Newbury Choral Society opened their season of 2023 concerts with the English version of the oratorio St Paul by Felix Mendelssohn; the first performance of which took place in Liverpool in 1836 and was first sung by NCS in 1891 and last sung in 1925.
This performance debuted the NCS’s new Director of Music, Joe Tobin.
The choir of 70 were accompanied by an orchestra of 17 with Steve Bowie on Organ. Soloists were Soprano Isabelle Haile, Alto Bernadette Johns, Tenor Sam Kibble, Bass Charles Cunliffe.
The audience was slightly down on numbers, possibly as this work is not as widely popular as Mendelssohn’s later oratorio Elijah.
The orchestra settled quickly as the overture progressed to deliver a confident crescendo leading into the opening chorus.
This is the point where the choir and orchestra are tested as one can easily dominate the other. Happily, the opening chorus was well sung and nicely balanced which was maintained throughout the performance with occasionally the trumpet becoming just a little dominant.
As the concert progressed the soloists made their appearance. All the soloists gave strong and confident performances and were amongst the best I’ve seen at NCS concerts. Highlights include the soprano’s aria in part 1 and the tenor and bass duet in part 2.
The choir continued to deliver a strong performance throughout, though occasionally the sopranos and tenors lacked volume on the highest notes. Highlights include the Chorale To Thee, O Lord in Part 1 and Not only unto him in Part 2.
For the choir, this was a lengthy performance of a work not previously attempted and rehearsed over a relatively short time. It was a brave decision for a newly-appointed Director of Music to launch into a work of this magnitude but judging by the enthusiastic response from the audience he succeeded.
So many congratulations to Joe Tobin, the choir, soloists and orchestra for delivering a first-class performance.
The bar has been set high and we can now look forward to NCS’s Summer Concert with Trondheim Male Voice Choir (Trondernes Mandsangforening) on Saturday 1st July at 7:30pm at St Nicolas Church.
