Dean Close Choral Society: Verdi’s Requiem - Cheltenham Town Hall

Monday 8th February 2010

This splendid performance of Verdi’s demanding Requiem was a triumph for members of Dean Close Choral Society and Tewkesbury Abbey Schola Cantorum.  It is unusual for this Requiem to be sung without a break an all the performers are to be congratulated on their stamina.

The Emerald Ensemble led by Robert Bishop gave strong support under the baton of  Benjamin Nicholas who made his conducting of these large forces seem deceptively easy.  From his sweeping encouragement in Rex Tremendae to restraint in Agnus Dei he was sensitive to every nuance of words and music.  His use of trumpets sounding from the Town Hall balcony greatly enhanced the terror of Dies Irae in which the choir gave of their utmost. The double chorus Sanctus bounced with joy, and Nicholas paced the whole work with appropriate changes of tempo between movements.

Verdi used specific dynamic markings which orchestra and chorus conveyed, but the soloists were not always so rigorous in their observance thereby losing some impact.  Soprano Susan Young was not totally at ease, losing pulse at one point and lacking command in Libera me.  Verdi wrote some of his most rewarding music for mezzo-soprano, and Louise Crane took full advantage of her solo passages.  Bass David Soar and tenor Justin Lavender both communicated with the audience without constant reference to the score and gave imaginative interpretations . The tenor’s full-throated top B flat at the end of Ingemisco was a bravura moment, while the bass’s dramatic vocal colouring change from forceful Confutatis to the darkly covered cantabile of Ora suplex gave depth to the meaning of this sacred work.

Anne Dunn