Magnificat, Levens Choir, Holy Trinity Church, Bolton-le-Sands

IT IS A TRIBUTE to Levens Choir that so many turned out for the concert. Whilst the venue was welcoming, the evening was dreich. And this was a concert of seasonal music with a difference, mostly joyous but not necessarily comforting, the programme demanding both for performers and listeners. Nonetheless, I went home wanting to hear it all again, especially the first half when the unaccompanied choir brought us some rich and complex repertoire; gold, frankincense and myrrh

indeed!

A splendidly uplifting O Radiant Dawn (MacMillan) started our musical journey. The Magnificat Anima Mea (Gabrieli) that followed is scored for three choirs each of four separate vocal lines for which Levens Choir are fortunate to have the necessary depth of resources. Coping well with the unfamiliar acoustic and the not inconsiderable distance between the three choirs, they produced a performance with lovely tonal colour and blending of voices. Poulenc’s four Christmas Motets

with their richly dissonant harmonies were at the heart of the remainder of the first half, the choir not only moving sure-footedly through the pitfalls of pitch that abound, but admirably capturing the contrasting moods of each scene of the Christmas story. The sopranos deserve special mention, floating serenely above the rest in O Magnum Mysterium.

Rutter’s Magnificat occupied the second half of the programme. It is full of syncopated rhythms, which were delivered energetically by both choir and keyboard. And Rutter’s melodies were pleasingly presented, particularly so by three young soloists (Faye Bowness, Annabel Sharp and Rebecca Chandler) each with their own delightfully different vocal character. Guiding the way throughout was the magus, Ian Jones, whose programming, musicianship and energy are an inspiration.

JOHN HILEY