I Was Glad: Cathedral Choirs Converge at St Canice's

Combined Choirs:I Was Glad ; Parry
Limerck: Teach Me Lord   Settings by Attwood, Byrd and John Hilton the Younger 
Kilkenny:O Vos Omnes Gesualdo
               Unser lieben Frauen Traum Reger
               O Thou the central orb: Charles Wood
Waterford: Massof St Patrick: Eric Sweeney
Combined Choirs  Schubert Missa in G major 

Organists Malcolm Proud and Cecilia Kehoe

While the Deise Hurlers  were thrashing Cork at Semple Stadium, Waterford fielded another team in a less combative but no less arduous inter-county endeavour. On this occasion, all teams lined out in  red as Christchurch Cathedral Choir joined choirs of St Mary's, Limerick and the home team of St Canice's Cathedral for an afternoon of  sacred music from the Anglican Choral Tradition.

The celebratory mood was set from the start with Parry's coronation anthem, which Kate Middleton walked up the aisle to in 2011. Limerick offered  three settings of psalm 119. Teach Me Lord. Kilkenny. St Canice's with the largest group approaching 30 voices produced the fullest sound, equally at  ease in the complexity of Gesualdo's 5 part motet as Reger's chorale like Marian hymn.

Christchurch, Waterford added a contemporary edge with a Fauréesque flourish. Composer Eric Sweeney directed the choir in his own work. The Mass of St Patrick was commissioned by St Patrick's Cathedral  and premiered in Dublin as recently as 2007. It  was conducted on that occasion by Peter Barley who was at the helm of the Limerick contingent yesterday.

The concert closed with a performance by the combined choirs of a teenage Schubert Mass. The work featured some impressive emerging talent. A voluntary membership of adults is supplemented at St Canice's by Choral Scholars of school and college music students introduced as part of the revival of the choir in recent years under director David Forde.  (Names are noted below. Watch out for them. They are good.)  You can hear a brief interview with David below and a snatch of a Schubertian Sanctus.

Any endeavour is always enhanced by the addition of cake. I am happy to report that the audience enjoyed a superior array of home baked goodies following the performance.

St Canice Choral Scholars:  Aliyah Knox Khan, Sophie Knox Khan,   Hannah Traynor, Ciaran Fennelly, John Kennedy
                                             Aoife McKiernan

The programme will be repeated in Waterford and Limerick. I will post dates when I have them to hand.

listen to ‘Sanctus Combined Choirs’ on audioBoom

listen to ‘David Forde Choral Director at St Canice's Cathedral’ on audioBoom

Pieces of Eight: Voces8 Charm at Christchurch

Sing Joyfully unto God Wm Byrd 
Cantate Dominum Monteverdi
Straighten Up and Fly Right Nat King Cole  
Fever Peggy Lee
Free as a Bird  Beatles
Plainchant  Borogoditse Rachmaninov
Jubilate Deo Gabrielli 

Steal Away  
The Lamb Tavener
Il est Belle est Bonne Passereau
Me and My Shadow    Jolson 
Mrs Robinson   Simon Garfunkel
Jailhouse Rock
James Bond Mash Barry
Don't Mean a thing if it ain't got that swing Ellington 

Encore Opera Mash


The British vocal ensemble, Voces8 arrived at Christchurch Cathedral, Waterford last night hotfoot  from a headline gala concert at Cork Choral Festival. This was enough of an imprimatur to expect something good. But  they weren't just good. From start to finish, they were superb.
Beginning with  British and Italian Renaissance music, the group of six men and two women,   presented a diverse choral cocktail mixing  cool  jazz numbers with a soupçon of classy  pop and a measure  of 20th century minimalism all presented with a refreshing dash of theatricality. There were no programme notes (tut tut) but all pieces were clearly announced without the aid of amplification  in well modulated, crisp tones by various members, a master class in how to address the audience beyond the first three rows.  We loved also  the interstitial moments of absolute silence after the pitch pipes had been blown. If we were forced to choose a highlight, their rendition of a Beatles number, Free as a Bird, an homage to the King's Singers   was so beguiling  that a  general murmur of approval was audible across the pews.

Indicative of their eagerness to connect with their audience was  a remark on the elegant crystal chandeliers, (the presenter said that they reminded the group of their time as choristers in Westminster Abbey),   I was reminded again of the reservoir of musical expertise in the English Cathedral Choral tradition.   Following the concert, the octet  moved from the platform to the front of the  house to meet and greet.. I left the cathedral to the sound of lively  chatter as  each of the eight had scattered  and been subsumed by listeners. A trip to their summer school in South West England  is not too far away and might interest some choristers.  A preview of their latest recording for the Decca label is posted below.



