Categories: uncategorized
Date: 30 July 2011 22:21:02
Wow! The Exon Singers get better and better! Beginning with Purcell's 'Dido and Aeneas' and ending with Victoria's Vespers by Candlelight, individual soloists, the consort and full choir took us through lunchtime recitals, evening concerts and late-evening Compline. The American, Gary Davison, was composer-in-residence, and I'd recommend him to anyone who thinks they don't like 'modern' church music. Highlights of the week were the Alleluias in Vivaldi's 'Nulla in mundo, pax sincera', Berlin's 'What'll I Do?', Pearsall's 'Lay a Garland', Balfour-Gardiner's 'Te lucis ante Terminum' and Victoria's 12 part 'Laetatus sum'. The broadcast of BBC Radio 3's Choral Evening Prayer (Exon Singers, from Buckfast Abbey) was one of the best I'd ever heard, and the Radio 2 Sunday Half Hour recording gave us all a chance to join in, with not too many retakes.
We were sorry to say goodbye to Matthew Owens, their Director for the past 15 years, but welcomed Richard Wilberforce, his newly-appointed replacement.
It is not often you get the chance to hear a week of such high quality music in an ordinary rural parish church - what a pity we can't keep them for the other 51 weeks of the year!