Paddock Wood Choral Society Reviews
Review 1
On Saturday 22nd March, the Paddock Wood Choral Society gave their ‘Harmony of the Heavens’ Concert at St Andrews Church.
The opening work, Hubert Parry’s Blest Pair of Sirens, was beautifully performed by the orchestra and choir under the baton of Adrian Pitts, their Director of Music. It was a rare treat to hear a piece of Parry that wasn’t I was glad.
This was followed by one of my favourite pieces: Bizet’s Arlésienne Suite, No 1, which the orchestra performed superbly, conjuring up, as it always does for me, the warmth, colour, beauty and long history of this town on the banks of the river Rhône. There was a brief, unscheduled, wait for the church bell announcing the final movement, Carillon. Once started, the effect was stunning; a colourful final movement after the soft strings of the Adagietto.
After the interval came Rossini’s Stabat Mater. This was the highlight of the evening, with brilliant performances by soloists, choir and orchestra alike. The sometimes highly operatic style of the music, contrasting with the sombre darkness of the sacred texts, produced a highly unusual effect – uplifting in a literal and metaphorical sense.
The consistently professional standard of the chorus was notable, particularly in the last piece as they reliably supported the soloists. They are obviously a choir who really listen to one another, and as a result achieve a most satisfying result.
A most enjoyable evening’s musical entertainment.
Soloists: Rebecca Mitchell (soprano); Harriet Webb (mezzo soprano); Paul Smy (tenor); Graham Dinnage (bass).
Leader of the Orchestra: Anri Martis Conductor and Director of Music: Adrian Pitts.
Review 2 (by a member of the audience)
We really did enjoy the concert and were very surprised at how good all the performers were.
The choice of pieces was very good, each in the same sort of "stable" but different enough to be very interesting. We loved the Parry - such powerful stuff, and the choir's rendition was very good indeed. The Arlesienne Suite was very good too. The Stabat Mater was a real triumph!
The soloists were worth what-ever you had to pay them as they were excellent! The tenor was terrific and it was a joy to listen to him; the bass's voice was such a warm brown with excellent clarity; the soprano and mezzo were both fantastic and their tone, power and projection superb.
The choir pulled off the difficult sections with ease and had such gusto for the performance! The "wall of sound" that you all created was superb and we were sorry when the concert ended, however, we left on such a high of enjoyment! It must be fantastic to work with your conductor as he lives every note! I moved with him and anticipated the highs and lows with him and you! He's a gifted choirmaster.
We were not anticipating a great evening and we certainly didn't expect to have a concert of such quality in Paddock Wood and to have enjoyed it as much as we did. We are looking forward to your next classical one.
Review 1
On Saturday 22nd March, the Paddock Wood Choral Society gave their ‘Harmony of the Heavens’ Concert at St Andrews Church.
The opening work, Hubert Parry’s Blest Pair of Sirens, was beautifully performed by the orchestra and choir under the baton of Adrian Pitts, their Director of Music. It was a rare treat to hear a piece of Parry that wasn’t I was glad.
This was followed by one of my favourite pieces: Bizet’s Arlésienne Suite, No 1, which the orchestra performed superbly, conjuring up, as it always does for me, the warmth, colour, beauty and long history of this town on the banks of the river Rhône. There was a brief, unscheduled, wait for the church bell announcing the final movement, Carillon. Once started, the effect was stunning; a colourful final movement after the soft strings of the Adagietto.
After the interval came Rossini’s Stabat Mater. This was the highlight of the evening, with brilliant performances by soloists, choir and orchestra alike. The sometimes highly operatic style of the music, contrasting with the sombre darkness of the sacred texts, produced a highly unusual effect – uplifting in a literal and metaphorical sense.
The consistently professional standard of the chorus was notable, particularly in the last piece as they reliably supported the soloists. They are obviously a choir who really listen to one another, and as a result achieve a most satisfying result.
A most enjoyable evening’s musical entertainment.
Soloists: Rebecca Mitchell (soprano); Harriet Webb (mezzo soprano); Paul Smy (tenor); Graham Dinnage (bass).
Leader of the Orchestra: Anri Martis Conductor and Director of Music: Adrian Pitts.
Review 2 (by a member of the audience)
We really did enjoy the concert and were very surprised at how good all the performers were.
The choice of pieces was very good, each in the same sort of "stable" but different enough to be very interesting. We loved the Parry - such powerful stuff, and the choir's rendition was very good indeed. The Arlesienne Suite was very good too. The Stabat Mater was a real triumph!
The soloists were worth what-ever you had to pay them as they were excellent! The tenor was terrific and it was a joy to listen to him; the bass's voice was such a warm brown with excellent clarity; the soprano and mezzo were both fantastic and their tone, power and projection superb.
The choir pulled off the difficult sections with ease and had such gusto for the performance! The "wall of sound" that you all created was superb and we were sorry when the concert ended, however, we left on such a high of enjoyment! It must be fantastic to work with your conductor as he lives every note! I moved with him and anticipated the highs and lows with him and you! He's a gifted choirmaster.
We were not anticipating a great evening and we certainly didn't expect to have a concert of such quality in Paddock Wood and to have enjoyed it as much as we did. We are looking forward to your next classical one.