For any choral societies like Dundee Choral Union, getting the balance right between accompaniment and chorus is a fundamental and very important factor.
Choose a work that needs an orchestra and problems arise immediately, especially when numbers are low. In these cases, the instrumentalists usually hold sway despite the valiant efforts of the chorus.
Organ and harp
DCU, at the concert on Sunday in the Caird Hall, chose organ and harp accompaniment for works by Stanford, Britten, Buxtehude, WF Bach and Derek Clark, the latter being the Choral’s musical director.
There was considerable success with the organ, presided over by Morley Whitehead, but there was not so much success with the harp.
Britten’s A Ceremony of Carols calls for SATB chorus with harp accompaniment.
It also calls for a more intimate set-up and I felt the harp – performed impeccably by the excellent Sharon Griffiths – was too remote from the choir.
I reckon her playing might have been missed by the choir in some cases and this resulted in some intonation problems.
Stand-out moments
However, there were several moments of secure harmony and fine balance. I particularly liked the lively Wolcum Yole and the cross-chorus This Little Babe.
I also found the contributions of soprano Catriona Hewitson and Lea Shaw (mezzo) equally pleasing to the ear.
The second half of the programme was far more of a success, the choir bolstered by organ accompaniment which was restrained enough to give the singers a chance to shine.
And this they did in excellent fashion in Buxtehude’s A New-born Child and How Brightly Shines the Morning Star, a work I had always associated with JS Bach and not his son Wilhelm Friedemann.
Derek Clark’s work over the past few months proved effective as the choir, small in numbers as they are, came over loud and clear and with more confidence than in the previous half.
Excellent arias
There was considerable spirit in the Buxtehude and I thought the choir not only acquitted themselves well in the Bach, but showed just how good they can be.
Excellent arias by Catriona and Lea were simply the icing on the cake.
The concert ended with Derek’s Venite Adoremus, where four carols are intertwined with echoes of O Come All Ye Faithful.
It’s quite clever how this melody grows in stature amidst snatches of the others and made for a rousing end to a concert which, in the end, was a considerable success.
