St Edward’s Singers Concert
Durufle Requiem; Howells Collegium Regale; Balfour Gardiner Evening Hymn.
The Autumn Choral and Orchestral Concert was held on 11th October in the Chapel in order to take advantage of the organ — a prominent feature of Durufle’s magnificent Requiem. The school’s organist, Gabriele Damiani, gave an excellent performance of the complex organ part and he was joined by a small orchestra of strings, harp, trumpets and timpani. The various choirs squeezed into the chancel and combined to deliver a moving account of this highly dramatic work. The emotional range is considerable: calm moments — In Paradisum; Lux aeterna – are interspersed with high drama — Dies Irae; Libera me and the choirs and orchestra managed to capture the essence of each movement. The excellent soloists were former pupils: mezzo soprano, Rosalie Warner, who brought rich tone to the exquisite setting of Pie Jesu and baritone, Edward Price, who delivered his role with a combination of power and elegance.
The concert began with items recently performed by the Chapel Choir at St Paul’s Cathedral and they gave confident accounts of Howells setting of the Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis written for King’s College Cambridge (Collegium Regale) and Balfour Gardiner’s Evening Hymn — these are highlights of the English choral repertoire and the Chapel Choirs relished this glorious music.