Tenor takes Three Choirs festival by storm

1:14pm Thursday 21st August 2008

TENOR James Gilchrist is blessed with a wonderful lyric voice, a pianissimo which must be the envy of his fellows, and a warm and engaging platform manner.

These, with his vast experience in English song, careful attention to the text and superb use of dynamics, had the audience at the Three Choirs Festival completely in his hands.

The opening group of four well-loved songs by Vaughan-Williams amply demonstrated his effortless dynamic range and clear diction.

In complete contrast, Four Songs of War, settings of Wilfred Owen by Elaine Hugh-Jones, were sombre in mood and emotionally draining but sung with great sensitivity – her cycle is a welcome addition to the tenor repertoire.

In Samuel Barber’s Hermit Songs, usually heard with soprano, Gilchrist caught every sense of the text.

His adept pianist, Anna Tillbrook, showed us how an accompanist can give the utmost support to her partner, alert to every nuance and change of mood.

It was in the closing item, Schumann’s Dichterliebe, that singer and pianist held us spellbound to the end, completely gripped by the drama of the music, in one of the most impressive and moving performances of this work that I’ve heard for quite a while.

The opening day of the festival also saw a performance of Elgar’s second oratorio, The Apostles, by The Festival Chorus.

The work might not have the melodic and emotional unity that so distinguishes its great predecessor, The Dream of Gerontius, but it still deserves a secure place in the choral repertoire.

It is a difficult work to perform, and full marks are due to Adrian Lucas and colleagues for presenting it at this year’s festival.

The Festival Chorus, comprising the combined cathedral choirs of Hereford, Worcester and Gloucester, gave their best in a work which I suspect relegates the choir to second place.

Adrian Lucas has a strong line-up of six soloists, of which soprano Sarah Fox had the best music, her pure tone carrying well in the packed cathedral, with Michael Pearce singing an impressive Judas.

The Philharmonia Orchestra had passages of great power and beauty and it isn’t their fault that these are rather few and far between.

All too often I was aware of the music building up to a powerful climax, a rising crescendo in the orchestra, the rolling tympani, choir on their feet about to give us what we hoped would be a strong and rousing chorus, Elgar at his best choral writing, only for everything to suddenly subside at the last second.

Elgar tried to show the apostles as ordinary people caught up in an extraordinary event and he comes close to convincing us.

Mike Channon

Latest news, sport and entertainment