A review of the Chichester Voices Lent performance at St Thomas à Becket’s Church, Thursday 27th March 2014
Chichester Voices delighted us with ‘Requiem Aeternam’ by Malcolm Archer, the current Director of Choral Music at Winchester College. He has acted as adjudicator for BBC Radio 2 Young Chorister of the Year and a judge for BBC Songs of Praise School Choirs Competition. His style is fluent, lyrical and ‘singer and listener friendly’.
The second half was ‘Behold the Saviour of the World’ by William Lloyd Webber (father of Andrew and Julian). At his centenary concert this year in London, ‘The Saviour’ was performed and we agree with the comments of one newspaper ‘his music is as thrilling and climatic as anything to be found in British choral music’.
Richard Scott-Copeland was the organist and how thrilling to feel the vibrations through the seats of the pews from ‘the king of instruments’.
This was a most moving help in our understanding of the days of Lent leading up to a glorious Easter Day. The audience participated in the singing of 2 wonderful Passiontide hymns – ‘My God I love Thee not because I hope for heaven thereby’ and ‘When I survey the wondrous Cross on which the King of Glory died’.
As is typical of Dr Andrew Naylor and his Choir, the concerts are presented in aid of charities – this time – ‘Hope for Tomorrow’ a new charity which is bringing cancer treatment closer to home for many sufferers throughout the Country. As we have come to expect – the tuning was perfection – if words cannot convey the love of our Saviour – music certainly does.
Thank you Andrew and Chichester voices.