Feast
of glorious music

Nicola
Lisle enjoys an uplifting evening with the Oxford Bach Choir

Ah, lovely — an evening indulging in
Bach. The Oxford Bach Choir joined forces with the London Mozart Players last
weekend for a wonderful selection of some of Bach’s most glorious music, in
what proved to be a particularly joyous and uplifting occasion.

The cantata Wachet auf, ruft uns die
Stimme (Awake, calls the voice to us) was written for the rare feast of the
Twenty-Seventh Sunday after Trinity, but its imagery of Jesus as bridegroom and
the soul of the believer as his bride, while ten virgins prepare for a wedding
feast, make this an apt choice for Advent.

Conductor Nicholas Cleobury coaxed
some sensational sounds from the choir, who delivered the choral numbers with
vocal purity, expressive phrasing and technical precision. The highlight,
arguably, was the sublime Zion hört die Wächter singen (Zion hears the watchmen
sing), beautifully sung both by the choir and tenor soloist Daniel Norman, all
appearing to relish that gloriously familiar melody. There were also solid
contributions from soprano Martene Grimson and bass Derek Welton.

The Magnificat in E flat was — well,
magnificent. Once again both choir and soloists (now joined by alto Wendy Dawn
Thompson) rose to the occasion, performing this wonderful work with all the
exuberance it deserves. There was some particularly fine work from the trumpet
section, too, ensuring an exhilarating close to the first half.

The second half opened with the short
motet Lobet den Herrn (Praise the Lord, all nations), sung with great reverence
and joy by the choir, before moving on to the grand finale — the Christmas
Oratorio Part 1, written for the first day of Christmas and recreating the
Nativity in suitably celebratory style.

Once again, there were strong
contributions from both choir and soloists, who sang with energy and radiance,
conveying the sense of wonderment, thanksgiving and celebration with great
conviction. This was a glorious evening — one that I could happily have sat
through again.

The Oxford Bach Choir returns to the Sheldonian Theatre on December 17 for
its annual Carol Concert.

Nicola
Lisle