Waverley Singers

"Triumphant Vespers in Cathedral"

The following review was contributed to, and published in, The Herald newspaper on 16 March 2012

Last Saturday saw another triumph by the Waverley Singers at Guildford Cathedral as they performed Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610 assisted by the 35 choristers of Saint Thomas-on-The Bourne, Farnham, and the Brandenburg Baroque orchestra directed by Richard Pearce.

Monteverdi was choirmaster at St Mark's Cathedral Venice in 1631 - a time of transition from the polyphony of the Renaissance to the baroque instrumental, continuo style with which he experimented. This version of the Vespers uses six solo voices, choir, continuo, the accompaniment of baroque strings, theorbo, sackbuts and cornetts. Such forces might have been unsuitable for a Chapel and the first performance may have been at the Vatican in Rome where it would have been easier to accommodate all the performers.

The work explores the techniques of repetition and contrast between voices. On this occasion antiphonal effects were achieved by the repositioning of the Children's Choir in the Magnificat and the magic of the ‘off stage’ tenor echo between Stuart Jackson and Samuel Furness. This was well balanced and effective. Samuel’s returned to Waverley was very welcome - he sang in Britten’s St. Nicholas last year.

The six soloists are all young, up and coming, postgraduate students from the London colleges. Aoife Miskelly and Sónia Grané (sopranos) blended superbly and were totally at home with the flamboyant dexterity of the period. The voices of Edward Grint and Stuart Jackson complemented each other so well that one wondered if they always sang together. There was excellently controlled singing in Deposuit and the conversation between the two violins was a joy to hear. The exciting Gloria Patri thrilled with ornamentation and the dexterity of the instrumentalists.

The staging of the choir projected the sound well into the cathedral and the soloists were well placed in front of one of the pillars, which helped the acoustic in this large space. Praise is due to the St Thomas-on-the Bourne children who sat patiently for more than an hour between one of their entries and the next - a great achievement!

Performances by the Waverley Singers get better and better and it is hard to find fault -perhaps some of the choir entries were not as crisp as others and some were anticipated in an excess of enthusiasm! Their next concert on June 16 at 7 PM will be a programme of American Music at All Saints Church Odiham. Call 01256882334 or visit www.waverleysingers.com