{TABLE} Missa Emendemus ............... Palestrina L'Entrentien des Moses ........ Rameau Lobet den Herrn BWV230 ........ Bach Gavotte et Doubles ............ Rameau Aus der Tiefe ................. Schutz Die Himmel erzahlen ........... Schutz Lobe den Herren, meine Seele .. Schutz {/TABLE} THE music of Schutz was the highlight of the National Chamber Choir's concert at the National Gallery last Thursday evening, one of a series the choir is giving at this venue. Also on the programme was harpsichord music by Rameau, played by Deborah Kelleher.
In L'Entrentien des Muses and in the opening section of Gavotte et Doubles ornamentation dominated shape, so that pulse was disconcertingly vague. But once the doubles (a set of increasingly elaborate variations) got going, the rapid figuration drove things along nicely, with ornamentation in its proper place.
Like the Schlitz pieces, Bach's motet Lobet den Herrn BWV230 had harpsichord as continuo instead of organ. The NCC was sometimes at full stretch to deliver the elaborate textures of this motet with confidence. Yet the gritty style was welcome and held more promise of good things to come from the NCC than the somewhat more polished but over reverential performance of Palestrina's Missa Emendemus.
The singing of two double choir pieces from Schutz's Psalmens David ("Aus der Tiefe" and "Lobe den Herren, meine Seele") had more definition than the Bach, though conductor Colin Mawby was not inclined to highlight the dramatic contrasts between the two vocal groups. A more text driven approach would have been welcome here, and in. "Die Himmel erzahlen" from the Geisliche Chormusik: the slow pacing of a piece which begins "The heavens declare the glory of God" verged on the religiose. Nevertheless, the choir's range of colour and its expressive unanimity were enough to make one realise why Schutz has the reputation of being the greatest German composer before Bach.