Ely Consort's All English concert in the Methodist Church Ely presented a variety of works by a number of different English composers than span the centuries.
Early music in the first half of the concert included works by Henry Purcell, Thomas Tomkins and Thomas Weelkes. In Purcell's Ode for the Birthday of Queen Mary 1694 the choir, ably directed by Matthew Rudd, shaped their phrases charmingly, providing a powerful full-bodied sound in Come ye sons of art and See Nature, rejoicing. The choir was joined by admirable soloists: Miriam Brown (soprano), Louise Place (alto) and John Simmons (bass). The grace and gentle continuity of line was noticeable in the alto's Strike the viol while John Simmons gave a particularly impressive performance, his fine voice making real sense of Purcell's interruptive style.
In the anthems by Weelkes, the choir enhanced the imitative flow of the many voice parts with sustained splendour.
The more developed compositional styles by later English composers made up the programme for the second half of the concert. Composers included real bastions of the English music tradition: Hubert Parry, Edward Elgar, Ralph Vaughan Williams and John Ireland. Parry's My soul, there is a country was precisely and expressively phrased. One of the highlights of the evening was Elgar's My love dwelt in a Northern Land in which this fine body of singers brought out the beauty and musical qualities of his style magnificently. His varied technical demands were well integrated into the atmospheric and descriptive flow of emotive sound
Five Mystical Songs by Vaughan Williams featured an exceptionally fine performance by the baritone Robin Moore. His superb breath control and vocal technique supported a voice that infused warmth and tonal colour into the beautiful lines of this composition and the choir's contribution in Easter and in the final Antiphon (Let all the world in every corner sing) enriched the harmonies with perceptive expression.
The organist and accompanist for the evening was Jonathan Lilley and his exciting solo: Capriccio by John Ireland rightly brought the house down. The audience were stunned by how skilfully he executed the cheeky detached thematic material, and how he revelled in the hurdy-gurdy episodes of this amusing but impressive show-piece.
This was a splendid concert.
The next major event will be on Saturday 28th June, 2008, 7.30 at St. Andrew's Church, Sutton with a performance of Rutter's Magnificat.
Contact: www.elyconsort.org.uk
Rosemary Westwell
