In many respects, this concert was never going to be easy, as we and a small, but appreciative audience of other music-lovers battled Storm Bert, the German Market and the craziness of the Birmingham Christmas shoppers to make it all the way across to St Paul’s Church in the Jewellery Quarter for the concert’s 7pm start.
It’s a lovely venue, perhaps looking a little tired around the edges, but the Birmingham Bach Choir, their own numbers somewhat depleted, looked comfortably at home in these Georgian surroundings.
It was an intriguing and brave programme of shorter choral works by Ireland and Britten, and organ works by Judith Weir and Grace Evangeline Mason, with the centrepiece being Richard Rodney Bennett’s epic work, The Glory and the Dream.
With a little reshuffling of the programme, the concert opened with two short choral works by John Ireland: The Hills and Immortality. The choir approached these perhaps a little tentatively, but nevertheless, they had a good grasp of the music and an understanding of the sound world required.
The first half closed with Britten’s delightful Five Flower Songs in which the choir displayed great skill in navigating the rhythmic complexities of the music, most notably in the final movement, ‘The Ballad of Green Broom’, which was sung with panache and style: a fitting end to part one.
In each half, Martyn Rawles played equally intriguing organ works by Judith Weir and Grace Evangeline Mason, drawing much variety from the St Paul’s organ, an instrument which is not always as compliant as it might be.
The second half of the concert featured Richard Rodney Bennett’s The Glory and the Dream, a three-movement work which would have seriously challenged any professional choir. It had clearly presented Birmingham Bach Choir with its own set of challenges, yet they rose to the occasion splendidly, delivering a memorable and assured performance. The odd wobble was masked by their enthusiasm and commitment to the demands of the work. They had clearly invested much in this performance, and it showed, this being for me, the standout piece in the evening’s programme.
Again, it was disappointing that more people hadn’t turned out to hear such a varied and exciting programme of rarely-performed works. I’m sure there are plenty of people who would travel some distance to hear music rarely heard elsewhere. My feeling is that we need more choirs to be as brave in their programming, but not rely on more popular works in other concerts to make up for the lesser-known ones. It’s not easy, but it is possible if the choir could harness the powers on the online world to reach a new audience.
Overall, the programme was intriguing and brave, and under the ever expert baton of Paul Spicer, the choir delivered a committed and stylistic performance of these challenging works, for which the whole team should be congratulated.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
BIRMINGHAM BACH CHOIR: THE RAINBOW COMES & GOES
St Paul’s Church, Birmingham, Saturday 23rd November 2024, 7pm
Ireland: The Hills
Ireland: Immortality
Weir: The Trees Unfold
Britten: Five Flower Songs
Mason: Where the Birds Sing
Bennett: The Glory and the Dream
Birmingham Bach Choir
Martyn Rawles organ
Paul Spicer conductor
I received complimentary tickets for this concert in return for a review. If you would like me to consider reviewing your concert, help you promote it, and feature it here on my blog, please get in touch.
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