IC Choir Enthrals with Rapturous ‘O Fortuna’

Carmina Burana is a piece almost every person recognises, if not in name then for the monumental ‘O Fortuna’, used countless times in popular culture. This could very well have been why the IC Choir chose to perform it in their Spring Concert, alongside Bob Chilcott’s ‘Songs and Cries of London Town’. However, I often find that, because audiences approach performances of well-known pieces with a great deal of knowledge, expectations are inevitably higher and this all too commonly results in the anticlimactic results.

Fortunately I did not feel it was the result with this performance, a difficult piece tackled with tact and respect. I must however admit at this point that I am not a great fan of either piece performed in this concert and this may have very well biased my opinion of their rendition; I find Carmina Burana, written in the mid-1930s, somewhat falls short of its attempt to evoke the style and spirit of the mediaeval poetry it is based on, and I feel Chilcott’s work is too cliché, a ‘pleasant’ piece (not used as a positive term) that has no real backbone to it.

Having said that, I was looking forward to what the choir was able to make of these pieces, whether they were able to rid me of my pessimism and convince me that the works deserve all the attention they receive. Their cause was not helped by the choice of venue, the Great Hall, with its truly dreadful acoustics, and the fact the house lights were not lowered during the performance, meaning an atmosphere was not really created that was conducive to enjoying the rich musical textures created by the choir. How is it possible to truly transport listeners to an 11th century Bavarian monastery when you are made acutely aware of your less than holy surroundings?

A difficult piece tackled with tact and respect.

We started off with Chilcott’s homage to the bustle of London’s street markets with help from a wonderful children’s choir from the St. Marylebone C.E. School. I honestly find it very difficult to review student productions. Do I hold them to professional standards or to a kind of ‘student’ standard that takes into account the fact they are amateurs? As a student production, it was excellent, maybe not quite as good as the phenomenal ICSO last week but certainly one of the better ones I had seen. But yes, there were times when singers did not come in perfectly on cue, did not have the vocal strength or were not cohesive enough: a group of one hundred individual singers instead of an undulating auditory body full of intrigue and emotion. More could have also been done to build excitement into the pieces through the use of dramatic dynamics and the modulation of the speed of the piece. However, when you take the piece as a whole, it was highly enjoyable, with particular commendation to the dual pianists, who kept the piece driving forward, a central force in integrating all its parts.

Next on to the main spectacle that burst into life with ‘O Fortuna’, supported by a fantastic percussion section and of course the famous timpani part. Although it could have been even louder, more epic and expansive – though this may have been an issue with the acoustics – I cannot deny the looks of joy on my fellow audience members’ faces.

I cannot deny the looks of joy on my fellow audience members’ faces.

This work also showcased three superb solo vocalists, baritone Timothy Connor, tenor Joseph Doody and finally the soprano Jenny Stafford: highly talented musicians who were able to manipulate their voices like putty to evoke any emotion required, thoroughly convincing in their roles. They brought a more polished performance to the concert and, when paired with the piano, were spectacular.

It was refreshing to see the real passion on the faces of the choir members and whilst there were moments that were not as strong, such as faster sections where I found the singers too preoccupied with enunciating the words as opposed to the quality of the sound they produced, there were also moments of sheer brilliance, such as a long sustained note that persisted with me for minutes after.

It is difficult to write an overall review as the quality did occasionally fluctuate but the rousing finale did mean that I left the concert with a definite satisfaction with the evening. Undeniably there was a lot of skill on that stage but perhaps just slightly more rehearsal time would have elevated the performance to greater heights.

Be sure to catch their upcoming performance on 5th June at St. Stephen’s Church where they will perform John Rutter’s Magnificat and Berstein’s Chichester Psalms. Hopefully they will be as thrilling as in this performance, especially being in a slightly more atmospheric environment.