St Augustine’s, Bexhill, 4 May 2013

There was a time when Elijah was ubiquitous among choral societies, who could mount it at the drop of a hat, often with little or no rehearsal. Fewer performances today mean not only fresher approaches but often more carefully prepared singers, which was certainly the case last night for Bexhill Choral Society under Kenneth Roberts.

St Augustine’s is a moderately sized building with a fine acoustic, and the orchestral forces were well balanced even though about half the strength Mendelssohn expected. Woodwind solos shone and the brass seemed mellow. Only the strings, forceful in the many fluid passages towards the end of each half, made slightly less impact during more reflective passages than they might have done for being set behind columns to the north of the nave.

The choir had no such problems and were equally well balanced. At a time when male singers are frequently thin on the ground this itself is a tribute to their resilience. Mendelssohn’s musical line often exposes the tenors and basses, but they were never dismayed by the challenge. If there were occasional – and very minor – problems of intonation they were quickly and positively overcome and the big choruses were splendidly attacked.

Peter Grevatt is a familiar face but none the less welcome for that, giving us a virile account of the prophet, not averse to introspection and doubt. Gary Marriott’s mellifluous tenor charmed us with If with all your hearts and characterised the various voices with ease. Sophie Pullen has a very generous soprano voice which easily fills the building, making the widow a stronger character than is often the case. The alto part is not as generously written but Judith Buckle was warmly effective with O rest in the Lord.

With the close relationship of audience and performers it made sense to place the three soloists for Lift thine eyes up in the organ loft, creating an ethereal impact as well as a very pleasing a cappella sound. Kate Rogers’ Boy was also sung from the loft to good effect.

The Hastings-Bexhill bid for City of Culture may not be quite as preposterous as at first appears when we can provide performances of this quality, alongside Hastings Philharmonic’s St John and Opera South East’s Pearl Fishers. BH

The next Choral event in Bexhill is Great Choral Classics at the De La Warr Pavilion on Saturday 14 June, and Bexhill Choral Society will perform Mozart’s Mass in C minor and Magnificats by Bach and Schubert on Saturday 5 October in St Augustine’s. Details www.bexhillchoral.org.uk  email: bexhillchoral@gmail.com