REVIEW - Saturday 26th April 2008
Rochester Cathedral was the setting on Saturday evening for a very successful concert of English music performed by the Gravesham Choral Society and Orchestra. All four pieces were composed by Ralph Vaughan Williams, who died 50 years ago this year.
The evening’s programme was a well-chosen mixture of orchestral and choral music, beginning with “A Serenade to Music”, sung expertly by the members of the Kent Chamber Choir. The orchestra then played the English Folk-Song Suite and completed the first half with the ever-popular “The Lark Ascending”. The solo violin was played beautifully by Anna Coleman, who is co-leader of the BBC Symphony Orchestra. The rapturous applause after her final note had died away was richly deserved.
The second half of the concert was filled by a performance of Vaughan Williams’ “A Sea Symphony”. Written in the traditional symphonic structure of four movements, the piece holds many challenges for choir and orchestra alike. These were well met in the performance, which was conducted - as usual - in masterly fashion by Alan Vincent. Special mention must be made of the unaccompanied sections sung in four parts by the sopranos and altos. All the hard work in practice really paid off.
The soloists – Sinéad Campbell, soprano, and the baritone Grant Doyle – both sang superbly and received very warm appreciation from the capacity audience
Richard Gretton