Angus Choral Society

On Saturday in St John's Church, Forfar, Angus Choral Society, under the direction of Mary Veal, gave a concert to a capacity audience.

The programme opened with a full-voiced I Was Glad by Hubert Parry, followed by two well-sung Stanford motets.

They were followed by Gardiner's Evening Hymn, which brought out the choir's quality of singing.

Graeme Stevenson was at the organ and, as well as accompanying the choir, took solo spot in three items - an untitled Parry piece from The Little Organ Book, Stanford's Choral Prelude and Walford Davies' Jesus Dulcis Memoria.

In the second part the choir was accompanied by local instrumentalists in a first performace for Angus of Morton Lauridsen's Lux Aeterna - Veal's direction brought out the best in both choir and orchestra in a masterful piece from a more modern composer.

A lovely touch was the dedication of the concert to a choir member who died recently, Sylvia Ramsay.

- Dundee Courier

 

Carnoustie Parish Church was the setting of Angus Choral Society's annual Christmas concert on December 5th. The audience appreciated the warmth of the church and the splendid singing of the County's Choral Society, which was supported by the wonderfully intricate accompanying of guest organist, Morley Whitehead.

"A star indeed" was the overall reaction to the magnificent singing of soprano soloist Maria Kozlova. Her voice filled the huge church and her interpretation of "O Holy Night" was superb.

The choir sang with conviction, excellent diction and overall warmth of tone in all they sang. The choice of pieces was good, but this writer would have preferred the Purcell and the Haydn to have been placed separareyl in the programme, but that did not deflect from the enjoyment.

The audience rose to the occasion when they joined in the carol singing and the final rousing "Hallelujah."

Wee done Angus Choral - once again you did yourselves proud!

- Carnoustie Guide & Gazette

Saturday night's concert in Carnoustie Parish Church by Angus Choral Society was typical of many amateur choirs in the area. Ardent, enthusiastic singing coupled by a fair amount of technical ability and marshalled, in this case by musical director Phoebe Gourlay, by a conductor who is always in control of the proceedings.

Yes, there were one or two rough edges, particularly in the Purcell Te Deum which constitutes the sort of music that would challenge any choir. These took the form of some horribly exposed passages for either solo or small ensemble, but these were compensated by secure full chorus passages.

Haydn's Brevis Sancti Joannis is fittingly called the "little" organ mass as it contains the shortest Gloria I have ever heard! However, the composer manages to cram a considerable amount of super choral passages and in these I thought the chorus was excellent. Adding further lustre to this fine performance was soprano soloist Maria Kozlova, whose Benedictus was delivered in a style that was superbly operatic.

The second half of the concert constituted a mix of carols, some chorus only, others with audience participation. These were punctuated by Ms Kozlova's excellent O Holy Night and the perennial favourite that is Berlioz' Shepherds Farewell, which I'm sure the chorus could easily have managed unaccompanied.

Throughout all this was the impeccable backing from accompanist Morley Whitehead, whose succinct use of the sounds the organ can produce lent the concert considerable colour and contrast.

To end the concert with Handel's famous and unmistakeable Hallelujah Chorus was quite fitting as the evening was, in essence, a celebration of good, wholesome...and in the main very proficient...amateur choral singing.

- Dundee Courier

ALLELUJAH - indeed! What a wonderful musical evening Angus Choral Society presented last Saturday in St.John's Church, Forfar. Right from the start with Bruckner's motets to the tremendous Allelujah from Handel's The King Shall Rejoice, the choral sang with conviction and crystal clear diction.

The more modern 'Fascicle of Songs' by Douglas Coombes was a delight and the well prepared Forfar Academy choir sang their pieces beautifully and clearly enjoyed teaming up with the choral in the final piece of "Dedication".

The Monteverdi pieces were challenging and here again, the choral sang each beautifully, (Beatus Vir being this writer's favourite).

