Haydn's St Nicolas Mass and other works, St Mary's Church, Ambleside
AMBLESIDE and District Choral Society's Christmas concert offered an unfamiliar work by Haydn to counterbalance a selection of seasonal items under conductor Jolyon Dodgson. Haydn's St Nicolas Mass is a comparatively early work, not on the grand scale of his late masses, but it proved a fresh and engaging setting, with some delightful interplay between the chorus and the accomplished quartet of soloists - Myrna Tennant (soprano), Amy Shaw (mezzo), Henry Howard (tenor) and David Hoult (baritone). The success of the performance owed much to Andrew Plowman's poised and lively rendering of the organ part.
The choir and the soloists also combined in performances of Christmas Day, Gustav Holst's familiar medley of carols and, most effectively, in Benjamin Britten's haunting Hymn to the Virgin, a miraculous achievement by the 17 year old composer. The choir gave nicely blended performances of other Christmas works, notably the much-loved Shepherds' Farewell by Berlioz, Adam lay ybounden by Boris Ord and If You Would Hear the Angels Sing by north country composer Michael D Williams. The choral pieces were effectively interleaved with solo items, amongst which Amy Shaw's performance of The Little Road to Bethlehem by Michael Head was particularly memorable.
The concert included carols for choir and audience, rousingly directed by Jolyon Dodgson, with resplendent soprano descants which sent an appreciative audience home in good spirits.
TONY CHAMPION
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