Venue Notes Dean Jansson of Christchurch,  remarked in her introduction that there were 30 choirs active in the county.  With such a busy scene, one might have expected the attendance to have been  fuller than it was last night for one of just two performances in Ireland by this group. It was unfortunate that one of the choirs had a concert on the evening so presumably members of the other 29 choirs were either at Cork Choral Festival or  in the pews in Ballygunner to support Ad Hoc Chorale. I am on the circulation list  of several musical ensembles including a choir in Waterford. I received no notification  via these lists that this event was happening.   

Who we met. We met tenor, Dermot Doyle of Concordia who tells me the male voice quartet,  will be back in action in September. No lull in the performing schedule however for Bealtaine. Choir. Their director, Anne Woodworth tells me that they have no less than  five events scheduled for May.. 


Related post http://cathydesmond.blogspot.ie/2011/07/exeter-cathedral-choir-at-christchurch.html

The French Connection: Spirited Swiss Duo at Christchurch

Rachel Kolly D'Alba  & Christian Chamorel at Christchurch Cathedral 

Fauré  Sonata in A 
Chausson Poeme op 25
Franck Sonata in A 
Raymond Deane Petit Phrase
Ravel Tzigane 

 Hearing  Suzy Klein interview Swiss violin and piano  pairing on a BBC radio programme ahead of their Wigmore Hall performance last week had heightened my sense of anticipation for Rachel Kolly d'Alba and Christian Chamorel's appearance in Christchurch Cathedral,  Waterford tonight. It did not quite prepare me though for the full impact of the live experience    It is not often we get to hear an authentic 18th century Strad. in Waterford but I suspect that the flame haired virtuoso could have made a factory Skylark sound sizzling.  The hallmark of this virtuoso  is not so much an genteel beauty of tone,  but more an unbridled, full blooded and  triumphant playing style that makes you cling on  to the side of your pew. With Chamorel,  they made a bracing pair of duetists with never a dull moment.

I was too late to hear more than the end of the Fauré but the rhapsodic Chausson was plenty hearty fare  to be going on with. The work was composed, the programme notes by Pat O Kelly informed us, at the behest of  French virtuoso, Ysaye. A second A major Sonata, composed as a wedding present for the same Ysaye, by Cesar Frank formed the mainstay of the second half.  A work by Raymond Deane was included with the customary opaque programme note. Petite Phrase  in Deane's own words was 'defined by the productive friction of contradictions' with some  allusion or other to Proust.  This was followed by a refreshing burst of violin  showmanship in Ravel's gypsy rhapsody, Tzigane.

Dressed in  a  vivid  floor length emerald green frock, Kolly d'Alba cut a colourful and  vibrant figure that could have stepped from a Pre Raphaelite canvas.  Have a look at the video for a glimpse at what you missed. If you are  the South East, you can still catch them in Wexford on Friday .  Among the afficionados we met were pianist Finghin Collins who has performed at Chamorel's Mont Musical Festival in Lausanne. It was  to good to meet local resident  violin virtuoso Teresa Costello of Waterford Concert Orchestra.

The pair are on an extensive tour that takes them to Donegal, Cork, Wexford and Dublin Full dates here http://www.musicnetwork.ie/events/details/april_tour_2014_rachel_kolly_dalba_christian_chamorel/


Venue Notes: I like a 7.30 start time but it is escaping patrons attention, particularly when the rest of the tour dates are at 8pm . A significant percentage of the audience missed the opening sontata which was a pity. 

Romantic Cello Classics at Christchurch

Annette Cleary plays 3rd movement Rachmaninoff Cello Sonata

What a splendid instrument, the cello is.  No shrill screeching from high E strings and perfect for the lush Romantic repertoire. Taking a line from Beethoven's love letters, Annette Cleary together with pianist Rachel Quinn, delivered a virtuoso programme titled 'Ever Thine, Ever Mine, Ever ours' at Christchurch tonight.  The playing was vigorous committed, the sonority rich and expressive. no more so than in the lyrical movement of a Rachmaninoff sonata.

The Waterford venue in the heart of the Viking Triangle was not far from where I first met Annette.  She and her sister Nicola were a star turn at the annual students concert in the Waterford Municipal Theatre.

