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| 144th Season |
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Derby Cathedral, 19th. December, 2009
Conducted by Richard Dacey
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| Review by Michael Wheeler: |
As someone generally prone to Messiah-fatigue, I thoroughly enjoyed this, one of the freshest, most buoyant performances of Messiah I've heard for a long time.
At Derby Cathedral, under Richard Dacey's spirited direction, and with beautifully clean and vigorous playing from the Heart of England Chamber Orchestra, it was all sparklingly crisp and stylish. The choir sang with such clarity and precision that they sounded at times – and I mean this as a very big compliment – like a much smaller body of singers. The fugal choruses at the start of Part 2 were splendidly robust, and the sequence from Why Do the Nations to Thou Shalt Break Them was vivid and punchy.
The soloists were generally impressive – alto Catherine Hopper, movingly unaffected and straightforward in He Was Despised, tenor Greg Tassell gracefully fluent in Ev'ry Valley, bass Samuel Evans authoritative without ponderousness in The Trumpet Shall Sound; soprano Natasha Day was appealing in How Beautiful Are The Feet, though her tone was rather less well focussed elsewhere. All four were adept at expressive ornamentation.
And hooray for a performance that placed the interval at the end of Part 1, rather than some illogical point in the middle of Part 2.
Mike Wheeler
Derby Telegraph,
23rd. December, 2009 |
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Here is some feeback from members of the audience....
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I would like to say that I enjoyed the Messiah last night very much. In fact I think it was the finest performance I have heard - and I have heard a lot of performances since my dad took me to the Albert Hall in Nottingham, when I was aged 12, to hear my very first Messiah, given by Nottingham Harmonic Society.
Last night, the choir, soloists and orchestra were on top form. Well done! Please convey my appreciation to the music director and other members of the Choral Union.
Best wishes,
Bill Grange |
My daughter and I attended your performance of Messiah, we both enjoyed it I have never heard such wonderful singing. Thank you very much. Best wishes for Christmas Edina Allen
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| Here is some more feeback from members of the audience, our bass soloist and the timpanist.... |
I was delighted to be able to play timpani for your concert on Saturday. I thought the choir sounded excellent and certainly deserved the acknowledgment given from the audience. I was also pleased to finish a year of playing the Messiah!!! There have been many with it being the anniversary year!!!!
Aidan A L Geary (timpanist) |
We really enjoyed the Messiah. The choir was wonderfully together and made the performance very powerful. Well done indeed.
Margaret Cohen |
Best audience this year, and best choir this year. Well done!
Sam Evans (bass soloist) |
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...of particular note was how well balanced the choir sounded, not dominated by the Sopranos, as is so often the case with many choirs. So if the Altos and some of the Basses felt a little isolated, your parts came through strongly.
Member of the audience |
Once again we came away from one of our musical treats of the year feeling uplifted and very much in the mood for Christmas.The DCU maintains its high standards and the choice of soloists was excellent especially the Contralto and Bass. Looking forward to more treats in the New Year.
Hugh and Pam Plummer |
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| Loved the concert on Saturday. The choir were in good form and all the soloists were very accomplished, including the note-perfect trumpeter. What an absolute joy to hear the whole of 'The Trumpet Shall Sound' - it is a most beautiful aria and it is cut short all too often these days....
From a satisfied concert attender. |
An excellent 'Messiah', both choir and soloists....and thank you for a contralto rather than a counter tenor, a personal preference I know but I am not alone.
Bernard Haigh |
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