Treated to concert before Tuscany tour gets underway

ON SATURDAY, April 8, with eager anticipation a good-sized audience gathered in St John the Baptist Church, Belton, to hear a concert of a capella music presented by Charnwood Voices.

The choir is about to tour in Tuscany where it will sing in some glorious venues with big acoustics.

Saturday’s concert was in effect a rehearsal of the tour programme, a programme that contains some difficult pieces that should benefit from being performed in the tour venues.

The programme began with late 16th/early 17th century works from Europe together with Tallis’ If ye love Me, keep My Commandments.

The choir’s talented conductor, Nicholas Scott-Burt, gave voices a rest while he played the delightful Voluntary in G minor by John Stanley on the Church’s organ.

The choir then sang the intense Crucifixus a8, a setting of words from the Creed by Antonio Lotti, and treated the audience to three works from 19th century Europe and ended its second set with Rachmaninov’s emotional version of the Ave Maria, Bogoroditse Dyevo.

Another organ solo preceded the final first-half choral piece, Agnus Dei by Samuel Barber.

The second half began with spirited renditions of three of Bruckner’s well-known motets and Stanford’s Beati Quorum Via.

A final organ solo followed, and then came Rossini’s operatic motet O Salutaris Hostia before the Choir tackled Duruflé’s Quatre Motets.

Throughout the concert, there were times when more bass would have been useful and when more rhythmic discipline and brighter tuning would have added gloss to the very sound performance.

Overall, it was a most enjoyable evening with which Mr Scott-Burt declared himself to be delighted.

It seems that Tuscany can look forward to an Easter Week treat!