Three small pieces, Webern
Cello Sonata No3 in A 0pus 69 Beethoven
Irish Airs 
Chopin Waltzes 
Rachmaninoff Cello Sonata G mi op 19
The Swan Saint Saens 

Poetic Licence: Attacca Quartet at Christchurch

Effective  lighting  for Attacca at Christchurch 

The Attacca Quartet are on an Irish  tour at the moment and I enjoyed hearing them last night at Christchurch Cathedral Waterford on the second evening of a six date tour. You can read a report of the opening concert on the Irish Times blog here. The  playing was very fine indeed  and they were an attractive looking group on the dramatically  lit platform in  the elegant backdrop of the 18th century interior.

Christ Church Cathedral rocked tonight with a wonderful Attacca Quartet. World class young musicians who talked to their audience
— LIAM MURPHY (@liammunster) February 28, 2014

Unfortunately I got caught by the early start time and missed the opening work by Adams. I think early start times and tea time / afternoon recitals are a great idea particularly on weekends but they do need to be flagged more actively  particularly when all other times in the tour are at the more conventional 8pm.

I loved the addition of a spoken element to the proceedings and it was refreshing to hear sound of well modulated accents from the other side of the Atlantic. There were subsantial  programme notes from Liam Cagney. Here is what he has to say about the 4th movement  of 'Intimate Letters'. Janacek's passionate paean to a beloved younger woman.
'The final movement, gliding on erotic impulse, expresses the composer's fear that he might 'bind your feet like a pretty little lamb' ;though the finale eventually ends triumphantly'  Judge for youself.  Here is a clip of the Attacca Quartet playing the finale of their 'Poetic Licence' programme

The Attacca Quartet are at the Triskel  Arts Centre in Cork tonight  (Note at 8pm) and Wexford tomorrow afternoon.  Tour locations and dates here 



Venue Notes : I loved the subdued lighting in the body of the church. It added much to the experience. The accoustic of the 18th century stone building suited the dimensions of an unamplified chamber ensemble and the string sonority was rich and warm. The setting of the vocal microphone sounded off. The vocal clarity was not as sharp as it might  be. I was conscious of this also at a recent talk here.

Superior Scottish Ensemble at Christchurch

Southern Tenant Union Folk are  back in Ireland for  a hectic week long tour.  Above is the Scottish ensemble's appearance on the Late Late Show, that made me sit up and pay attention. I saw them last night at Christchurch Cathedral, Waterford.

The six gentlemen dressed smartly  in suits made an impressive tableau gathered around a retro style microphone. The sound was an inventive  blend of  bluegrass with other styles.  20th century film music is cited as an influence and there is a strong seam of Cuban roots music in there too. The playing is highly accomplished and the vocal blend is satisfying. The songs are intelligent, thoughtful, tending to the dark side,  many with a  political edge.  'If we only sing songs about whiskey and riding box-cars, we're finished said chef d'équipe , Pat McGarvey. You can hear his interview on the Andrew Marr show below.

At the close  the band abandoned their altar position and moved to stand and sing among the pews. It was thrilling somehow to hear musicians without the veneer of amplification however subtle. Given that audiences for live music in Waterford are sometimes less than 50, maybe we could have a little more wireless performance practice.

I am not sure whether it was the acoustic or the Scottish accents, or the amplification, but I struggled to catch the spoken introductions.   But I am very glad to have seen them. It cannot be easy travelling the length and breadth of Ireland on the darkest days of Winter.  If they were disheartened by the paucity of the attendance scattered in the pews, they didn't show it. They are brave to undertake it and worthy of our support. Tour dates are below.


Venue Notes : Christchurch is a very  elegant 18th century ecclesiastical space. With the organ pipes gleaming under the bright lights of crystal chandeliers, it didn't seem quite an appropriate setting for the style of performance, even when as well executed as it was last night. PR seemed minimal . I couldn't find a reference in local press and I learned of the gig from a poster  in a local café. 

Thur 7th Nov Bangor Town Hall, Bangor, Co Down
Fri 8th Nov Christ Church Cathedral, Waterford City
Sat 9th Nov Seamus Ennis Cultural Centre, Naul, Co Dublin
Sun 10th Nov Murphy’s Bar, Thomastown, Co Kilkenny
Mon 11th Nov Crane Lane Theatre, Cork City
Tues 12th Nov St John’s Theatre, Listowel, Co Kerry
Wed 13th Nov Allihies Copper Mine Museum, Beara, West Cork
Thur 14th Nov De Barras, Clonakilty, West Cork
Fri 15th Nov Carnegie Arts Centre, Kenmare, Co Kerry
Sat 16th Nov Upstairs At Dolan’s, Limerick City