Reviews
December 2010 - Andrea Hopkins, Daily Info
'What an amazing and magical start to a Saturday evening this was. I’ve never previously had occasion to visit Keble College Chapel, that splendid Victorian Gothic extravaganza, and it can rarely have looked more beautiful than when lined down both sides, across the altar and all over the floor of the chancel with hundreds of tea-lights, flickering and wavering in the winter gloom. The chapel is huge, and it was absolutely packed for the Advent by Candlelight Concert, so that extra chairs had to be placed down the aisle. Wise punters wore serious woollies, hats and gloves, and brought thermos flasks.
'The concert opened with the JUBILATE! choir at the back of the chapel singing the breathtakingly beautiful Ave Maria by Robert Parsons (d. 1570), its exquisite harmonies building from subtle precision to awesome, full-volume climax, which filled the vast spaces of the roof and continued to roll through the air for two or three second after the singers had shut their mouths.
'The first part of the programme was a sequence of Advent ‘O’ antiphons in plain chant, alternating with motets and anthems by a group of early modern English composers – Parsons, Ramsey, Gibbons, Byrd (the stunning Vigilate) and Weelkes. These were the main attraction, and they were indeed exquisitely performed in their intricate harmonies by the Jubilate choir. Sometimes it seemed simply impossible that a group of human voices could produce a sound so divinely beautiful; the chapel is a perfect acoustic for this, a whole edifice designed to contain and amplify the angelic resonance that causes your hair to stand on end and almost gives you an out of body experience even if you’ve only had one glass of wine and no supper. Just before the interval we were treated to a modern piece, Hail gladdening light by Charles Woods – a taste of things to come.
'The second part of the programme interspersed the remaining plain-chant antiphons with modern pieces, vigorous, vital, dramatic, and very enjoyable, particularly the last two, God is with us by John Tavener (not dead yet) and Seek Him that Maketh the Seven Stars by Jonathan Dove (born the same year as me!) – less agreeable was the frightful organ piece Excite Fidelis by Paul Ayres.
'The choir – Oxford people with day jobs – was superb, their phrasing and control perfect – beautifully conducted by director Simon Whalley. Put them on your wish list now. It was altogether a glorious and delightful experience, which could only have been bettered if some enterprising soul at Keble had seen fit to serve mulled wine in the interval.'
'The concert opened with the JUBILATE! choir at the back of the chapel singing the breathtakingly beautiful Ave Maria by Robert Parsons (d. 1570), its exquisite harmonies building from subtle precision to awesome, full-volume climax, which filled the vast spaces of the roof and continued to roll through the air for two or three second after the singers had shut their mouths.
'The first part of the programme was a sequence of Advent ‘O’ antiphons in plain chant, alternating with motets and anthems by a group of early modern English composers – Parsons, Ramsey, Gibbons, Byrd (the stunning Vigilate) and Weelkes. These were the main attraction, and they were indeed exquisitely performed in their intricate harmonies by the Jubilate choir. Sometimes it seemed simply impossible that a group of human voices could produce a sound so divinely beautiful; the chapel is a perfect acoustic for this, a whole edifice designed to contain and amplify the angelic resonance that causes your hair to stand on end and almost gives you an out of body experience even if you’ve only had one glass of wine and no supper. Just before the interval we were treated to a modern piece, Hail gladdening light by Charles Woods – a taste of things to come.
'The second part of the programme interspersed the remaining plain-chant antiphons with modern pieces, vigorous, vital, dramatic, and very enjoyable, particularly the last two, God is with us by John Tavener (not dead yet) and Seek Him that Maketh the Seven Stars by Jonathan Dove (born the same year as me!) – less agreeable was the frightful organ piece Excite Fidelis by Paul Ayres.
'The choir – Oxford people with day jobs – was superb, their phrasing and control perfect – beautifully conducted by director Simon Whalley. Put them on your wish list now. It was altogether a glorious and delightful experience, which could only have been bettered if some enterprising soul at Keble had seen fit to serve mulled wine in the interval.'
