Wilmington Parish Church, 1 October 2016
Plagiarism may be a problem for musicians today but was normal practise for most musicians throughout history. Handel borrowed widely, including much recycling of his own works. To put together a programme based on these musical connections is therefore both apt and – as it proved to be – highly enjoyable.
The evening opened with works by Morley and Bennett, with their Victorian re-workings. Morley’s Sing we and chant it has a gentle lilt to its line and admirable clarity for the text, which is somewhat lost in the richer harmony brought to it by Robert Pearsall. However his setting of Lay a garland is a strongly evocative piece which harks back wistfully even as it involves us in its melancholy.
The first half ended with four of Parry’s Songs of Farewell. Beautiful works, they are still too rarely heard even in this centenary year. The singers brought a rapt attention to detail and fine internal balance throughout.
After the interval we were back to Gregorian chant to set the bass line for compositions by Conte and Durufle. Again the textual clarity impressed as did the sudden familiarity of Durufle’s Tantum Ergo.
Debussy’s Trois Chansons de Charles d’Orleans are unusual for the composer, being his only unaccompanied choral works. We heard two of them, a warmly indulgent Dieu! Qu’il la fait bon regarder! and the more tongue-in-cheek attack on the weather in Yver, vous n’estes qu’un villain.
Noteworthy Voices left the finest piece to the end. Even the glories of early music could not compete with the beauty of Eric Whitacre’s This Marriage. A gentle tribute to the strengths of long-lasting married love its very simplicity is an essential part of its character. Against the pomp and bling of so many weddings, this is a piece which should surely become a staple item for any musician approaching marriage. It was a joy to hear.
Ansy Boothroyd conducted with an easy grace and briefly introduced the items, often letting them speak for themselves. Within the close context of Wilmington’s 12th century church, on a site which has drawn worshippers for thousands of years, this was a highly satisfying evening on both musical and spiritual levels.
Noteworthy Voices’ next concert will be in January 2017 – details on www.noteworthyvoicews.co.uk