Mozart's Requiem

Cantores Olicanae

St Margaret's, Ilkley

Saturday 11th November 2017

Thoughts of loss suffused this opening concert of Cantores Olicanae's 2017-18 season. Mozart's Requiem occupied the second half of a sombre programme that included a world premiere and an excerpt from one of the greatest English operas. The Ilkley choir was joined on this occasion by the Skipton Camerata Orchestra under the inspirational baton of Rory Wainwright Johnston, Cantores gifted young music director. Haydn's lovely motet Insanae et Vanae Curae (Insane and stupid worries) or as I have heard it referred to in some circles - Insane and Vain Curates - proved to be a vigorous workout for the forty seven choristers. The blending and precision of the voices augured well for Mozart's Requiem later on.

Two centuries separate Mozart from Palestrina whose De Profundis Clamavi was given in a sonorous arrangement for brass quintet by this evening's conductor. The choir rose to their feet again for Mozart's poignantly beautiful Ave Verum Corpus. This sublime and consoling music might usefully have been placed in the second half as a precursor to the Requiem.

Next, came the premiere of Josh Brown's piece The Bird of Life is Singing. This setting of verses by Omar Khayyam is scored for vocal soloists with a richly atmospheric orchestral accompaniment. Soprano Charlotte Trepess and mezzo Lucy Vallis charged the words with profound meaning.

Rory Wainwright Johnston's arrangement for orchestra of Gregorio Allegri's famous Miserere skilfully exploited the resonance of St Margaret's. The antiphonal effect of the trumpets and trombones placed behind the audience was unforgettable.

When I am Laid in Earth - from Purcell's opera Dido and Aeneas - is one of the greatest expressions of loss in all music. Dido's Lament was interpreted with beauty of phrasing and plangent tone by soprano Charlotte Trepess. This outpouring of grief was followed by the sorrowful chorus With Drooping Wings.

Tenor Ranald McCusker and baritone James Berry joined the soprano and mezzo soloists for Mozart's glorious Requiem Mass in D minor. The four fresh young voices were sublimely matched in the Tuba Mirum, the Recordare, and the Benedictus. The opening Requiem Aetertnam and Kryie Eleison demonstrated Cantores' supple phrasing. Tenors and basses sounded suitably ferocious in the Dies Irae (Day of Wrath) and the Confutatis Maledictus (While the wicked are confounded). The agility and power of the Domine Jesu almost lifted me off my pew. Rory Wainwright Johnston's superb balance and delicate shading of dynamics in this beautifully structured performance was underpinned by the perfect intonation of Skipton Camerata's strings and woodwind. A large audience responded, quite rightly, with warmth and enthusiasm .

Geoffrey Mogridge