A Christmassy oratorio: Handel's Messiah at Colston Hall, Bristol

By Alexandra Hamilton-Ayres, 02 January 2013

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Reviewed at Bristol Beacon: Beacon Hall, Bristol on 22 December 2012

Handel, Messiah

Mary Nelson, Soprano

James Neville, Countertenor

Daniel Auchincloss, Tenor

Joshua Copeland, Baritone

Warwick Cole, Harpsichord

Music for Awhile

Bristol Choral Society

Adrian Partington, Conductor

Sailing close to the wind: RVW's Sea Symphony

Chris Garlick, 24th January

Vaughan Williams and Finzi given the Philharmonia treatment with John Wilson at the helm at the Royal Festival Hall.

****1

Dynamic Berlioz from Salonen and the Philharmonia

Gavin Dixon, 25th September

Esa-Pekka Salonen opened the Philharmonia season with a taut, driven Berlioz Requiem, epic, if somewhat constrained by the scale of the Festival Hall.

****1

Slavonic, dramatic, overwhelming - Janáček's Glagolitic Mass at the Royal Festival Hall

David Karlin, 13th April

In a concert of two halves, the Philharmonia fail to convince with Suk and Dvořák but provide a thrilling rendition of Janáček's Glagolitic Mass, a choral work that is dramatic, operatic, giant in scale and unique in style.

***11

A slice of heaven from Howells and Bliss at the Three Choirs Festival

David Truslove, 30th July

A revelatory performance of Herbert Hoewlls' Hymnus Paradisi at the Three Choirs Festival in Hereford Cathedral.

****1

A tribute to Holst at Gloucester Cathedral

David Truslove, 12th July

An eclectic evening of vividly communicative music-making in Gloucester Cathedral, superbly directed by Adrian Partington.

****1

Preaching to the converted: The Apostles at the Three Choirs

Simon Cummings, 29th July

Adrian Partington and the Philharmonia give an impersonal, soporific rendition of Elgar's The Apostles at Gloucester Cathedral.

**111

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Alexandra Hamilton-Ayres

Alexandra Hamilton-Ayres is a Bristol-based film composer and classical electronic artist. Alexandra's passion in scoring and as a performer lie in the duality between the classical and electronica worlds, moving picture and her love for the piano. Her music has been described by The White Room Magazine as “majestic, at times monumental…the force and vastness of nature”.