Review - Christmas with Southern Voies
| Type of post: | Press article |
| Sub-type: | Christmas |
| Posted By: | ... [Webmaster] |
| Status: | Current |
| Date Posted: | Mon, 15 Dec 2025 |
Winchester chamber choir Southern Voices has been giving seasonal performances in St Cross for forty years and this concert was no exception in attracting a full audience. This reflects the perfect setting and its acoustics along with varied and engaging items appropriate to Christmas. It also helps to have confident singers clearly led and expertly accompanied.
Jamal Sutton is an understated conductor but prepares the voices well and involves them in listener-friendly repertoire which is well paced and joyfully delivered. Here familiar composers included octogenarian John Rutter, Malcolm Archer and John Gardner. Bob Chilcott’s jazzy version of the Sussex Carol provided a triumphant encore accompanied on piano by Maestro Sutton. He again structured his programme around one featured composer, Francis Poulenc, whose four Christmas motets punctuated the proceedings.
Southern Voices is a very rhythmic ensemble handling the syncopations of 20 th century pieces with assurance. They also produced ethereal tone in dreamy works like Eric Whitacre’s Lux aurumque and a setting of There is no rose by the very promising Classic FM ‘rising star’, Lucy Walker. By contrast, after an Interval, the choir gave a vibrant rendition of Mendelssohn’s unaccompanied Weinachten, encircling the large audience.
George Castle was once more the immaculate accompanist who made light work of two solos by Leighton and Langlais - both fizzing with contemporary harmonies. Six well-known carols included audience participation and all were urged to donate to SV’s chosen music therapy charity, Key Changes.
Ever ambitious, Southern Voices will combine with Kingsgate Voices to perform Bach’s St Matthew Passion in Romsey Abbey on Saturday, 21 March 2026……..
-- Derek Beck
Jamal Sutton is an understated conductor but prepares the voices well and involves them in listener-friendly repertoire which is well paced and joyfully delivered. Here familiar composers included octogenarian John Rutter, Malcolm Archer and John Gardner. Bob Chilcott’s jazzy version of the Sussex Carol provided a triumphant encore accompanied on piano by Maestro Sutton. He again structured his programme around one featured composer, Francis Poulenc, whose four Christmas motets punctuated the proceedings.
Southern Voices is a very rhythmic ensemble handling the syncopations of 20 th century pieces with assurance. They also produced ethereal tone in dreamy works like Eric Whitacre’s Lux aurumque and a setting of There is no rose by the very promising Classic FM ‘rising star’, Lucy Walker. By contrast, after an Interval, the choir gave a vibrant rendition of Mendelssohn’s unaccompanied Weinachten, encircling the large audience.
George Castle was once more the immaculate accompanist who made light work of two solos by Leighton and Langlais - both fizzing with contemporary harmonies. Six well-known carols included audience participation and all were urged to donate to SV’s chosen music therapy charity, Key Changes.
Ever ambitious, Southern Voices will combine with Kingsgate Voices to perform Bach’s St Matthew Passion in Romsey Abbey on Saturday, 21 March 2026……..
-- Derek Beck
