The Warminster Athenaeum Singers celebrated their 30th Anniversary with a concert at the Parish Church of St. Denys, The Minster, on 7 June 2008.
Under the baton of Gavin Carr, and with the support of the Amadeus Orchestra and two gifted soloists, they gave a performance which many in the packed audience considered to be one of their best.
The opening work, Beethoven’s Egmont Overture, an atmospheric piece which captures the drama and the passion of Goethe’s tragic play, was performed superbly by the Amadeus Orchestra, a training orchestra of young musicians absolutely bulging with talent. It was a spirited performance, the highlight being the fast and furious climax to the overture.
A complete change of mood followed, with Mozart’s concert aria, Vorrei Spiergarvi, O Dio. Here the orchestra accompanied by Elenor Bowers-Jolley, a young soprano just starting out in her career as a soloist. Her interpretation of the aria, perhaps the least well-known of the evening’s works, delighted the audience. The piece is highly charged with contrasting emotions, and as such it requires great skill on the part of the soloist, with some of the notes being right at the upper end of the soprano’s register. Miss Bowers-Jolley took all of this in her stride. She has a lovely voice and was a delight to listen to.
Next on the programme were two popular duets from Mozart’s The Magic Flute, Bei Mannern and Pa-pa-pa, with Miss Bowers-Jolley being joined by another talented soloist, baritone Adrian Powter. Both soloists gave memorable performances of these duets, demonstrating fully the range and depth of their musicality.
The Athenaeum Singers’ first piece in the concert was the well-loved composition by Sir Hubert Parry, his Coronation Anthem I Was Glad. This short, powerful piece requires both constraint and energy on the part of the orchestra and choir. It has some beautiful slow and quiet sections but builds up to a climax containing a huge wall of sound. Choir and orchestra coped well with this, expressing exquisitely the joy and beauty of the piece.
The choir had saved the best for their final piece, however, and after the interval the audience was treated to an inspirational performance of Brahms’ A German Requiem, surely one of the most beautiful and moving works in the choral repertoire.
This performance was clearly the result of much hard work and rehearsal. The choir clearly enjoyed their singing and responded well to Gavin Carr’s leadership and to the first rate support they received from the orchestra, as well as from Mark Swinton on the organ. Elenor Bowers-Jolley and Adrian Powter, in their solos, provided inspiration, too. It would be difficult to pick out a highlight but perhaps the middle section How Lovely Are Thy Dwellings as a peaceful interlude to the rousing and uplifting climaxes.
The applause at the end summed up the audience’s pleasure at such a heart-warming performance. We look forward to further delights in the next 30 years.
Report by Phil Jefferson.