The Passing of the Baton

November 2012, King’s College Chapel, Taunton

Soloists: E Watts, Gary Griffiths

The annual Remembrance Sunday concert held at the voluminous space of King’s College Chapel was a deeply poignant evening on several counts. The Amici Choir and OrchestraWest have now made this event part of the civic calendar and it was good to see it well supported, sold out in fact. The concert was dedicated to the memory of Jennifer McQueen of Lydeard St. Lawrence who participated and supported music in the Taunton area. A bequest from her enabled the evening’s ambitious programme to be undertaken. But perhaps the real poignancy lay in the handing over of the conductor’s baton from John Cole to Andrew Trewhella. It is now well-known that John Cole, who founded both choir and orchestra, has been stricken down by serious illness and it was a sorry sight to see John so dreadfully incapacitated by his condition on Sunday. He was scheduled to have conducted the concert but that was self-evidently not possible.

The concert began with Parry’s Magnificat. A work not frequently performed today and certainly a first for Taunton. It isn’t a work of the highest rank and there were moments of banality which couldn’t be disguised by first-rate singing or orchestral playing. Composed in a time when the Victorians had ‘rediscovered’ Bach there was considerable opportunity for the choir to show off their command of the contrapuntal challenges. Soprano, Naomi Harvey, was authoritative in the bombastic opening movement and sang very beautifully in the quieter passages elsewhere. From one world-class soprano to the second. Elizabeth Watts gave a stunning performance of the Four Last Songs by Richard Strauss. Watts’ singing was effortless, intelligent and utterly artful. Barry Haskin gave a glorious account of the famous violin passage in ‘Beim Schlafengehen‘ – ‘Going to Sleep‘ and a special mention must be reserved for horn player, Tessa White, whose dangerously exposed line was performed with great subtly and exquisite beauty.

After the interval we heard the Brahms Ein Deutsches Requiem – sung in German – and Elizabeth Watts returned to the platform with baritone, Gary Griffiths. After the Parry the choir were certainly warmed up and gave their all. The part singing was wonderfully blended. It is a big sing but these well-trained forces knew when to reign things in and the singing in the final movement was delicate and gentle, just as it should be. Elizabeth Watts delivered her aria with poise and lovingly relished her soaring line. Gary Griffiths displayed a bright clean tone as well as exemplary diction. Conductor, Andrew Trewhella kept the Requiem moving with pace and at no point did it lapse into sentimentality – which it can sometimes do. The orchestra throughout the evening displayed their usual high standards and this was matched by the singing. Musical performances of this standard are an extraordinary achievement. Long may they continue even without Dr. Cole at the helm.

The evening started with a tribute to John Cole from Amici chairman, Linda Nash, and this resulted in a prolonged standing ovation. A typically humble response from John was read out by OrchestraWest chairman, Chris Davies CBE, acknowledging the contribution of so many friends and colleagues. Without prompt, the evening ended with another standing ovation as John left the chapel. It was a warm, moving and grateful thank you to a man who has given so much to Taunton and to Somerset.

Wayne Bennett