Waverley Singers

Seasonal offering from the Waverleys delights audience

The following review by RG Warren appeared in The Herald on 24 December 1997.

In St Andrew's Garrison Church of Scotland, Aldershot, on December 13, the Waverley Singers, most ably accompanied by the Locke Brass Consort and Paul Griffiths on the organ, made their offering to this year's festive season.

The choir, under their conductor Malcolm Hicks, was at perhaps 75% of its normal strength, with many people who would normally be "on stage" wheezing in the audience as they tried to shake off a virus. However, the members of the choir sitting in the audience could not entirely escape vocal exercise, because this year's concert included six well-known carols that conductor Malcolm Hicks warmly invited the audience to sing with choir and brass accompaniment. 

There seems to be an increasing impetus in the Church of England towards singing carols only on Christmas Day. This may be theologically sound, but it does deprive congregations of singing many of their favourite hymns, since Christmas Day is just not long enough to sing all the carols in the book, and the opportunity to sing some of them, even as early as December 13, seemed to be welcomed by the audience!

After an opening fanfare and "O come all ye faithful", the choir sang Giovanni Gabrieli's "Jubilate Deo", written for eight-part choir doubled with brass and organ. The wall of sound that brass instruments produce can be hard to penetrate, and the choir worked extremely hard, but not always successfully. On the other hand, the two unaccompanied Advent motets by Juan Esquivel, "Vox clamantis in deserto" and "Veni Domini et noli tardare", enabled the somewhat depleted choir to demonstrate a delicacy here which was a joy to hear.

Following the next carol for audience, "God rest you merry gentlemen", Paul Griffiths, organ, treated us to a contemplative "In Dulci Jubilo" by Buxtehude.

The Locke Brass Consort was entrusted with the centrepiece of the first half of the programme, with the Terpsichorean Suite for Brass by Michael Praetorius. This suite of eight dances appeared in 1612 when brass instruments sounded rather different; however, the Consort was able to demonstrate something of the feeling of the time, and the audience was most enthusiastic in its response.

After "Carillon", a clearly 20th-century piece for organ by Herbert Murrill, the first half ended with audience and choir singing "The First Nowell".

The second half opened with "Once in Royal David's" followed by "O, clap your hands" in a setting by Vaughan Williams for choir and brass. The fortissimo climax of the Vaughan Williams gave way to another Advent motet, this time "Pastores loquebantur ad invincem" by the 16th-century Spaniard, Francisco Guerrero, which the choir sang with poise and confidence.

"Unto us a boy is born", a carol not commonly sung by congregations, was followed by "Noël avec variations", the first of two short organ pieces by Daquin, dating from the mid-18th century. Here, Paul Griffiths most skilfully wove the variations on a theme with a range of tonal colours, the organ at times sounding like a harpsichord.

If the Locke Brass Ensemble had formed the centrepiece of the first half, the Choir plus Brass now delighted the audience with the undoubted highlight of the second half, John Rutter's "Gloria" scored for choir, brass, percussion and organ. Here the choir was at its most comfortable, handling the difficult rhythms with apparent ease. Rutter also understands that voice cannot win in competition with brass, and so he has used the brass and organ to complement, not compete, with the voice. The result is a work to delight the most critical listener as well as satisfy the best of choirs.

The second of the Daquin organ pieces, "Noël (Grand Jeu et Deo)", absolutely contrasting with the grandeur of the Rutter, was followed by "Hark, the Herald Angels Sing", where brass, organ, choir and audience joined in this most well-known of carols. Although this was the end of the formal programme, the choir wished everybody a Merry Christmas with Warrell's setting of this West Country Christmas song.

The Waverley Singers' next performance is scheduled for March 28 in St Andrew's Garrison Church of Scotland, Aldershot, where the main work will be Haydn's "Harmonienmesse".