Review: Reigate & Redhill Choral Society (RRCS) present Classics Spectacular

Classics Spectacular

Reigate & Redhill Choral Society (RRCS)

The Harlequin Theatre

Reviewed by Simon Ames

It is an admirable achievement when a local choral society can fill a town theatre to capacity.

Reigate & Redhill Choral Society (RRCS) did this by choosing a programme of music that people wanted to hear, backing it with good promotional enterprise to bring the sight and sound of a true classical spectacular.

With a choir of 100 and an orchestra of more than 60 professionals, the evening was set for much power and glory.

As a tribute to America's Independence Day, the orchestra opened with Aaron Copland's Fanfare for the Common Man, giving the brass and percussion an opportunity to deliver a contemporary feel.

Charles Gounod was known for introducing operatic dramatics into his religious writing and there is no better example of this than his Messe Solonelle de Sainte Cecile. Conductor Peter Farrant introduced soloists Monica Bancos as soprano, Tyler Clarke singing tenor and Vojtech Safarik from the Czech Republic, baritone.

It was a powerful performance from choir and orchestra, the highlights were the shimmering soprano introduction to the intensive Gloria, the variety of contrasts of the Credo and the pomp of the closing Domine Salvum, the Prayer for the King that is characterised by measured pace and a regal style. It was a faultless performance, the choir capturing the unique spirit of Gounod's ethereal mysticism.

The orchestra did full justice to Tchaikovsky's melodramatic 1812 Overture which opens with the theme of the Russian hymn God Preserve Thy People and continues with a depiction of the Battle of Borodino in which the Marseillaise and God Save The Czar, fight it out for musical dominance.

The Finale of Saint-Saens' Symphony No.3 in C minor gave Ray Maulkin a welcome chance to bring in a full organ to thunder out the dominant phrases in C major that are softly heard in the minor key at the beginning. The large orchestra provided solid support for this much-favoured work that the composer wrote as a tribute to his great friend Franz Liszt.

RRCS chose to close the fulsome programme with the impressive Te Deum (Opus 103) by Antonin Dvorak which brought the return to the platform of Monica Bancos and Vojtech Safarik.

Written in 1892 in a concert setting when Dvorak had just started as director of the National Conservatory in New York, the four movements carry a grandeur that is typified by the intensity of the Allelujah finale. For the choir and orchestra, it was a triumphant finale to an evening of memorable performances.