Review of Canticles of Light concert
| Type of post: | Press article |
| Sub-type: | Summer |
| Posted By: | ... [Webmaster] |
| Status: | Current |
| Date Posted: | Tue, 15 Jul 2025 |
CANTICLES OF LIGHT: A CONCERT FROM SOUTHERN VOICES 12 TH JULY 2025
Described by their Musical Director, Jamal Sutton, as an eclectic mix, this varied concert continued the choir’s season celebrating Faith, Hope, Life and Love. The programme focused on the theme of Life with an emphasis on celebrating life and the joy that music can
bring to both performers and listeners.
For this performance Southern Voices were joined by a talented group of musicians playing as the Southern Voices Consort who accompanied the two substantive works of the evening Bob Chilcott’s Canticles of Light and Lux Aeterna by Morten Lauridsen.
The programme kicked off with Eric Whitacre’s With a Lily in Your Hand which gave the choir a chance to demonstrate their well-blended choral sound and the command they have over the dynamic range of their performances. Many choirs struggle to connect with their audience as they bury themselves in their scores; this was not the case with Southern Voices who sang with joy and passion in their voices and in their faces which was a pleasure to see and hear.
The theme of uplifting joy continued with three of Gerald Finzi’s Seven Poems of Robert Bridges which showcase Finzi’s skill in choral writing and harmony.
Hailed by The Observer as ‘a contemporary hero of British choral music’, composer and conductor Bob Chilcott has enjoyed a lifelong connection with singing and choirs. His work The Canticles of Light was commissioned in 2000 by Winchester Music Club and is a setting of three Latin hymns which explore the theme of beauty in darkness and the hope offered from light at the end of the tunnel. This is a challenging piece for singers and orchestra with close harmonies and a tricky accompaniment including the tolling of the tubular bells to provide a contemplative element to the work; fortunately, both the choir and the musicians were up to the challenge.
Two pieces from Finzi’s famous Five Bagatelles gave the prize-winning soloist Eamon Lam the chance to show off his clarinet playing. He showed great virtuosity and skill in both pieces and his interpretation showed considerable maturity.
The first half concluded with a celebration of traditional songs including the amusing tale of a Feller from Fortune who was looking to add more than just fish to his catch.
The main work in the second half was Lux Aeterna by Morten Lauridsen written in memory of Lauridsen’s mother. This piece consists of five movements and is an illuminating and deeply spiritual work relying on close harmony from the choir and orchestra. The text will be familiar to devotees of choral music as it draws on Latin texts drawn from the Requiem Mass. Sombre but beautiful the work required all of the combined skills of the choir and the consort to deliver a nuanced performance,
The penultimate song was an arrangement of the well known The Gift to be Simple by Bob Chilcott which would have stayed with the audience over the weekend as it is one of those ear worms that gets inside the head. The final piece was the lighthearted Little David Play on your Harp which provided a fitting end to an excellent concert that sent the audience out into the summer warmth with joy in their hearts.
Details of future concerts can be found at southernvoices.co.uk
-- Jenny Cridland, Southern Arts Review
Described by their Musical Director, Jamal Sutton, as an eclectic mix, this varied concert continued the choir’s season celebrating Faith, Hope, Life and Love. The programme focused on the theme of Life with an emphasis on celebrating life and the joy that music can
bring to both performers and listeners.
For this performance Southern Voices were joined by a talented group of musicians playing as the Southern Voices Consort who accompanied the two substantive works of the evening Bob Chilcott’s Canticles of Light and Lux Aeterna by Morten Lauridsen.
The programme kicked off with Eric Whitacre’s With a Lily in Your Hand which gave the choir a chance to demonstrate their well-blended choral sound and the command they have over the dynamic range of their performances. Many choirs struggle to connect with their audience as they bury themselves in their scores; this was not the case with Southern Voices who sang with joy and passion in their voices and in their faces which was a pleasure to see and hear.
The theme of uplifting joy continued with three of Gerald Finzi’s Seven Poems of Robert Bridges which showcase Finzi’s skill in choral writing and harmony.
Hailed by The Observer as ‘a contemporary hero of British choral music’, composer and conductor Bob Chilcott has enjoyed a lifelong connection with singing and choirs. His work The Canticles of Light was commissioned in 2000 by Winchester Music Club and is a setting of three Latin hymns which explore the theme of beauty in darkness and the hope offered from light at the end of the tunnel. This is a challenging piece for singers and orchestra with close harmonies and a tricky accompaniment including the tolling of the tubular bells to provide a contemplative element to the work; fortunately, both the choir and the musicians were up to the challenge.
Two pieces from Finzi’s famous Five Bagatelles gave the prize-winning soloist Eamon Lam the chance to show off his clarinet playing. He showed great virtuosity and skill in both pieces and his interpretation showed considerable maturity.
The first half concluded with a celebration of traditional songs including the amusing tale of a Feller from Fortune who was looking to add more than just fish to his catch.
The main work in the second half was Lux Aeterna by Morten Lauridsen written in memory of Lauridsen’s mother. This piece consists of five movements and is an illuminating and deeply spiritual work relying on close harmony from the choir and orchestra. The text will be familiar to devotees of choral music as it draws on Latin texts drawn from the Requiem Mass. Sombre but beautiful the work required all of the combined skills of the choir and the consort to deliver a nuanced performance,
The penultimate song was an arrangement of the well known The Gift to be Simple by Bob Chilcott which would have stayed with the audience over the weekend as it is one of those ear worms that gets inside the head. The final piece was the lighthearted Little David Play on your Harp which provided a fitting end to an excellent concert that sent the audience out into the summer warmth with joy in their hearts.
Details of future concerts can be found at southernvoices.co.uk
-- Jenny Cridland, Southern Arts Review
