English Chamber Choir, English Players, Guy Protheroe (conductor)

The world premiere of Ivan Moody’s ‘Sub tuum praesidium’ was lost 300 feet up in the church’s ceiling. Neither the notes or words, in Latin, Slavonic or Greek, were clear. The fuller sound of the Slavonic section succeeded best.

The variously combined choirs could not project António Teixeira’s bombastic ‘Te Deum’ through the overwhelming orchestra, which may have been better placed behind the singers. Any antiphonal effects were lost in a mono-aural soup. We had to strain to hear even the principal soloists. The half-voiced, ex-choro soloists were confusing and often inaudible. It’s difficult to believe that this over-long work was written in the same year, 1734, as Bach’s ‘Christmas Oratorio’.

St Bartholomew’s Church, 11 May 2012

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