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Southern Voices Choir

Southern Voices brought St Mark's Basilica to Winchester for this year's A Little Late Night Music' in the Winchester Festival.

Little it certainly was not. This annual Festival highlight normally uses the more intimate quire' of Winchester Cathedral, but it was necessary to move into the nave for a well-attended performance of Monteverdi's Vespers of 1610 - an ambitious undertaking requiring seven soloists, exotic period instruments and up to 10-part choir.

The Vespers are built around biblical texts from the Liturgy of the Hours for several Marian feasts in the Roman Catholic church. Monteverdi composed the work three years before he applied for the top music post at St Mark's in Venice. Needless to say, with a musical calling card like this, he got the job!

The introductory Deus in adjutorium (Psalm 69) begins with a solo tenor followed by a choral response in massive block chords.

This was given the full treatment from Southern Voices with the colourful accompaniment of period strings, sackbuts and cornetts in full cry.

A great deal of thought had clearly gone into the performance.

Musical director Charles Stewart used the vast spaces of the Cathedral to maximum effect.

Some solo sections were delivered from the nave crossing, to the elegant accompaniment of the theorbo (a large lute).

Singers were occasionally placed out of sight to provide echo effects.

Apart from some minor ensemble issues early on, the choir was on top form and delivered immaculately tuned, dynamic singing. These things we have come to expect. But what really made the whole production take off were the stunning soloists and instrumentalists, all perfectly balanced in a natural aural perspective.

Lauda Jerusalem (Psalm 147) was typical of the extravagant psalm settings, for double choir and all instruments. The effect was stunning. In complete contrast the hymn Ave Maris Stella was lightly accompanied, with verses in differing arrangements interspersed with instrumental interludes. Still more striking was the Sonata sopra Sancta Maria ora pro nobis' with the two excellent soprano soloists Alison Hill and Katy Butler repeating the chant over an assortment of instrumental cross-rhythms.

The bass, Jimmy Holliday, was truly mighty in the Magnificat and James Oldfield added great warmth even at low pitch.

Stealing the show by a narrow margin were the three tenors, especially when Thomas Hobbs and John McMunn as Duo Seraphim were joined by William Kendall to form a triangle representing the Holy Trinity.

Special mention must be made of the instrumentalists: string players from Southern Sinfonia and the English Cornett and Sackbut Ensemble, who have made this repertoire their own. The earthy but restrained sound of these early instruments complements the human voice perfectly - rarely overpowering even the most delicate of singing.

This was music-making of a high order - and a rare opportunity to experience the glories of renaissance Venice in a different time and place.

By Bruce Randall

11:29am Tuesday 15th July 2008

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