East Of England Singers
Music in Quiet Places

St Mary’s Church, Clifton Village
Saturday 6th March 2010

By Grahame Whitehead

First-class choral singing, well balanced and with a depth of understanding which brought every line of the texts to life; attractive and accessible music, including a world premiere, covering the emotional range from penitence to joy; and two fine organ solos for contrast: this would have been a delightful evening anywhere.

What turned it into something special was the perfect match between music and setting. The quiet intimacy and excellent acoustic of St Mary's church made the music, with its predominantly reflective Lenten themes, feel just right.

Angela Kay's choir explored these themes in widely varying styles, in motets by Mendelssohn, Bach, Poulenc and Cavalli and ending with Finzi's almost mystical Lo, the full, final sacrifice. There were echoes of fear of judgement on occasion, as in Poulenc's Timor et tremor, but gentleness and solace set the tone, without ever becoming cloying.

Young local composer Alex Patterson conducted the premiere of his unaccompanied motet Attende Domine, a remarkably mature and sensitive treatment of the penitential theme.

Organist Roger Bryan complemented the choral repertoire with two contrasting pieces in very different traditions but both infused with joy and vitality: a Voluntary by John Stanley and J.S. Bach's magisterial Pièce d'Orgue.