Under the baton of director Daniel Kelly, the strong voices of the 20-strong choir blended beautifully in acapella performances of mainly sacred music from some of the giants of the Romantic period — Mendelssohn, Bruckner, Brahms, and Rheinberger.
The wide-ranging programme also included two later works — a beautiful setting of Psalm 5 by Georg Schumann, and the glorious Maria durch ein Dornwald ging by 20th century composer Stefan Claas.
Among the 12 choral works on the programme, there were many highlights, among them the soaring sound and woven harmonies of Bruckner’s Os justi meditabitur, the glorious resonance of Rheinberger’s Abendlied, the wonderful section work of Brahms All’ meine Herzgedanken, and the joy of Mendelssohn’s Frohlocket, ihr Volker auf Erden.
Others in the substantial audience will have their favourites from the consort’s superb performance, which blended precision with lovely dynamic and rhythmic shifts under Kelly’s sterling leadership.
Sunday’s concert also featured solo performances by consort members Cathy Highton-Sim (soprano), Kieran Kelly (baritone), and Kathryn Gardner (soprano), accompanied sensitively on piano by Dr Sanaz Rezai.
Highton-Sim gave a lovely nuanced performance of Schubert’s Auf dem Wasser zu singen, bringing the emotions of the piece to the fore.
Keiran Kelly showed impressive vocal tone, range and skill in his performance of Brahms’ Die Mainacht.
Gardner tackled the challenges of Schubert’s complex Erlafsee with aplomb, delivering a delightful performance.
The Southern Consort of Voices concert was a thoroughly enjoyable feast of top-notch music-making. Bravo!
