These pieces book-ended a delightful performance of two violin solos – Bach's Preludio, from Partita No 3 in E major and Meditation, from Thaïs by Jules Massenet, charmingly played by Hideki Yutoku and accompanied by Ingrid Culliford.
It was a particularly accomplished performance by this young violinist. The various strands of the Bach were clearly defined and Meditation was very sensitively played and the audience was completely entranced. Hideki Yutoku is a performer to keep a close eye on in the future.
The choir resumed their selection with a beautiful rendition of Breathe Soft, ye Winds by William Paxton and I think everybody, including the choir, was delighted with the inclusion of the three Hungarian folk songs by Matyas Seiber.
In the second half, we were favoured with the Messa di Gloria by Giacomo Puccini. This work comprised the focal point of the concert.
Puccini composed this work at the age of 22 as a graduation exercise and it was first performed in 1880. It was well received but not performed again until its 'rediscovery' in 1952. It has enjoyed many performances since then. Although it is a secular composition, the hallmarks of the great operatic composer are already evident in his writing.
Due to the ill-health of Nigel Tongs, Iain Tetley amazingly took over the tenor solos and Nigel conducted the choir when Iain was singing. Surprisingly this worked extremely well and Iain's tenor solos were convincingly and confidently sung.
The choir began confidently with the Kyrie movement which is reminiscent of the Verdi Requiem.
The Gloria section forms a large body of the work, hence the title, and could stand alone as a choral piece. The choir admirably negotiated the difficult fugal Cum Sanctus Spiritus, recovering quickly from a couple of shaky moments.
The bass solo in the Sanctus movement was in the safe hands of Roger Wilson, who sang with conviction and assured experience. The final Agnus Dei was beautifully sung with a dialogue between the choir and the soloists. The indispensable Ingrid Culliford coped admirably on piano with the challenging orchestral reduction.
This was a lovely way to spend an afternoon. Bravi to the Schola Sacra, Iain Tetley and all the performers involved.
