January evening when the singers, with organist, Hugh Davies, soloists Tracie Penwarden and Jolyon Dodgson, all under the direction of Ian Thompson, presented an interesting and varied programme of 19th Century music from across the channel.

Part one of their programme was given over to a performance of Fauré’s lovely Requiem. The choral singing was impressive in loud passages (the men’s cry of ‘Hosanna’ in the Sanctus was particularly thrilling) but less so in passages intended by the composer to be sung quietly, when there was a tendency for the pitch to drop in the soprano section. Perhaps breath control was the issue here as there was a noticeable tendency for the singers to break up Faure’s long lines into shorter phrase lengths. Tracie and Jolyon gave a good account of their respective solos, and Hugh gave the choir firm support, coaxing some French tone colours out of the church’s electronic organ.

The second half of the concert consisted of shorter items by Berlioz, more Fauré, Louis Vierne, Saint Saëns and César Franck. The latter’s stirring setting Psalm 150 clearly suited the singers: aided by the resonant acoustic of St Thomas’s, they filled the space with sound and were warmly applauded as a reward.

Clive Walkley