A MAGNIFICENT performance of Bach's B Minor Mass was given in St Mary's Church on Saturday April 3 by Aylesbury Choral Society.

Much debate has taken place as to what forces should be used for Bach and other composers of the period: the general consensus is that Bach himself would have used a small choir and many specialist early music groups have followed his example.

On the other hand, why should larger choirs be prohibited from singing such wonderful music?

Conductor James Burton came up with an inspired resolution: the soloists sang the solo parts, but in addition joined in with some of the choruses and more importantly sang as an ensemble the more sparsely scored choral passages. This simple solution both brought the soloists more to the fore and gave the audience the best of both worlds.

The soloists were all extremely accomplished. There was lovely singing from mezzo Alexandra Gibson with fabulous accompaniment from leader Adrian Butterfield; from both Alexandra and soprano Susan Gilmour Bailey, counter tenor David Clegg, tenor Matthew Beale, with flute accompaniment from Fiona Murphy and from bass Robert Rice in which Claire Gibb's fiendishly complicated baroque horn nearly got the better of her.

The accompanying musicians were The New Baroque Chamber Ensemble whose expressive playing on instruments of Bach's time was one of the joys of the evening.

Top prize however should go to Aylesbury Choral Society, whose full-on performance of the mighty choruses thrilled and inspired the packed audience.

Joss O'Kelly

Text links: Home  Choir  Conductor  Members
Leave a comment or contact us at info@aylesburychoral.org.uk