 City of Birmingham Choir, at Symphony Hall
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| Members of the Choir rehearsing in
Symphony Hall |
With the sea for a concert theme A Sea Symphony by Vaughan
Williams is the logical choice for any conductor, and on
Saturday it provided an often thrilling vehicle for Adrian
Lucas and the City of Birmingham Choir, whose performance
ticked many of the right boxes and, notably in the
beautifully measured long finale, scored high on the
tingle-factor scale.
It wasn’t all plain sailing. Although chorally
full-bodied and well articulated, the opening was something
of an all-hands-to-the-pumps affair, with the CBSO (peopled
by several unfamiliar faces) sounding like an undisciplined
band for hire. The slow movement, however, was much more
expressively shaped, while the Scherzo displayed glittering
amounts of spray and spume.
Sterling work, too, from soprano soloist Julie Cooper,
who threw all caution to the wind in order to be heard.
Baritone James Rutherford, as urbanely mellifluous as
always, seemed so relaxed you couldn’t help wondering if
his thoughts were elsewhere.
Delius’s Sea Drift proved a more interpretatively
elusive nut to crack.
Lucas, the CBC and Rutherford did their best, but it
sounded depressingly wishy-washy and unengaged.
Verdict 4/5
David Hart in The Birmingham Post,
25 November 2009
Previous review |
... superb clarity and wonderful dynamics.
