​Review by Howard Duthie

The Rosenethe Singers are well-established in central Scotland as a choir comfortable in its own skin and with a history and range of experience which has guaranteed a loyal following for over 60 years. Their 2026 Spring Concert, entitled Beacons of Hope, was given in the Church of The Holy Rude, Stirling, and marked only their second performance under the direction of Frikki Walker. At the outset a partnership that may well indeed have been founded on hope has evidently quickly justified itself, because the programme for this event happily bore the news that Frikki’s status has now moved from interim to permanent musical director.

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This is plainly a Good Thing, if this concert is anything to go by, and it would seem that the Rosenethe succession has passed on to a capable pair of hands which will undoubtedly continue to steer the choir reliably on its trajectory of musical excellence.

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All concerts begin at the planning stage and the conception of Beacons of Hope was plainly going to work from the start: a well-known and attractive Haydn Mass, a sparkling Handel Organ Concerto and a substantial Bach Motet for the first half with complimentary repertoire to follow, consisting largely of highly approachable contemporary miniatures. This all looked good in print even before the musicians appeared on stage, and so it turned out on the night.

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The singers were supported by The Rosebery Quartet who provided a polished accompaniment throughout, along with organist David Hamilton and pianist Catriona Mackenzie. A special mention also for soprano soloist Kirsty Wilson whose Benedictus duet with organ in the Mass radiated poise and calm. The combination of small-scale strings and baroque-inspired chamber organ was perfect for the earlier pieces, allowing the choir to project without having to compete, and contrasted with the flowing piano improvisations and solo violin lines which embellished the items in the second half.

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You can usually tell when a choir likes what they sing (!) and this was amply borne out here. Despite the interesting challenge of mastering a Hebrew text, they plainly responded in kind to the tenderness of Eric Whitacre’s Love Songs as well as the ancient Latin text of Ola Gjeilo’s luminous and contemplative Ubi Caritas, but it’s probably fair to say that their most obviously communicated enjoyment was reserved for the concert’s finale – did I mention that they had a World Premiere up their collective sleeve...?

As well as being a conductor and organist, Frikki Walker also has a substantial body of compositions to his credit. Tonight’s unveiling of “Hope is a Strange Invention”, a sequence of a dozen settings of poems by Emily Dickinson, can trace its beginnings to a single song originally written for the High School of Glasgow Chamber Choir. The direct humanity of Dickinson’s verse proved a clear match for Frikki’s melodic and accessible style, combining with the warm choral tone of the choir to generate a palpably affectionate culmination for a concert which certainly sent the audience home in a spirit of optimism.