United Kingdom Janáček, Weir, Bernstein, Fauré: Zoë Brookshaw (soprano), Mark Nathan (baritone), Finn Beal (treble), Sally Pryce (harp), Simon Blendis (violin), Sarah Butcher (cello), Peter Jaekel (organ), Crouch End Festival Chorus / David Temple (conductor). Holy Trinity Church, Sloane Square, 5.7.2025. (GF)
Janáček – Otčenáš (Our Father)
Judith Weir – All the Ends of the Earth
Bernstein – Chichester Psalms
Fauré – Requiem Op.48
The accomplished Crouch End Festival Chorus regularly perform in the beautiful ambience and acoustics of Holy Trinity Church on Sloane Square; and this concert brought a variety of fine works, some well-known, others hardly known.
Janáček composed his choral setting of the Lord’s Prayer to accompany paintings by the Polish artist Józef Męcina-Krzesz which illustrated the text of the Lord’s Prayer with depictions of Russian peasants. The concert performance was scored for tenor solo, chorus, harp and organ.
Janáček was not conventionally religious. Consequently, some of the words were intended to be seen as a call for Czech independence, especially the choir’s vehement and repeated calls for ‘Bread!’. With its use of motifs from Moravian folk music, Janáček’s work is an example of Czech nationalism rather than sacred music.
From the opening bars of the Janáček it was clear we were destined for a splendid evening. The choir’s balance of voices was immediately evident as was their command of the Czech text, which is not easy for singers unfamiliar with the language. In this performance the solo part, normally sung by a tenor, was taken by soprano Zoë Brookshaw. The clarity and purity of her tone worked brilliantly in this piece and when the choir took over from the opening solo passage their effortless fortissimo was glorious.
Judith Weir’s All the Ends of the Earth was commissioned by the BBC for broadcast as part of the European Broadcasting Union’s celebration of the new millennium on 1 January 2000. It is based on one of the earliest surviving pieces of European polyphony, Pérotin’s Viderunt omnes, a setting of words from Psalm 98, composed around 1200. Pérotin’s piece had the lowest voice singing a plainchant setting of the words (cantus firmus), above which the upper three voices) wove elaborate melismas. As Weir explains, ‘In this composition, the pitches and proportions of Perotin’s cantus firmus and its text have been retained exactly (rescored, however, and sung by tenors and basses). But the sopranos and altos sing a freely composed setting of the tenth century Alleluyatic Sequence, based on Psalm 148. A small instrumental ensemble of harp and percussion is added to embellish the cantus firmus, and to mark punctuation points in the composition.
The delightful blend of ancient and modern was a showcase for the Crouch End sopranos and altos. They deserve a gold medal for managing some tricky vocal gymnastics. Surely, they were inspired by the presence of the composer in the audience. In speaking to Dame Judith afterwards I was pleased that she agreed with me about the vocal agility of the sopranos and altos. She pointed out that not only was the piece written for smaller forces but commissioned by the BBC for the BBC Singers who are professional. The Crouch End Festival Chorus were not daunted by the challenge.
Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms was commissioned in 1965 by the Dean of Chichester for performance in the cathedral there. Bernstein’s choice of the Book of Psalms as the source of his libretto was appropriate for such a commission, as psalms are used in Jewish and Christian worship. For much of the music Bernstein adapted material that had been written for a planned musical, The Skin of our Teeth, based on a play by Thornton Wilder. Writing about the music, Bernstein said ‘it is quite popular in feeling … and it has an old-fashioned sweetness along with its more violent moments’.
While the work certainly reflects some of its musical theatre origins, the use of the Hebrew texts of the psalms gives it its own character.
The first movement is a lively celebration of music-making in praise of God. The second is a setting of Psalm 23, ‘The Lord is my Shepherd’, introduced by a solo which Bernstein specified should be sung by a boy. He is joined by the women’s voices, and then the lower voices attempt to silence them by singing verse from Psalm 2, ‘Why do the nations rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?’ The music for this section was originally going to be part of the ‘Prologue’ to West Side Story, setting the words ‘Mix – make a mess of ’em! Make the sons of bitches pay!’ Here, the anger is overcome by the upper voices resuming their song with the words ‘Thou preparest a table before me in presence of my foes’, and the movement ends in calm. The final movement is a prayer for peace and unity, ending in music of quiet contemplation. Bernstein himself arranged the work for organ, harp and percussion.
This was, in many ways, the most demanding item in a wonderfully varied programme, and the choir immersed themselves into the spirit of Bernstein’s music. David Temple (the chorus’s music director) chose a brisk tempo at the outset, firmly establishing the dance-like rhythms of the first movement. Treble Finn Beal was not daunted by the audience that had filled the large church. His tone steadily warmed as he sang the words of comfort in the opening verses of Psalm 23. This was followed by the greatest challenge for the choir, but they handled the warlike jagged rhythms with total confidence. The final section, with three psalms ending in an appeal for world peace, were handled beautifully. The choir’s hushed tones made for a poignant close.
The arrangement of Fauré’s Requiem performed at this concert, by David Hill, chorus master of the Bach Choir, pares the instrumentation back to be closer in spirit to Fauré’s original version (it was later orchestrated. Perhaps by a student of Fauré, to a fuller version).
Nadia Boulanger’s description of the work can hardly be bettered: ‘No external effect detracts from its sober and somewhat severe expression of grief; no disquiet or agitation disturbs its profound meditation; no doubt tarnishes its unassailable faith, its quiet confidence, its tender and peaceful expectation… The music tells of the sorrow that is left behind by those who depart without return, a sorrow so near to God that it is without revolt, cry, or gesture. And if grave utterances are made, if grief-laden song unfolds itself, they are dominated by the assurance of forgiveness and the serene promise of eternal peace.’
The Fauré was familiar territory, but it fully lived up to the expectations of the earlier items. Crouch End Festival Chorus again demonstrated beautiful command of dynamic contrasts throughout the piece. There were some tricky issues in managing the timing of the organ and orchestra, but this didn’t detract from a fine performance. Zoë Brookshaw’s Pie Jesu was outstanding. She is surely destined for a bright future.
Graham Frankel