Waverley Singers

Thrilling and refreshing "Messiah" at Farnham Parish Church

The following review by DAB appeared in, we assume, the Farnham Herald on 10 April 1970.

Handel's "Messiah" is a constant danger to choral societies. Because of its popularity, there is a tendency to under-rehearse, as the society members sometimes have a mistaken idea that they know it already. Also, the work's conductor sometimes has the mistaken idea that the public at large knows it already. Neither is really true, and, if a conductor is worth his salt, he will try to educate his singers and audience with a performance which will reveal as many of the countless beauties of this score as possible.

To those who have followed the Waverley Singers in recent years, it will be obvious that their conscientious conductor, John Cotterill, would be aware of the traps outlined in the opening paragraph and be intent on carrying out the latter part. To the people who were fortunate to be present in Farnham Parish Church on Saturday evening, it was clear that the choral work was of a very high standard and had received the utmost care and preparation in rehearsal. With the result that Handel's quotation of his vision, "I did think I did see the heavens opened and the great God himself," became realised again to a degree in the performance.

Thrilling and Refreshing.

In a high-quality performance such as this, the only adverse criticism which can be made must be concerned with the merest details. Above everything else, the evening remained a thrilling and refreshing experience. 

Let me say first of all that the orchestral playing throughout was a joy to hear, with suitable scene-setting in the Overture and Pastoral Symphony, and admirable support given to the soloists and chorus. The brilliant trumpet tone of Crispian Steele-Perkins was extremely well controlled and balanced with the bass soloist in "The trumpet shall sound." Added to the orchestra, led by Patricia Cassidy, was the discreet yet nevertheless effective organ playing by Stephen Thomson.

Valerie Hill, soprano, and Shirley Minty, contralto, are young soloists with lovely voices. If they are to improve on their present interpretations at all, may I suggest that they might consider openly smiling in the appropriate passages in this work? I felt that in items like "O thou that tellest good tidings" and "Rejoice greatly," smiling faces might have helped to brighten the tone that little bit more. In passing, the choir might also consider this factor.
We were treated to some beautiful singing by these two soloists during the evening, particularly memorable being "He was despised" and "I know that my Redeemer liveth."

Splendid Attack

There was some thrilling singing from the other soloists, Philip Langridge, tenor, and Emyr Green, bass. The former displayed a splendid attack in "Thou shalt break them" and blended well with Shirley Minty in their duet. Emyr Green possesses an impressive voice and expressive eyes, both of which he used to good effect in his solos. There were one or two occasions when he sang down into his copy, however, which tended to mask his otherwise warm, rich tone and impeccable performance.

From the first soft, warm, tone of the contralto notes in the opening chorus to the final "Amen", we had an apt demonstration of the Waverley Singers' range of choral effect. Here was a combination of lively attack in "Glory to God" and "He trusted in God"; soft, sustained tone in "Behold the Lamb of God" and "All we like sheep"; a bouncing rhythm in "And he shall purify" and "His yoke is easy"; effective contrast of dynamics in "For unto us", "Lift up your heads", and "Since by man came death"; and a colourful swelling of tone in "His yoke is easy" and "Let all the angels of God".

How cruel to choirs the Hallelujah Chorus is, placed as it is so near the end of the work! The test of the good choir is not how it sings the "Hallelujah", but "Since by man came death", which is the chorus that comes shortly afterwards. It is much to the credit of the Waverley Singers that the latter was so movingly sung, with only just a very slight flattening of pitch in the second choir section. The evening's Messiah was brought to an end with the chorus's "But thanks be to God" and "Worthy is the Lamb. Amen", in which John Cotterill inspired his singers and players in a grand climax to a memorable performance.

Little to Fault

Apart from a slight hardness of tone in the upper register of the sopranos in the last part of the oratorio, a lack of crisp attack by the contraltos in some staccato passages, and occasional anticipation of the conductor's beat by the men, there seems to be nothing else to fault this choir for, musically speaking. One must add, however, that future performances might be improved visually if the singers could refrain from being distracted by movements of members of the audience and fellow performers, and not be tempted to talk when not singing, because this not only looks bad from the audience's point of view, but is also distracting from the conductor's angle when he is powerless to do anything about it.

To the members of the Waverley Singers who have sung this often with various groups, your reviewer would offer a tentative suggestion. This great work is worth a long rest after your next performance in May at Alton Parish Church, for two main reasons - you are likely to marvel anew when next you tackle it and, in the meantime, you will allow many more singers to enjoy its glories for the first time!