I attended Wokingham Choral Society’s Saturday evening programme at St Paul’s Church. With professional help from Emily Vine (Sporano) and Sam Pantcheff (baritone) they sang a variety of Church music.
In the first half they tackled twentieth century settings of the Magnificat, Nunc Dimittis, Venite and Te Deum by Herbet Howells, Charles Stanford and Anthony Piccolo. The programme culminated in Jonathan Dove’s Missa Brevis, an electrifying wall of sounds that tested the choir’s voices to the full. In the second half they performed the Faure Requiem, Opus 48.
The choir did so well. Some of the music was difficult to sing, but they rose to the challenge magnificently. It was a great evening. I enjoyed the mixture of the Faure, a work I had heard before, and the newer pieces which I did not know. The audience gave them a warm reception, and was also grateful to Benjamin Woodward, the organist and Alexander Chaplin, the Conductor, for organising and accompanying such a fine production.