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Seen and Heard Concert Review J. S. Bach St. Matthew Passion: Soloists, St George’s Singers and Manchester Camerata, The Bridgewater Hall, Manchester. 19.3. 2006 (RJF)
The St. George’s Singers
were founded in 1956 and take their name from the founding
church in Poynton, a large village about fifteen miles
to the south of Manchester. The choir rehearse in the
same church each Tuesday under the direction of Stephen
Williams, their Musical Director who took over eight
years ago and by 1958 they had grown sufficiently to
perform Bach’s St. John’s Passion. They tour every year
with recent destinations including Krakow, Helsinki
and Tallin.
Vital though the quality of the soloists may be, it is the quality of the choir's contribution that makes, or otherwise, a performance of this particular rendering of the Passion story. I am particularly pleased to report that the standards I admired so much in the performance of Elijah were fully maintained. The sonority of the singing was impressive as was the clarity of diction. Every word was clearly enunciated and could be followed without the aid of the programme print. Most important though, was the groups's ability to convey the accuracy of Bach’s writing in Part Two where Bach's demands for dramatic inflection and bite are quickly followed by contrasting soft singing and fine legato. Such performing quality comes only as a consequence of proper preparation and plenty of rehearsal under Stephen Williams' leadership.His conducting was well paced and drew excellent playing from the Manchester Camerata and the various orchestra soloists in their individual contributions.
There are few opportunities to hear this seminal work and Manchester was privileged to hear such a fine rendering. All concerned can be justifiably proud of the achievement and I was particularly pleased to see Mancunians giving the work and the St, George’s Singers their full support at the box office.
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