LONDON PRO ARTE CHOIR
SATURDAY 19 NOVEMBER
ST MICHAEL'S CHURCH
Philippa Boyle - Soprano
Claire Eadington - Mezzo
Oliver Martin-Smith Tenor
Julian Chou-Lambert -Baritone
Martyn Noble Organ
Orpheus Sinfonia
CONDUCTOR - TOM WINPENNY
It was exciting to see a packed church for this concert. Putting the covid years behind us all ! on a chilly Saturday evening in Mill Hill.
The Choir have to be the hardest working choir in North London because rather than just performing Mozart's famous Requiem they also treated the audience to a performance of the lively Maria Theresa Mass.
The Orchestra and Choir were based at the West End of the Church on tiered seating, with the four professional soloists in front of them. The Haydn mass was a very good first half selection. A baroque masterpiece that had some of the features of the Mozart piece. Such as the four soloists combining throughout to deliver lines from the mass, interspersed with singing from the choir. The mass was warmly received by the audience.
After the interval and a huge scrum for the Produce Stall ( I am pleased to report one of our group managed to buy 3 lovely jams ! ) the Mozart was performed for the first time for about 7 years in Mill Hill.
In my review of that 2015 performance I mentioned how the size of the church made it the perfect place to hear this work. Once again it was marvellous to hear a young orchestra The Orpheus Sinfonia start up the Requiem in our beautiful church. For about 45 minutes the choir and soloists sang their hearts out in this exceptional piece of music. It went so fast. It was like being immersed in a glorious sound wave that the Conductor Tom Winpenny coaxed out of his gathered forces.
It was a fantastic evening, Two major works for the price of one, The Mozart remains one of my favourite pieces and I am already looking forward to hearing the Pro Arte Choir perform it again in the future !
We are so lucky to have live music to this high standard on our doorstep and Father Steven Young introduced the evening with these sentiments. St Michael's is ideal for music and the Choir and their Director continue to strive to give us the best music. The concerts are a major event in the local community's social calendar for all that love live music. If you don't yet attend then make sure you get a ticket for forthcoming events - tickets are always available on the door as well.
Next Concert is the Annual Carols for Choir and Audience on Saturday 10 December at 5p.m in St Michaels Church. Look our for the posters on Social Media with all details and see it below. Please share with friends and invite them along. It is always a joyous celebration of Christmas for everyone.
Advance Notice : Spring Concert is on Saturday 18 March | Rossini – Petite Messe Solennelle
If you wish to join the choir and be part of this fabulous group then go to their website www.lpac.org.uk for more information.
No comments:
Post a Comment