Mass in G Minor
After a short interval came the centrepiece of the evening, the Mass in G minor for soloists and double choir. This was another ambitious project for the Rosenethe Singers who, with Kevin Duggan’s inspirational leadership, presented a very sound result indeed, including all the solo lines in the course of the piece which, again, were sung by singers from the choir. The Kyrie, with its plainchant-like opening, set the atmosphere for the second half of the concert and the tone of the choir remained uniform and homogenous as the counterpoint emerged, reminiscent of the height of Renaissance, with open fourths and fifths often interjecting the modal chord progressions.
In contrast, the Gloria opened with dense chords and the texture breaking into a dialogue between the two choirs. The tone of the choir remained clear for most of the movement with a few insecurities from which the singers recovered very well and ended in a rich and sonorous G major final chord.
The Credo continued in Vaughan Williams’ style of fusing Renaissance structures of antiphonal singing resembling the writing of Gabrielli and a harmonic language consistent with his English pastoral style. There was some very good singing in this movement, both by soloists and the ensemble, who managed to get through some very challenging passages.
The Sanctus started with an undulating line by the female voices. There was some very careful phrasing here; very occasionally the first sopranos could have sounded a bit more confident and homogenous in their most exposed lines, but the blend improved greatly when the male voices joined in. The sense of pulse felt somewhat ambiguous in the second Osanna, following the Benedictus section, but Kevin was very successful in holding the ensemble together. This made all the difference in the outcome and resulted in a crisp and triumphant unison close to the movement.
The closing Agnus Dei was sung with very good intonation, considering the challenge of some dramatic harmonic shifts, typical of Vaughan Williams’ musical idiom. Both the soloists and the choir maintained good tone overall and the lines was neatly and sensitively shaped, culminating in the haunting yet serene final chord of ‘Amen’. The audience kept still until the last of the choral sound had faded out, after which they burst into a very enthusiastic applause at the end of a highly enjoyable evening.
Warm congratulations are due to Kevin Duggan and the Rosenethe Singers for rising to this challenge and for their high standard of musicality and committed stage presence throughout the evening.Mass in G Minor
After a short interval came the centrepiece of the evening, the Mass in G minor for soloists and double choir. This was another ambitious project for the Rosenethe Singers who, with Kevin Duggan’s inspirational leadership, presented a very sound result indeed, including all the solo lines in the course of the piece which, again, were sung by singers from the choir. The Kyrie, with its plainchant-like opening, set the atmosphere for the second half of the concert and the tone of the choir remained uniform and homogenous as the counterpoint emerged, reminiscent of the height of Renaissance, with open fourths and fifths often interjecting the modal chord progressions.
 

In contrast, the Gloria opened with dense chords and the texture breaking into a dialogue between the two choirs. The tone of the choir remained clear for most of the movement with a few insecurities from which the singers recovered very well and ended in a rich and sonorous G major final chord.

 

The Credo continued in Vaughan Williams’ style of fusing Renaissance structures of antiphonal singing resembling the writing of Gabrielli and a harmonic language consistent with his English pastoral style. There was some very good singing in this movement, both by soloists and the ensemble, who managed to get through some very challenging passages.

 

The Sanctus started with an undulating line by the female voices. There was some very careful phrasing here; very occasionally the first sopranos could have sounded a bit more confident and homogenous in their most exposed lines, but the blend improved greatly when the male voices joined in. The sense of pulse felt somewhat ambiguous in the second Osanna, following the Benedictus section, but Kevin was very successful in holding the ensemble together. This made all the difference in the outcome and resulted in a crisp and triumphant unison close to the movement.

 

The closing Agnus Dei was sung with very good intonation, considering the challenge of some dramatic harmonic shifts, typical of Vaughan Williams’ musical idiom. Both the soloists and the choir maintained good tone overall and the lines was neatly and sensitively shaped, culminating in the haunting yet serene final chord of ‘Amen’. The audience kept still until the last of the choral sound had faded out, after which they burst into a very enthusiastic applause at the end of a highly enjoyable evening.

 

Warm congratulations are due to Kevin Duggan and the Rosenethe Singers for rising to this challenge and for their high standard of musicality and committed stage presence throughout the evening.