Choir Concert

Our award-winning Chapel Choir gave an outstanding concert in Chapel just before half-term. The BBC Songs of Praise Senior School Choir of the Year had just spent two days filming with the BBC in school, for an edition of Songs of Praise due to be broadcast in October. They treated a packed house to a programme of choral and vocal music with lots of variety, and an abundance of talent on display.

Zadok the Priest was the opener, full of rousing semiquaver runs, with tenors and basses in rousing form. Two movements from Fauré's Requiem provided an effective contrast in atmosphere, and featured beautiful solo contributions from Alex Penn, Elmley de la Cour and David Salaman. Solos were then very much the order of the day, as counter-tenor Peter Oakley took centre-stage with Finzi's Come Away Death and Virgam Virtutis by Handel. Peter is very much a regular in concert performances at King's and all his characteristic hallmarks were on display, immaculate intonation and innate musical phrasing.

It was back to the full choir then for Bach's Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring, Malcolm Archer's I Saw a New Heaven, and a new work, The Lily, written by our own Alex Wynn. This is an interesting and extremely accomplished work, drawing on several influences given her own individual twist, and it received a sensitive and convincing performance.

James Campbell, the college organist, provided the next interlude, with Cortège et Litanie by Marcel Dupré. This was a fine performance, both lyrical and exuberant, with constant changes of colour brought about by subtle registration. Further choral offerings followed: Love Divine by contemporary composer and broadcaster Howard Goodall, and Mozart's Laudate Dominum in which the soloist was Alex Wynn, whose voice soared movingly above both organ and choir.

She followed this with two more solos, Take O Take Those Lips Away by Madeleine Dring, and I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud by Eric Thiman. Alex is no stranger to the concert platform at King's, and we all recognised and enjoyed again her wonderful tone and intensity of performance. Which brought us to the finale of the evening, Parry's I Was Glad, Howard Goodall's Psalm 23, better known as the theme tune to The Vicar Of Dibley, and the song Be Thou My Vision by Bob Chilcott, with which the Choir won the BBC competition. Conductor Colin Albery and his assistant Karen Fergusson thoroughly deserved their bouquets presented by the Choir, and the stirring ovation from a thrilled audience.