Saturday's St Cecilia Concert 'showcases the beauty of collaborative music making'

The musical theme for the Saturday St. Cecilia celebration was the firmly focused on Choral singing as the Chapel and Chamber Choirs of Shrewsbury School joined forces with the adult Community Choir.

As we celebrated the patron saint of music, Saturday’s St. Cecilia Concert saw an emphasis on the English choral tradition, the centrepiece being an evocative performance of John Rutter’s atmospheric Requiem.

The concert opened with three unaccompanied items sung by the Chamber Choir as they performed with poise, clarity of diction and excellent intonation. Bairstow’s ‘I Sat Down’, Pearsall’s ‘Lay a Garland’ and Stanford’s ‘Beati Quorum Via’ were all sung with real expression before Marina K (EDH, V)  and Arthur H.B (I, UVI) performed Finzi’s ‘Eclogue’ on two pianos. This was a performance of immense musicianship as the they navigated the everchanging tempi, dialogue between the musical lines and an awareness of balance throughout. The Community Choir performed two further English anthems by Elgar and Vaughan Williams before joining forces with the Chamber Choir. Herbert Howells’ ‘Hymn for St. Cecilia’ was a fitting anthem for such an occasion with the uplifting descant in the final verse beautifully carried by the sopranos before Vaughan Williams’ ‘Let all the World in Every Corner Sing’ brought the first half to a rousing close.

The second half was a performance of John Rutter’s ‘Requiem’ in which the choirs were accompanied by a student Chamber Orchestra led magnificently by Ethan P (I, UVI). Following the murky and somewhat dissonant opening, the bright and hopeful Kyrie melody was sung with clarity and expression. Jia Shin Q (Rt, UVI) showed his prowess on the cello as soloist for the second movement as the balance between orchestra and choir was nicely controlled.

The Pie Jesu is arguably the most notable movement of this work and Annabel T (EDH, UVI) sang this iconic solo with style, showing a purity of voice rarely seen in a pupil of her age.

Following the joyful and upbeat nature of the Sanctus, the more ominous writing of the Agnus Dei was sung expressively. ‘The Lord is My Shepherd’ showcases the oboe and Godwin Y (SH, UVI) performed this solo with aplomb. The dulcet tones of the sopranos were contrasted with the warmth of the lower voices before the final movement, ‘Lux Aeterna’, brought the Requiem to a reflective and evocative close. Iris D (G, UVI) performed the Soprano solo with style, showing the full range of her voice as she climbed to the top Bb with ease.

As the opening melodic idea returned at the end, this was a St. Cecilia concert which showcased the beauty of collaborative music making but also the contrasting range of emotions music affords. 

Richard Stafford

Assistant Director of Music