In fine voice

A capacity audience at the Palace Theatre, Newark, on March 6, was treated to a superb concert of choral and ensemble singing at its best.

The Mansfield-based Cantamus Girls Choir were the guests at Newark and District Music Club’s fifth concert of its 65th season. The choir was making its fourth visit to the town.

Over the years the choir has gone from strength to strength and won many national and international awards, including best conductor for Pamela Cook, Cantamus’s founder and only conductor.

The choir consists of girls aged 13 to 20 and they were a joy to watch even before they began to sing. For the first half, the girls wore dresses in various shades of blue and filled the stage with a freshness and colour which was matched by their wonderful voices.

Performing entirely from memory they had a tight discipline of voices and movement but there was never a hint of rigidity or monotony in their music.

The rich variety of their voices gave colour to their singing and the expressiveness of their movement and faces ensured they established a strong relationship with the audience. We were able to enjoy the high quality of their individual voices in the many duets, trios and ensemble pieces.

The programme demonstrated the versatility and range of the choir’s repertoire. It started with works by Bach, John Blow, Mozart and Handel, the last being See The Conquering Hero Come from Judas Maccabeaus. This was a powerful performance, brilliantly led by Lucy Allen and Helen Brackenbury and contrasted strikingly with two delicate nocturnes by Mozart, demonstrating the girls’ superb voice control under Cook’s direction.

Humour was never far away with a delightful 16th Century French song in which several village wives commented on their husbands’ prowess — or lack of it.

We were also treated to modern works. The Suite Of Songs, based on poems by Lorca and set to music by Rautavaara, was given its first performance by the choir.

They also sang a piece called Amaipali’s Song, a commission for Cantamus by Ronald Corp. It premiered in York Minster in November.

The second half saw a change of costume to brilliant red to match the stage setting which, as always, was a credit to the Palace’s stage crew of Mark Noutch and Jason Glass.

There were vibrant performances of Verdi’s Witches Chorus from Macbeth, the Barcarolle from Tales Of Hoffman and a hilarious performance of Rossini’s La Regatta by Lucy and Helen.

The whole concert was a delight — no wonder the BBC invited them to the Proms last year. We all went home looking forward to their next visit — GRF.