Festival Chorus delights again
I was especially pleased to attend the King's Lynn Festival Chorus's latest concert at Lynn's Minster Church, not simply because they always perform with style and enthusiasm, but because I wanted to hear works by Maurice Duruflé (1900–1986), a composer I'm not too familiar with! I was not disappointed. The Chorus gave sensitive renderings of the composer's Four motets based on Gregorian chant, op. 10, small scale pieces with calming, refined harmonies, but performed by the Chorus with boldness when the score demanded it.
I've always been a fan of Francis Poulenc's music, and a new biography of the composer by Roger Nichols awaits to be read by me. Jeremiah Stephenson gave a legitimately dramatic perormance of his multifaceted Organ Concerto, a semi-religious piece with stark contrasts and mood swings, not the lighter Poulenc we're used to from his earlier compositions; he was born in 1899 and died in 1963, and the first performance of the concerto was actually given by Duruflé. The British Sinfonietta supported the organ soloist with gusto and sensitivity at all times.
Lastly, the Chorus, sinfonietta, organist, and soloists, Sarah Anne Champion, (mezz osoprano) and Jolyon Loy, (baritone), gave a splendid performance of Duruflé's Requiem, op. 9. Ben Horden conducted with authority and passion.
–Andy Tyler, Lynn News