ROSEMARY PETTITT reviewsIlkley and Otley Choral Societies' 'Messiah' at St Margaret's Church, Ilkley                                                         

 Ilkley and Otley Choral Societies heralded in Christmas with a performance of Handel's 'Messiah' at St Margaret's Church, Ilkley on Saturday evening. Accompanied most ably by the Yorkshire Chamber Ensemble with soloists Nicola Mills (soprano), Kathryn Woodruff (mezzo), Richard Ireland (tenor) and David Heathcote (bass) and conducted by Alan Horsey, the packed church enjoyed a very full performance of Handel's most popular oratorio. Beyond question, the most important innovation in oratorio of the baroque period was Handel's use of the chorus and here this well-balanced choir was able to give real meaning to the music, with a crisp and light attack in 'For unto us a Child is Born' and a dark rich sound in 'Surely'. The audience, rising to their feet in time honoured tradition for the 'Hallelujah Chorus', experienced a sense of excitement, the sopranos rising ably to their their highest register. The solos of course take a large part in the drama and storytelling. The tenor Richard Ireland was a flu ent communicator in this respect. The bass David Heathcote had good clear diction and a sense of drama while the mezzo Kathryn Woodruff had a velvet voice with beautiful phrasing although it was some times lost in the orchestral sound. The soprano Nicola Mills was most impressive in all her recits and arias; particularly moving was 'I Know That My Redeemer Liveth' where she was completely involved in the drama but always in control I of the ornamentation. ! The tempo of the performance was xjast and, although this worked well in some choruses, others for exam ple 'He Trusted In God' and Their Sound Is Gone Out' were rather too rushed, resulting in choir and orchestra coming slightly apart at times. This was however a most enjoyable beginning to the Christmas period.