The school choir then sang a lovely modern song by Sally Albrecht.." I am a small part of the world" to lead the choral into its Handel finale with the Old English wording of 'My heart is Inditing', and as already mentioned,the tremendous 'The King Shall Rejoice'.

Congratulations to Phoebe Gourlay on this her second concert with the choral in her role of Musical Director, to Neil Smeaton and Robert Melling on the inspirational accompaniments on organ and piano and 'well done. Angus Choral and Forfar Academy Choir'(contributed). - Forfar Dispatch

The Glens and Kirriemuir Parish Church was the intimate venue on Saturday for Angus Choral Society's Christmas concert, a performance of Pergolesi's Magnificat.
While the Pergolesi was the centrepiece of the evening, the packed programme featured both classic and contemporary Christmas music with one or two surprises thrown in.
This, coupled with an informal atmosphere, allowed for a relaxed and entertaining evening. The society's new musical director Brian Hirst established an easy rapport with the audience from the opening item - a rousing rendition for choral and audience of O Come All Ye Faithful. While in previous years the programme has more or less consisted of two distinct parts, choral performance at the beginning with audience participation towards the end, the integration of the two elements meant the listeners were more actively involved throughout and more part of the performance themselves.
The music covered a wide spectrum from Britten's A Boy Was Born, Berlioz's The Shepherds' farewell and Anton Bruckner's Virga Jesse Floruit, to the West Indian carol De Virgin Mary Had a Baby Boy performed beautifully by bass soloist Peter Webster.
As well as more established works, three items had been composed or arranged by Brian Hirst himself - The Infant King and Cheerfully the Bells Ring for the full choral while the third, Christmas Potpourri, provided a purely musical interlude. The latter item caused some amusement not for the arrangement but the style in which they were played by Mr Hirst - Liberace, to add an extra sparkle to the evening's proceedings.
The Magnificat, accompanied by organist Roger Clegg, was a fitting main item. Although probably better known for his contribution to comic opera, Giovanni Battista Pergolesi &also made a significant entry in the 18th century religious canon although some say the Magnificat is an exception. There is little doubt over the provenance of his Stabat Mater, some maintain the Magnificat was wrongly attributed, actually composed by Durante, one of his teachers.
What is not in doubt is that the three choral movements and two duets, with soprano Jean Webster and mezzo-soprano Ruth Black, were well received.
No less well matched were tenor Kenneth Miller and Peter Webster with their own duet "He that helped Israel".
This was a welcome return to form for the Angus Choral Society which in the new year will be turning its attention towards its spring concert later in the year. - Forfar Dispatch

Angus Choral Society brought their own blend of Christmas music to Kirriemuir on Saturday night with a concert in the Glens and Old Parish Church. Conductor Brian Hirst's low-key direction and laid back style of introduction was complemented well by tight and controlled singing from the choir, with Roger Clegg making a more than substantial contribution from the organ, writes Garry Fraser.
The society didn't make it easy for themselves in choosing a programme which contained some difficult unaccompanied pieces.
Bruckner's Virga Jesse Floruit and A Boy Was Born by Britten can be a challenge to any choir, and both suffered from slight intonation problems. the wonderful Shepherds' Farewell by Berlioz was, however, spot-on with good balance and tuning.
Pergolesi's Magnificat is one of the most popular works in the choral repertoire, but the choice to sing in English not Latin was, to say the least, surprising, I don't think it translates well at all.
Having said that, the choir performed it well with the two duets, from Jean Webster and Ruth Black and Peter Webster and Kenneth Miller, particularly good. Roger Clegg's handling of an awkward keyboard part was in the main secure, although the position of the organ did lead to the odd difference in tempo between himself and the choir.
Brian Hirst also showed a nice touch at the keyboard with an inimitable arrangement of carols. His own choral compositions also came over very well with Cheerfully The Bells Ring being my particular favourite.
The sizeable audience participated in the community carols with great gusto, contributing in no small way to what was an excellent evening of festive cheer. - Dundee Courier