Serenades and larks ascending: Vaughan Williams at Temple Church

By Mark Valencia, 09 May 2022

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“the tenor line was especially robust and not every choir can boast that”

Reviewed at Temple Church, London on 7 May 2022

Vaughan Williams, Five Mystical Songs

Vaughan Williams, Serenade to Music

Vaughan Williams, Mass in G minor

Vaughan Williams, The Lark Ascending

Collegium Musicum of London Chamber Choir

Greg Morris, Conductor, Organ

Augusta Hebbert, Soprano

Jessica Gillingwater, Contralto

Gareth Treseder, Tenor

Thomas Guthrie, Baritone

Ian Belton, Violin

Richard Pearce, Organ

True Grimes: a gripping semi-staging of Britten’s opera

Matthew Rye, 30th November

A psychologically penetrating semi-staging of Britten’s Peter Grimes from leading soloists, the Bergen Philharmonic and its chief conductor Ed Gardner laid bare the opera’s music and drama.

****1

Temple Church Choir Ushers in the Holiday Season

Kay Kempin, 2nd December

Where better to find the spirit of Christmas than in a church associated with the Knights of Jerusalem since 1185. Just off Fleet Street, lays an oasis of choral music: Temple Church.

Triumphant Tavener opens the Edinburgh International Festival

David Smythe, 2nd August

John Tavener's epic, eight-hour all-night vigil opens the festival in monumental style, directed by Thomas Guthrie.

*****

Myth meets Shoreditch: a rewarding Handel double bill

Dominic Lowe, 29th March

Part of this year's London Handel Festival, Apollo e Dafne and The Choice of Hercules are transported to the stage in a captivating production that blends music and dance.

****1

Intriguing Schubert, raucous virtuosity: The Alehouse Sessions

David Karlin, 18th November

Raucous banter, musical virtuosity and a plethora of folk styles in the Alehouse Sessions follow Barokksolistene's intriguing take on Schubert's great song cycle.

****1

Vache Baroque opens with a fine Dido and Aeneas

David Karlin, 4th September

Purcell's counterpoint is beautifully sung by a young cast to inaugurate England's latest country house opera venue.

****1

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Mark Valencia

Mark has worked in arts journalism for four decades, both as a writer and as a French-English translator. Nowadays he focuses his energies on reviewing opera and music. Mark also writes for Opera magazine and for Musical America as a correspondent for Europe and the UK.

Serenades and larks ascending: Vaughan Williams at London's Temple Church