Sunday's concert in White's Barn was the Polish version of a Victorian musical evening, but considerably more rewarding in its content. Four young singers, accompanied by pianist Rosetta Cucchi, performed 19th-century songs by Moniuszko, Zelenski, Karlowicz, Paderewski and Chopin. I don't know a word of Polish, but it didn't matter with performers so adept in musical story-telling. Facial expressions, body language and, above all, sheer articulation, were fully employed to convey the varying sentiments of the 20 songs. Tenor Lesek Swidzinski's loud high notes hardened in the dry acoustic; otherwise everyone sang well within their respective ranges. Sonorous bass Jacek Janiszewski and soulful mezzo Anna Janiszewska were particularly enjoyable; but the best singing of all came from Iwona Hossa, whose steadiness and dynamic control were as good as anything to be heard from the best of today's lyric sopranos.
On Saturday morning, in St Iberius Church, Lubomir Matl, conducted the Prague Chamber Choir in a programme of mainly liturgical music from eastern Europe. It was a concert hat effectively showcased the choir's strength, which enabled it to cope as ably with the jaunty rhythms of Martinu's, Opening the Wells as with the solemn grandeur of Tchaikovsky's Liturgy of St John Chrysostom. Martinu's 1955 piece is a tuneful tale of rustic merrymaking set for soprano, alto bass, strings, piano and speaker. Good though Joan Neal's delivery of the spoken passages were, I felt that they too often broke up the flow of the folk-like score.
Soprano Tereza Matlova, violinist Una O'Kane and pianist Ljuba Orfenova gave an intense performance of Janacek's Hail Mary. Mark Duley provided the organ accompaniment for the same composer's unfinished Latin Mass in which, of the four soloists from the choir, only soprano Jermila Zilkova was fully assured. The highlight of the morning was the unaccompanied singing of 10 numbers from Tchaikovsky's Liturgy. Here we got the full impact of the choir's total discipline in ensemble and variety of dynamics. Everyone, from highest soprano to the depths of the impressive bass line, contributed to a display of virtuoso choral singing.
Liturgies will be repeated on October 25th. Polish Song Book will be repeated on October 31st. Both concerts start at 11 a.m.
