As conductor of two of the oldest choirs in the region – Ludlow Choral Society, founded in 1859, and the 170-year old Birmingham Festival Choral Society – it was inevitable that at some point Patrick Larley would suggest a joint concert. Given the forces at his disposal, some might have reasonably expected a work of some innovation – instead we got Handel’s Messiah (albeit uncut) with organ accompaniment.
It was clearly a logistical choice, supported by Larley’s claim to present “an unashamedly Victorian-style performance”.
With 200 singers – some facing inwards from the side aisles – and four soloists huddled in a front pew eyeballing the sardine-packed audience inches away it certainly looked the part.
But that’s where authenticity ended. Instead of the ponderous singing of that period (preserved in old recordings – just listen to some of Beecham’s) this was an everyday, modern reading, fairly light on its choral feet, and topped by a well-focused, agile soprano section.
Several of the best-known numbers had a decent amount of heft, although it was a pity the energy of, for example, And With His Stripes, the Hallelujah and Amen choruses was not applied elsewhere.
Three of the enjoyably competent soloists employed a degree of Baroque ornamentation quite foreign to 19-century practice (not that it really mattered), with bass Mark Rowlinson winning the stylistic crown for his melodramatic, if rather underpowered, delivery.
A gold star, too, for the indefatigable organist Kevin Gill, who hardly faltered throughout his three-hour marathon and made effective use of the instrument’s limited diapason-dominated resources.
