The RNCM Chamber Choir was joined by the renowned Edvard Grieg Kor, an acapella vocal ensemble from Norway for a concert of songs which traversed the European continent: German, English, Russian, and Scandinavian works all received an airing during the performance.
The concert began with a rendition of J S Bach’s devotional work 'Kom, Jesus Kom' (Come, Jesus, Come) which featured the full ensemble of the RNCM Chamber Choir and the Edvard Grieg Kor. This piece was conducted by Joseph Judge, whose arm movements as he conducted from one section of the choir to another made it look like he was engaged in a dance! The performance featured nice use of harmonisation between the various sections of the ensemble and was made even more striking by being performed in the original German language. After the conclusion of the piece, the ensemble left the stage and then the Edvard Grieg Kor returned to perform the next two songs which were both Scandinavian. The first continued the devotional theme of the Bach piece, while the second, taken from Tyrone Landau’s reworkings of the Norwegian legends about Olaf II The Holy known as 'Passio Olavi', saw alto singer Daniela Iancu Johannessen take on a lead vocalist role as she sung the bulk of the opening with such passion and heartfelt meaning that it mattered not one jot that the work was being performed in Norwegian, it was truly spine-tingling stuff.
After these two songs, the Edvard Grieg Kor left the stage and the RNCM Chamber Choir took to the stage, with Stuart Overington now conducting the choir (a position he would retain for the rest of the night when the Chamber Choir were onstage). The choir performed Cecilia McDowall’s 'I Know That My Redeemer Liveth' and, while not quite hitting the same spine-tingling heights as the Edvard Grieg Kor’s preceding performance, the choir still managed to provide an accomplished recital. The Edvard Grieg Kor returned to the stage to perform Cheryl Frances-Hoad’s dramatic, sweeping, 'From The Beginning Of The World', which not only saw the group perform in English and Latin, but provided a showcase for the incredible vocal talents of soprano singer Ingvill Holter as she demonstrated an impressive range while delivering the solitary word ‘Peccavi’. Holter not only expressed a superior command of her vocal range but was supremely confident in her manner during the performance, ensuring she cast her gaze across all sections of the audience. The Edvard Grieg Kor were then re-joined by the Chamber Choir for the final two performances before the interval: a traditional Russian Orthodox Chant (continuing the religious themes of the night) before performing Sergei Rachmaninov’s work 'Bogoroditse Devo', which certainly didn’t outstay its welcome.
Following the interval, the Edvard Grieg Kor performed the first two movements of the Holberg Suite by their namesake; the 'Prelude', in particular, had a very lively, upbeat rhythm to it which the group’s vocals worked wonders with. The Edvard Grieg Kor then vacated the stage for the RNCM Chamber Choir to return to deliver a suitably dramatic performance of Jaakko Mäntyjärvi’s renditions of 'Four Shakespeare Songs'. The four songs in question drew upon Shakespeare’s comedic and tragic works and worked surprisingly well in an a capella choral setting: 'Come Away, Death' from Twelfth Night was transformed into a dramatic, bleak song, while the 'Lullaby' from A Midsummer Night’s Dream featured an interesting vocal arrangement, especially in the song’s introduction. 'Double, Double, Toil And Trouble', taken from “the Scottish Play,” was treated to a truly dramatic reading, full of call and response moments which built upon one another to create a feeling of turbulence and unease, and which was striking ended by the choir – and conductor- dramatically stamping their feet! The final Shakespeare song, 'Full Fathom Five' (from The Tempest) was a refreshing sea-change (pun intended) from the previous song: light, airy, and featuring the choir replicating the sound of a bell with their “ding-dongs” it brought the impressive cycle to a close. Of the works performed by the Chamber Choir without the Edvard Grieg Kor, this was without a doubt the strongest and most rewarding to listen to.
The Edvard Grieg Kor then returned to perform two more Scandinavian works: a traditional Norwegian folksong and a poem written by Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson; the second piece featured an interesting arrangement which reflected the concerns of the poem, where the first verse is from a man to his female lover, the second is the reverse, and in the final lines of the third verse, the two meet. The arrangement saw the male vocalists take the lead on the first verse, the female section led the second, and the third verse saw the male vocalists lead until the final two lines where both sections sang the lines in harmony.
The RNCM Chamber Choir returned with the Edvard Grieg Kor as part of their larger ensemble for the final song of the concert: Benjamin Britten’s 'Hymn To St Cecilia', which featured words by the poet W H Auden. This complex, layered work is a hymn to creativity and music, as well as the titular saint. The ensemble certainly rose to the challenge, especially in the piece’s final section which saw solos from each section of the choir (soprano, alto, tenor, and bass) for each blessing to an instrument (flute, trumpets, etc.) and built up on top of one another to reach a crescendo on which the piece ended.
Whilst 'Hymn To St. Cecilia' was the last song on the programme, it was not quite the final song of the night as the Edvard Grieg Kor returned to the stage to perform an encore: 'El Hambo', another song by Jaakko Mäntyjärvi. 'El Hambo' certainly offered a different perspective on the group from what had been witnessed throughout the concert: the piece is very upbeat, amusing, and featured a fair bit of physical performance from the eight members of the Edvard Grieg Kor. It certainly worked to send the audience home with a smile.
The night’s entertainment was well performed by both the RNCM Chamber Choir and the Edvard Grieg Kor although if one were to highlight a criticism it would be that there was some delay in the flow between songs as the Chamber Choir or Edvard Grieg Kor left the stage and there was a brief pause while the other ensemble took up their positions on the stage. While, logistically, this may have been unavoidable to allow performers to give their voices a break and have a drink of water offstage, it did impede the flow of the overall programme (a more suitable alternative may have been to have chairs set up at the back of the performance area and the two choirs could just take a seat or take to the stage depending on who was performing). This, however, should not detract from the quality of the performances or from the interesting choices of material to perform. The programme was hugely enjoyable and the RNCM Chamber Choir certainly gave as strong a showing as the wonderful Edvard Grieg Kor did.
Reviewer - Andrew Marsden
on - 16/2/19
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