Review: Music brings sunshine to an English day

The title was Oh, To Be in England. Automatically, I added "now that spring is here".

Hmm. In England the weather's miserable, so I rested content in Christ Church, Whangarei, as Consortium and Northland Sinfonia filled it with metaphorical English sunshine.

A well-knit, warm-toned orchestra began with Coates's Miniature Suite. The waltz's tempo was inelastic, but otherwise Nigel Harrison's baton elicited a nuanced performance, giving a gratifyingly solid punch to the Intermezzo's climax.

In Shaun Purkiss's folksy variations on Lovely Nancy, flautists Pippa Howes and Mere Teinaki sparkled against the wash of orchestral strings.

Later, Warwick Simpson tackled the Rondo Pastorale from Vaughan Williams's Concerto for Oboe and Strings; his consistently pure tone and articulation weaving an evocative, introspective tapestry.

Margaret Williams conducted most of the choral items, including her own arrangements of five Flanders and Swann songs. Primarily vested in words and individual characterisation, the songs' quintessential nudge-and-wink wit, particularly the ribald Have Some Madeira, M' Dear, doesn't translate to a choir. Instead the songs were rendered as choral novelties, enhanced by Lorraine Greenwood's perky pianism.

Williams coaxed a satisfying range of expression and dynamics from her well-blended choir for songs by Elgar, Blower, Moeran and Vaughan Williams. Moeran's Spring, the Sweet Spring was a sound for sore ears.

The three songs for choir and orchestra, by Gibbs (arranged John Dylan), Thiman and Quilter (arranged Margaret Williams), proved an unexpected highlight, because of the orchestral contributions. Gibbs' Five Eyes had a ripe nautical roll and choral ebullience underpinned by orchestral pungency, whilst the climax of Quilter's Non Nobis Domine was made all the more grand by beautifully balanced forces and brilliant trumpets.

In Vaughan Williams' bewitching Serenade to Music, soloists Barbara Walker, Penny Mashlan, Tony Clemmow and John Swinney all did well, the ladies scooped the honours.

I doff my cap to Rachel Wilson for keeping cool and mastering the exposed violin solos.

Oh, To Be in England

Consortium Chamber Choir

Northland Sinfonia

Pippa Howes, Mere Teinaki (flutes); Warwick Simpson (oboe)

Barbara Walker (soprano); Penny Mashlan (contralto); Tony Clemmow (tenor); John Swinney (bass)

Margaret Williams, Nigel Harrison (conductors)

Anglican Church, Mill Road