Waverley Singers

“Waverly Singers win plaudits on tour”

The following review appeared in the Farnham Herald on 25 July 2019

The Waverley Singers have just returned from the fantastic experience of a short concert tour to Bratislava and Vienna. The choir gave three excellent performances to packed audiences, in beautiful Baroque churches.

At the stunning Basilica of St Emmeram in Nitra their performance was met with a standing ovation, and at St Peter’s church in central Vienna people were standing five deep to listen at the back of the ornate church. Highlights of the programme included Bruckner’s beautiful motet Locus iste, Tallis’ If ye love me and Bach’s Jesu meine Freude.

The choir was directed by conductor Richard Pearce, with the attention to musical detail which has become a hallmark of the choir’s preparation for concerts at home and abroad. Virtuoso organist Philip Scriven accompanied the choir, and put some impressive church organs through their paces in Bach’s Prelude and Fugue in E flat, BWV 552.

As well as singing, the tourists had time to visit the some of the sights of Slovakia and Vienna, in a busy schedule which was organised by OneStage Tours in conjunction with Philippa Penfold’s efficient Tour Committee.

The choir is now looking forward with excitement to the next season’s performances, which will include a rare opportunity to perform Bach’s great Mass in B Minor with a Baroque orchestra on 21^st March. There will be the opportunity for singers to join in a workshop on the B Minor Mass in Farnham on 11^th January 2020. Save the date! Further details will be available soon at waverleysingers.com.