Waverley Singers

"Concert by the Waverley Singers, Saturday, 12 November 1977"

We have found the manuscript of the following review by John Seddon, destined for the Farnham Herald; we cannot be sure whether, and if so when, as it was published.

“In a weekend in which the music of Haydn figured prominently – Royal Festival Hall, Sunday; Purcell Room, Saturday – there was much to enjoy in the concert given on Saturday evening by the Waverley Singers and Orchestra, under their director John Cotterill, and that was also due, in part, to Haydn. The ‘Waverleys’ featured, as part of a well-chosen programme, Haydn’s Mass number 14 in B flat and thereby made their own contribution to what bids to become a contemporary ‘movement’ in music – the revival of interest in Haydn’s masses. If this was a representative sample, one hopes the trend will continue.

But to begin at the beginning: the concert on this occasion was given in the Royal Garrison Church, Aldershot. The warm, brightly lit church seemed an agreeable setting for both performers and orchestra and provided a reminder of how well favoured we who live in this area are in having so many services and facilities of the Army put at our disposal from time to time – and invariably, it seems, with the kind of warm welcome which was passed on to us by Mr Ken Farwig in his opening remarks.

Visibility and audibility inevitably pose problems in a church, especially one so big, and to judge from comments made afterwards the problems were differently felt in different positions. For this particular listener, choral attack was sometimes lost – knowing the choir as I do I can confidently attribute this to acoustics – and one would have liked a little more resonance; but the music was clear, the balance good, and the whole very enjoyable.

The programme began with Bach’s Magnificat, a masterpiece of musical invention and beauty, so highly concentrated that unless the performers are on top at the first chord and stay that way throughout, much may be lost. This is a far from easy way to start a programme and there was indeed some mixed intonation in the opening bars, with brass, woodwind and strings not quite warmed to the task. The work was first given real quality in the third movement Quia Respexit, where some beautiful playing of the oboe d’amore was matched by calm, ethereal singing by the sopranos soloist, Elizabeth Lane. Incidentally, the woodwind playing throughout the evening was excellently done.

Of the five soloists, the ladies gave more pleasure than the men. Elizabeth Lane was outstanding but she was well backed by forceful contralto singing from Doreen Walker and a gentler but very pleasant contribution by Margaret Houston, mezzo-soprano. With very different vocal timbres, these three sang a splendid trio at Suscepit Israel, in which blend was achieved by sheer musicality of feeling. Gordon Pullin, tenor, gave an academic performance suggesting a belief that as a composer Bach was all head and no heart (how wrong can one be?). Michael Powell’s bass aria, though delivered with pleasant tone, seemed tentative and immature.

This was a workmanlike performance, taken overall, and good to hear: it missed out perhaps on any feeling of integration, which might have been achieved had the choir taken stronger command at strategic points, notably the chorus Omnes Generationes and the ending of Fecit Potentiam at mente cordis sui. The Gloria and final chorus were very satisfying.

The middle work of the evening was Kodaly’s motet Jesus and the Traders for unaccompanied choir. This is a difficult piece, making great demands on note-learning, breath control, intonation and all aspects of choral ensemble. At the same time it is an exhilaratingly impressive work if these difficulties can be surmounted. In the event they were not merely surmounted, they were dismissed with an ease almost breathtaking. I was caught up in the vigour and brilliance of a performance that would be bettered only by the most professional choirs and never has been bettered in the experience of this particular listener. One can only say ‘thank you’ to choir and conductor for a fine achievement which in the process must have brought them satisfaction to more than compensate for the hard work that had clearly gone into the preparation.

After the interval, the programme concluded with the Haydn Mass of which mention has already been made. This was lovely music, bearing out a claim in the programme note – that it was ‘a joy to sing to play and to hear’. The well-known Haydn touches were evident, with from time to time some masterly invention at which one marvels, as for example in the graceful Gratias and the dancing Benedictus. The use of the quartet of soloists in relation to the chorus is very skilful and one found oneself wondering, at more than one point, whether perhaps Verdi collected an idea or two from this work to exploit in his great Requiem.

The soloists sang with warm tone and, in the quartets and trios, with excellent ensemble. The choir, always attentive and eager, produced the high standard that has come to be expected of them: they saved a particularly fine bit of singing for the contrasting tones of the final movement Dona Nobis Pacem and so brought the evening to a fitting conclusion.

Patricia Cassidy led the orchestra in her usual capable fashion. John Cotterill’s control, as conductor, was clear and unfaltering and to him must go the ultimate credit for masterminding another enterprising and successful programme.