Past Performances

 

In a change of venue for Christmas, our Carol Concert took place at a packed Methodist Church and comprised both new, old and congregational carols.  There were reading by choir members and musical interludes presented by special guests, Brass Buttons, a quartet who really injected a spirit of Christmas into the proceedings. 

  


 

On 8th November the choir presented a beautiful programme at St Oswald's Parish Church which comprised Durufle's requiem, paired with a new work to Cantiones, Vigil Mass by Wiliam Petter.  The choir was joined by Cellist, Ed Wadon, Soprano, Rhian-Carys Jones and Organist, Paul Carr.  It was particularly pleasing that William Petter's parents joined us for the performance. 

 

For their summer concert, Cantiones created a programme for their summer concert which demonstrated the versatility of the choir. They performed Seven Poems of Robert Bridges by Gerald Finzi followed by a series of master choral works ranging from Monteverdi to Barber. These took in a combination of sacred and secular music where you were able to hear a variety of combinations from the choir, from the full choral sound to a small chamber group to some solo moments. 

    
Spring Concert: A programme of Mozart
The choir’s first performance under new MD, Tony Coupe, was a programme of uplifting Mozart works. In the Coronation Mass in C, soloists from the choir were joined by professional Soprano, Natasha Hendrickse-Welsh and Tenor, Joe Martin to great effect. A former MD of the choir commented that “the parts were well known and sung with real confidence”. After a rendition of the Soprano solo, Exsultate Jubilate, sung beautifully by Natasha, the choir followed with the Solemn Vespers. An audience member felt the choir had never felt more uified and sang very tightly together with clear vocals and harmonically in tune throughout. As always, the performance enjoyed exceptional piano accompaniment from Stephen Owens. New MD, Tony Coupe commented that, “since joining Cantiones in January, I have found the singers to be responsive to detailed phrasing, brave in producing an extensive range in their dynamics and able to deliver the highest standard in performance”.