Reigate & Redhill Choral Society

Spring Concert

St Martin's Church, Dorking

Reviewed by Simon Ames

Invitations from Reigate & Redhill Choral Society (RRCS) to Slide, the senior jazz band of St Bede's School, and to New Voices, a local girls' choir of 11 to 18 year olds, brought splendid variety for the large audience that turned out for their Spring Concert.

Accompanied by Ray Maulkin at the organ, the choir opened with Hummel's celebrated Mass in B flat.

Two works by the contemporary English composer Andrew Carter were included, his Trumpet Tune for organ so well brought to life by Maulkin with faithful resonation from the trumpet stops. Carter's Te Deum was inspired by his time as a chorister at York Minster.

The inclusion of jazz with Slide's teenage enthusiasm provided a sharp contrast but it worked well. Their energetic music director James Wood has brought this keen and confident group to a high standard. Their music from The Beatles was outstanding.

Talitha Glynne-Jones trains New Voices with skill and driving enthusiasm. Clearly the young group of girls enjoy singing under her guidance, their projection is pure and performance well honed. After their own programme spot with Caccini's Ave Maria and Burt Bacharach's Close to You, they joined the RRCS choir for the soprano showpiece elements of Carter's Te Deum with excellent effect.

The mix of music in the programme was appealing.