by Simon Collings

In my review of the Bach Choir’s Messiah earlier this year I singled out the baritone Derek Welton for particular praise. At last Saturday’s concert Welton was again the star. He appeared in two pieces by Vaughan Williams, the rarely performed Sancta Civitas, and Five Mystical Songs. The concert opened with Parry’s Blest Pair of Sirens, and the programme also included Holst’s Hymn of Jesus. Welton's wonderfully controlled and expressive singing, clear enunciation and confident stage presence confirmed that he is a young artist with a great future. Five Mystical Songs is a glorious piece with the folk-song inspired melodies perfectly matching the naïve faith of George Herbert’s poetry. Welton's voice seemed made for this music.

He was equally authoritative in Sancta Civitas. The Oxford Bach Choir gave the very first performance of this piece in 1926, surely the most substantial work ever premiered by the choir. In this, the 50th year since Vaughan Williams's death, it was a natural choice for the programme. The text is from the biblical book of Revelation and describes a battle between heaven and the 'kings of the earth' – a vision of a new order triumphing. The sound world is austere and dream-like, a far cry from the Edwardian bombast of Parry. Vaughan Williams's experiences in the trenches of the First World War had much to do with this.

Towards the end, there is a single line for a solo tenor who appears as 'the morning star'. Daniel Turner's brief emergence was suitably magical. The solo violin part performed wonderfully by the orchestra's leader Simon Smith also deserves a mention.

The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra played throughout with a clear and expansive sound under Nicholas Cleobury's precise direction. Unfortunately the choir seemed less confident of their parts than on previous occasions when I have heard them. The Parry was performed with appropriate gusto but they struggled at times in the musically more challenging Sancta Civitas and Hymn of Jesus.