NOVEMBER 2006
THE church resounded to the music of J S Bach in a concert given by the Otley and Ilkley Choral Soceties and the Yorkshire Chamber Ensemble, at Otley Parish Church, Led by their conductor Alan Horsey, the participants almost outnumbered the audience. The cantata 'Ein Feste Burg' began the concert, the audience having been asked to sing the chorale melody on which the work is based. The quartet of soloists Janet Fischer soprano, Rachel Gilmore mezzo, Alexander Wall tenor and Mark Ashmore bass were all young singers from the RNCM who, after a slightly nervous beginning, the opening duet being rather rushed, settled down well in their respective roles.
The soprano Janet Fischer's voluptuous voice filled the church, displaying masterly control of the melismatic lines.The tenor Alexander Wall and the bass Mark Ashmore had a good clear tone but occasionally were stretched in their top registers. The duet for tenor and mezzo was well judged with excellent obligato playing from violin and Cor Anglais. Showing the other side of Bach, the church musician, the Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D major, with its now famous Air on a G string, was beautifully played by the ensemble with an excellent balance within the group.
The choir at last came to the fore in the exhilarating 'Magnificat'. They dealt well with the difficult openings, for example in 'Omnes Generationes" and the triplets of 'Gloria Patri'. Particularly beautiful was the mezzo solo singing by Rachel Gilmore, whose delivery was expressive and sensitive to the words. Overall this was a very successful evening and one which would have delighted Bach enthusiasts in particular. The next concert will be Handel's Messiah on December 9, at St Margaret's Ilkley.
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ROSEMARY PETTITT
December 2006
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.
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ROSEMARY PETTITT
December 2007
As part of the Ilkley Arts Fesitival the Ilkley and Otley Choral societies gave performances of ‘Dona Nobis Paccm' by Vaughan Williams and the 'Mass in C Minor K 427' by Mozart in St Margaret’s Church under their conductor Alan Horsey. They were accompanied by the Yorkshire Chamber Ensemble with Pat Jordan at the piano and led by Sally Robinson.
The Vaughan Williams, written in the 1930s with the approach of the Second World War, was a considerable challenge for the choir with constantly changing metre and cross rhythms. The choir produced some beautiful sounds as in `We Looked For Peace' but the dramatic tension was lacking in `Beat Beat The Drums' and ‘I Hear The Drums Pounding', partly through lack of clear diction and some insecurities. The soloists Joanne Dexter (soprano) and Chris Gulley (bass) along with some sensitive and dramatic string and piano playing, added great warmth and colour to the performance.
After the interval the choir was much more at ease in the Mass by Mozart. They were joined by Joanne Dexter, Laura Trayburn (mezzo), James Griffet (tenor) and Chris Gulley with the orchestra expanded. The choir shone in 'Cum Sancto Spiritu' with a well controlled fugue and thrilling climaxes here and in the 'Osanna' supported by excellent brass playing. There is a good balance in work between choir and solo items as well as fine writing for woodwind and brass. The opening of the `Et Incarnate Est' was sensitively played by woodwind and Joanne Dexter's fine clear voice rang out in the church's beautiful acoustic.An excellent performance of the ‘Laudamus Te' was given by the mezzo Layra Trayburn with well focussed leaps and clear coloratura. The finale voices were well matched in the Domine Deus' as was James Griffet's voice in the trio and there was good support from Chris Gulley in the quartet. Overall this was a fine performance.
ROSEMARY PETTITT
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December 2009
Ilkley Choral Society's 60th Anniversary Concert, “Messiah” at St Margaret's Church, Ilkley.
ON a stormy December night 60 years ago, Ilkley Choral Society gave their inaugural performance of Handel's Messiah at Ilkley Parish Church, under the baton of founder-conductor Charles W Bainbridge. There could scarcely have been any other choice of work to mark both the diamond jubilee of the choir and the 250th Anniversary of Handel's death. St Margaret's was packed to the organ loft for a very special concert which contained one precious link with the first one.
The ranks of choristers on 16th December 1949 included Ilkley singer Lydia Pettit. Five conductors and some 140 concerts later, Lydia still sings from the front row of sopranos. The Ilkley choir, under their conductor Alan Horsley, was joined as on many occasions, by members of Otley Choral Society - a combined total of 150 choristers.
Nineteenth to mid-20th Century 'big-scale' Handel is enjoying something of a comeback after decades of performances and recordings deploying orchestras and choirs small enough to fit into the average living room. Ilkley Choral Society's performance could be described as medium-scale Handel, with a large enough body of choristers to give those great choruses some beef. The early choruses in Part 1 of the oratorio sounded a little hesitant. More attack was needed to make the words leap from the page, but things soon changed. The choirs sang as though inspired in Surely He Hath Borne Our Griefs and All We, Like Sheep Have Gone Astray. Let Us Break Their Bonds Asunder was notable for the accuracy of the rapid passage work and suppleness of phrasing. The great Halleljuhia Chorus, sung here with such glowing fervour, and crowned by some superb trumpet playing, was typical of Horsley's careful balancing of vocal textures with the stylish accompaniment of the Yorkshire Chamber Ensemble.
A fine quartet of soloists consisted of Otley-born Opera North soprano, Joanne Dexter, whose brightness of tone and smiling presence captivated the audience.
Contralto Bridget Budge touchingly conveyed the tragedy and sorrow of He Was Despised.
The timbre of tenor Richard Ireland was strikingly clear and plangent in Behold, And See If There Be Any Sorrow Like Unto His Sorrow. A truly outstanding voice belonged to Keighley-born Neil Baker whose flexible, dark-hued bass electrified Behold, I Tell You A Mystery and The Trumpet Shall Sound. Ilkley and Otley Choral Society will take pride for many years to come in a beautifully integrated performance to which the capacity audience reacted with a storm of applause.
GEOFFREY MOGRIDGE
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