Review: Derby Choral Union, Derby Cathedral, 10.11.12

Poulenc's

Gloria is a typical mixture of devotional intensity and

knockabout fun, and both elements need to be held in balance for it

to work.

In

Derby Choral Union's performance it was the quieter moments that

came off best, aided by Pippa Goss's marvellously floated soprano

solos, and the tranquil ending was beautifully achieved. In the

quicker movements there was a slight feeling of unwillingness to

really let go, which may partly have been down to relative

unfamiliarity with the work.

It

was performed with just a piano duet accompaniment (pianists Margaret

Williams and Mark Pescott simply playing from the vocal score). I

missed the sharp colours of Poulenc's orchestration, which

contribute so much to the music's character.

Williams

and Pescott ended the first half with an amiable account of Debussy's

early Petite Suite, a touch lacking in impetus in the second

movement, 'Cortège', but with plenty of poise and charm

elsewhere.

Part

2 was taken up with Puccini's Messa di Gloria, composed as

his graduation exercise at the Music Institute in Lucca. The result

is so unremittingly dull I can only assume he was simply churning out

what was expected of him. It's bizarrely proportioned, too, with an

over-extended Gloria and Credo unbalancing the remaining movements.

Conductor Richard Dacey encouraged the choir to give it their best

shot - though occasionally, as in the initial entries in the Et

Resurrexit section of the Credo, the tone needed just a bit more

weight - but it's a work I can happily live without.

Of

the two soloists, tenor Richard Reaville phrased musically, though

his tone was rather tight. Bass Michael Pearce was agreeably

sonorous, and very good at eye-contact with the audience, too.