This was the 20th anniversary concert for the society, and also an opportunity to bid farewell to Thea Hogg who has conducted the choir since its re-establishment 20 years ago.


The opening of Tchaikovsky’s Serenade for Strings was silky smooth in rendition and a cooling balm to bodies recovering from the shock of the early heat wave outside.


Faure’s requiem, which completed the first half of the concert, has been a favourite since my school days when Notre Dame (for girls) joined with the local Catholic Boys school to present a highly hormonal, passably presentable version of this popular classic.


Happily the choral society was able to improve significantly on our efforts, and this was a relaxed, professional performance.


An unusual choice in soprano, offering a fuller, more mature sound than we are accustomed to for the Pie Jesu, was slightly discomfiting; the guidance notes read “a boy or female soprano”, and one can’t help wondering if this instruction was not intended to guide the choice towards the purer, more choral sound with which we are all the more familiar,


The soprano (Rebecca Hodgetts) was more at home in the Mozart Requiem which followed. The opening sections were impressive and forceful. This was the best that I had heard from the choir since I started reviewing them a couple of years ago.


My companion who is profoundly disabled and so not subject in quite the same way to the norms of etiquette, sat unembarrassed with fire in her eyes and in her belly, and had to be gently dissuaded from joining in, so moved was she by the vibrancy and fervour of the music. The more melodic sections were lyrical and uplifting in performance, and apart from a couple of minor timing issues during the Domine Jesu (almost comedic – reminding me of “cops & robbers”) the choir was confident and accomplished in its presentation.


In the solo sections the soprano was entirely comfortable, although unfortunately the acoustics of the sports hall were not so kind to the middle range solo voices (Laura Trayhurn, Mezzo Soprano, and tenor Richard Ireland. As a result the quartets were a little unbalanced, though rescued from being entirely top heavy by the masterful grounding of the bass Neil Baker who always delights with richness of tone and texture.


The Benedictus has to be given special mention as the tenor wove with the choir through an intricate passage which was quite lovely to listen to.


All in all this was an evening of great music, both in its inception and its performance. A fitting tribute to the 20 years of hard work accomplished by the choir and by Thea.


We wish her all the best in her retirement, and thank her and the choir for the pleasure and inspiration of all their music making.




REviewed by Rachel M Denton & Rebecca Ormian.