Recent Reviews

The following reviews appeared in the Somerset County Gazette.

Seasonal celebrations: review by Nick Taylor
Thursday 24th December 2009

At the Seasonal Celebration of Great Composers at St George’s, Wilton, Nick Thomas directed the West Somerset Singers in a rich and varied programme to commemorate Handel, Haydn, Mendelssohn, and Purcell.
They began the ambitious Charpentier Messe de Minuit with joyful confidence.
There was good balance between the parts, an accomplished duet and trio from Pat Phillips, Gill Thompson, and Anne-Marie Twort, but some uncertainty later in the piece in some vocal parts.
Nick played exquisitely on the descant recorder, accompanied by his wife Elaine, for two pieces by Purcell including variations on ‘Air’ and the rousing ‘Lilliburlero’, and later they treated us to the beautiful soaring flute melodies of Blake’s ‘The Snowman Suite’.
Haydn’s optimistic ‘Te Deum’ was tackled with gusto, with an energetic fugue ‘In Te Dominum speravi’, and a triumphant ending. Chris Ball’s dulcet tenor tones added to the beauty of Mendelssohn’s ‘Ave Maria’, the choir producing exciting climaxes. Accompanied by the choir, Chris Doyle gave a masterly rendition of the baritone solo in Cornelius’ ‘The Three Kings’.
Handel was celebrated with ‘For unto us a child is born’: it perhaps lacked some joy and confidence to match its sentiments, and a few members could usefully watch the conductor more. But here, as in other pieces, Alex Davies was a joy to hear on the organ – producing contrasts we didn’t know that particular instrument was capable of!
Two gentle lullabies by Arnold Cooke and Jan Sanborn, the latter accompanied by the choir’s regular pianist Rachel Robinson, brought us well and truly into the Christmas season, as we all joined in with ‘God rest you’ and ‘O come, all ye faithful’, followed by wine and refreshments. This was an evening’s entertainment not to be missed, and their next concert is at the same venue on 8th. May 2010.

West Somerset Singers Spring Concert: review by Gill Brown
Tuesday 5th May 2009

On Saturday, the West Somerset Singers presented their Spring concert in the intimate setting of St George’s Church, Wilton.
A contrasting programme had been chosen by conductor Nick Thomas, starting with the Mozart Requiem, followed by John Rutter’s Magnificat. For the Requiem, the choir was joined by four perfectly matched soloists; Janet Distin (Soprano), Peter Oakley (Countertenor), Simon Hurrell (Tenor) and Michael Collins (Bass). Their performances all greatly enhanced the work with their richness of tone and attention to dynamics but special mention must be made of Peter Oakley who, at the age of eighteen, sang with great composure and assurance.
The Mozart opened with confidence supported by Alex Davies’ skilful organ accompaniment. In the Kyrie the soprano line was clear and the voices were well balanced. Nick Thomas kept it moving forward and the intricacy of the underlying parts was well controlled. The choir produced a range of moods in the Lacrimosa which began with a beautiful sighing entry, leading to the exciting climax. There was good attack and precision in the Domine Jesu and effective contrast of dynamics, while in the Benedictus the soloists sang effortlessly, their voices rising and falling with great musicality.
In the second half, the audience fell under the spell of John Rutter’s uplifting Magnificat. From the opening bars to the last strains, the listeners were kept on the edge of their seats as the choir and Janet Distin gave a wonderful performance. Rutter’s works never fail to entertain and the Magnificat is no exception. The syncopations and strong, energetic melodies produced a sense of exhilaration and the choir’s joyous singing enhanced this mood.
Generally the voices were well balanced and there were opportunities in the opening section to hear the rich, sustained singing of the altos, while the sopranos soared above. Within the traditional words of the Magnificat, Rutter has interwoven three other elements, the most memorable a 15th century English poem, ‘Of a Rose’. Here there was a melodic male voice line and clarity of diction from all parts. The mounting tension in the Quia fecit mihi magna, with discords held well until the climax, contrasted beautifully with the gentle prayer ‘Sancta Maria’. After a shaky start, the Fecit potentiam gained confidence and the choir coped well with the very difficult rhythms. The lilting melody of Esurientes was sung with feeling and in the solo sections of the Et misericordia and the Gloria, Janet Distin sang with ease, filling the church with glorious, ringing tones.
Throughout, Alex Davies gave a spirited accompaniment on the piano and his accurate, rhythmic interpretation, along with Nick Thomas’s clear control of tempi and dynamics, supported and guided the choir through this ambitious work.