Anthems for our time
Sunday 15th May 2005, St John’s, Smith Square, London
Tempo – a quarterly review of modern music – Volume 59, number 234, October 2005
The Vasari Singers, now well established as a much-acclaimed London-based chamber choir, celebrated their 25th Anniversary this year with a concert at St John’s Smith Square on 15 May featuring short specially commissioned work by ten notable British composers. As conductor Jeremy Backhouse described to me, a private preview of the work, all on sacred themes, took place at Tonbridge School Chapel in February, in the presence of the composers, thus setting up a dialogue on interpretation. Although strictly speaking of amateur status, the choir has achieved much critical success, winning the Sainsbury’s Choir of the Year competition, appearing on BBC Radio 3 and at major venues, and has shown a distinct interest in commissioning new choral works in recent years.
At their 25th Anniversary concert on 15 May Will Todd opened with his Angel Song II, coming across in true Todd style with ethereal impact. As he himself describes it: “The text is designed to create the echo of the word “Hosanna”, but with no consonants, so that the music feels as if it is coming from on high”. A well-defined melodic line is gently woven by divided sopranos, above what Todd describes as “aleatoric” textures of the accompanying voices. This technique works well, with later use of whispering effects, and soft bass entries, gradually interwoven. Todd revealed after the concert that we will have to wait for Angel I, scheduled to appear in his forthcoming project – a full-scale Christmas Oratorio.
What was noticeable to my mind during the evening was that broadly speaking it was the new works with the most clearly defined concepts which scored best in communicating with the audience, given that the suggested duration for each commission was apparently approximately five minutes. The prime example of this, of course, came from the much experienced Ward Swingle (of Swingle Singers fame), whose exquisitely-designed Give us this day enchanted the audience with its sheer lyricism. A master of the art of the five minute slot – and longer works of course where appropriate – born in 1927, this near-octogenerian can teach a thing or two to his younger colleagues who sometimes fall into the trap of trying to fit too much material into a short time-span.
Francis Pott’s The Lord is my shepherd suffered from its nature as an extract from a longer work to be performed by the Vasari Singers at a later date. Gabriel Jackson’s piece had a complexity which perhaps was too ambitious for the choir, who seemed insecure at times, as they did also in Humphrey Clucas’s Hear my crying O God, praiseworthy though this piece was and indeed as all these works were. Barrie Bignold’s Peace was particularly well received by the audience, despite some occasional lack of clarity in the harmonic textures.
Will Todd shone through with the sheer simplicity of his concept, as did Stephen Barlow with his When I see on Rood, another piece in atmospheric vein, using a most evocative anonymous early medieval poem with middle English text, well sung by Vasari with great sensitivity. Philip Moore’s I saw him standing, based on the graphically enigmatic poem of a farmer’s wife who died in 1805 rang true, particuarly the second half. I also enjoyed Richard Blackford’s On Another’s Sorrow, but most of all Jeremy Filsell’s masterly Mysterium Christi, complete with ‘motto’ choral idea at “Oh Christ in this man’s life”, and full organ accompaniment played by the composer himself with due gusto. The proclamatory points in the text were well projected by the hard-working Singers and the tritonal falling ‘Peace’ phrase also. Altogether this enterprising concert was a most festive occasion for the Vasari Singers and was much enjoyed by the audience that packed St John’s Smith Square.
Jill Barlow
The Observer – Sunday May 22, 2005
A new top 10 for choirs
The Vasari Singers have done choral music a huge favour by commissioning 10 new pieces of such stature that they are sure to race into the repertoire of good choirs up and down the country. Conductor Jeremy Backhouse imaginatively asked that they should fit into the framework of a cathedral evensong, but not be bound by the constraints of religious doctrine, to reflect our multi-cultural society. The result is an impressive collection. The choir revelled in Philip Moore’s talent for word painting in I Saw Him Standing. Gabriel Jackson’s Now I Have Known, O Lord has a wonderfully thick harmonic texture, and shows a total understanding of the human voice. Stephen Barlow’s When I Saw on Rood is intensely sophisticated, with lovely opportunities for soloists within the choir. Will Todd’s wordless Angel Song II makes use of jewel-like tone clusters, and Barrie Bignold’s moving Peace again had beautiful solo work. Jeremy Filsell’s immensely powerful Mysterium Christi has fine writing for the organ, which is also a feature of Francis Pott’s The Lord is my Shepherd, written for the choir’s excellent sopranos and altos. Humphrey Clucas, a stalwart of choral writing for many years, injects a moment of intense anguish with his Hear my crying, O God. Easily the most approachable item in the collection is Ward Swingle’s Give us this day, its solid four-square structure making it an instant hit.