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Celestial Choirs

  • Writer: Ann Cee
    Ann Cee
  • 4 days ago
  • 2 min read
Joint choirs, Jim Bate conducting. Photo courtesy of Warwickshire Singers.
Joint choirs, Jim Bate conducting. Photo courtesy of Warwickshire Singers.

Warwickshire Singers with La Villanelle de Sceaux, Sunday 6 April 2025 St Peter's RC Church, Leamington Spa

Review by Ann Cee

 

Warwickshire Singers celebrated 55 Years of Song with La Villanelle de Sceaux with thanks to musical directors, Jim Bate and Odile Chateau and accompanist, David King.


Neither COVID nor Brexit were enough to stand in the way of European musical friendship this weekend when a packed church was treated to a delightful programme of choral music.  Sunday’s programme really celebrated Europe’s and America’s shared cultural and musical heritage as our wonderful local Warwickshire singers and their French twinned choir La Vilanette de Sceaux offered the audience compositions from German, American and French composers.  A lovely, uplifting range of pieces were sung in English, French, German and Latin as we lost ourselves in the lofty ceilings and vibrant stained-glass windows of St Peter’s RC church.


The first part of the programme was led by La Vilanelle de Sceaux who started with Rameau's ‘Claire flambé du monde’ which set a lovely light, joyous tone to open with before moving on to the more melodic, soothing feel of American composer Victor C Johnson’s ‘Deo Dicamus Gratias’ and the more stirring ‘Plaudite Omis Terra’ which gave me goosebumps.  Mary Lynn Lightfoot’s soft, smooth, gentle ‘In Terra Pax’ lulled us with peaceful, warming phrases before we were awakened once more with the joyful brightness of beautifully blended voices for Sally K Albrecht’s ‘Alleluia’.  The balance between the male and female singers was perfect.


Warwickshire Singers often have a wide ranging and adventurous repertoire but on this occasional they focused on some of their more conventional favourites to round off the first half. Starting with Rebecca Dale’s profound and graceful ‘Panis Angelicus Reimagined’, the choir had lovely rich depths and exceptionally sweet high notes as they sung in Latin to the rafters and the heavens.


The concert in St Peters RC Church. Photo courtesy of Warwickshire Singers.
The concert in St Peters RC Church. Photo courtesy of Warwickshire Singers.

Switching to one of the best Romantic composers Johannes Brahms provided us with a few soothing moments thanks to ‘Nanie’ before we were reminded of one of the classics of British ceremonial life ‘Zadok the Priest’ – one of the greats by George Frideric Handel.  This was a truly glorious way to conclude the first half and give us some clue of the triumph to come in the second half. Both choirs joined together for the second part of the programme and the partnership of more than 60 voices was a seemingly seamless undertaking.


Gabriel Faure’s ‘Cantique de Jean Racine’ was effortlessly followed by Karl Jenkins’s ‘Cantate Domino’ and Theodore Dubois’ ‘Messe breve a trois voix’ but the glorious finale stole the show - George Frideric Handel’s ‘Hallelujah Chorus’ blew me away and left me shaking in my pew.  What a wonderful choice of majestic music for a sunny Sunday Lent afternoon in Leamington.


I look forward to July and December concerts from the Warwickshire singers.  See www.warwickshiresingers.org.uk for details of the choir's summer concert  'For the Beauty of the Earth' on Sunday 6 July 2025, Old Shire Hall, Warwick and their Christmas concert on Monday 15 December at St John's Church, Kenilworth.

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