'extraordinary harmonic range and depth of sound' - 27.07.07

[Concert Review: Chester Cathedral, Chester Summer Music Festival] Glyn Mon Hughes, Liverpool Daily Post

THERE is something special about concerts held in the late evening and in the darkness. That, for the most part, was the major selling point for Tenebrae’s recital in the Chester Summer Music Festival.

Chester Cathedral was bathed in candlelight for what could have been a spectacular evening sundowner, had we actually seen any sun on this day in a British high summer. One wonders how the earlier fireworks spectacular at Colmondeley Castle had fared, assuming it was possible to ignite a damp blue touch paper.

Tenebrae, the choral consort, proved to be highly disciplined and near perfectly balanced. Director Nigel Short is evidently a hard taskmaster as their diction was superb, the balance just right, and he imbued the whole recital with a sense of purpose. The fortes were dynamic and impressive, the pianissimos barely perceptible. And what a range of music, albeit subtitled In Heaven or On Earth and surveying the influence of the Russian Orthodox Church on musicians.

We’re well used to hearing the orchestral works of Rachmaninov, Tchaikovsky and Stravinsky, but to hear their choral works is to experience a whole new dimension. It’s easy to hear their influence in the choral pieces but it’s also easy to sit back and hear just how deep the power of these vocal works affected their writing for the concert platform.

There were some particularly memorable moments from Rachmaninov’s Vespers, for instance, and quite magical renditions of Stravinsky’s Ave Maria and Pater Noster.

Of particular note were the performances of composers most affected by the anti-religious Communist era in the Soviet Union: Chesnokov, who stopped composing for fear of repercussions and Nicolai Kedrov who continued to produce beautiful music.

The choir used the space to great effect, especially for Tavener’s Hymn to the Mother of God and his Funeral Ikos, but the lasting memory will be the extraordinary harmonic range and depth of sound which inspired these composers to write for the Orthodox liturgy.