Ambleside and District Choral Society, Ambleside Parish Church

A LARGE and appreciative audience at Ambleside Parish Church enjoyed a feast of Vivaldi at the choral society’s spring concert under its conductor Jolyon Dodgson. The programme was centred around the composer’s two settings of the Gloria – one very well known, the other rarely heard. The familiar Gloria intersperses choral numbers with solos and duets for soprano (Philippa Hyde) and mezzo (Joyce Tindsley), both of whom delighted the audience with the beauty and sensitivity of their singing. Their duets in this and in the other Gloria were a particular delight. The unfamiliar Gloria setting proved a worthy companion piece to its famous namesake, following broadly the same format, but distinguished by a spectacular introductory aria and recitative, sung here with flair and amazing agility by Joyce Tindsley. The choir responded well to Jolyon Dodgson’s lively direction, really finding its form in this second Gloria and bringing the evening to a resounding conclusion with the Cum Sancto Spiritu chorus. The South Cumbria ensemble, led by Julian Cann, gave alert and well-sprung accounts of both scores; particular mention should be made of the expressive playing of principal oboist David Cowdy. He and his colleague Bethan Roberts took the limelight in more Vivaldi, with a poised performance of his Concerto for Two Oboes and Strings. The programme included a second rarity, the Lamentationes pro die Jovis Sancto by the Czech baroque composer Jan Dismas Zelenka, a contemporary of Vivaldi. This featured baritone Jonathan Millican, who had been limited to a single solo in the two Glorias. This setting of one of the Lamentations of Jeremiah, with its distinct echoes of Bach and Monteverdi, was movingly performed and left us wishing to hear more of this neglected composer's music.

TONY CHAMPION