For their spring recital in St Machar’s Cathedral on Sunday, 24th April 2005, Aberdeen Bach Choir was joined by members of Aberdeen Sinfonietta, and by George Chittenden at the organ. The Choir, conducted by James Lobban, lived up to its name with performances of two cantatas by J. S. Bach, which would surely have pleased the composer himself. Christ lag in Todes Banden BWV4 opened with a short orchestral introduction in which the playing of the instrumentalists set a standard that was seized upon and carried through by the full chorus in the first verse. This cantata provides opportunities for different sections of the chorus to shine, for instance, upper voices only in verse two or basses only in verse five. This was accomplished without any problem. James Lobban managed to balance his orchestral and vocal forces so that the whole performance flowed smoothly without any hiatus in impact as when only a section of the chorus was being employed. This surely is the secret of a successful performance of this work. Each of the various sections had its own special character and texture, but the work as a whole had a combined impact that was far more than its parts.
Aus der Tiefe rufe ich Herr, zu dir BWV131 also had splendid choral singing with the bonus of two solo arias. Tenor Austin Gunn shadowed by the altos sounded wonderfully strong and clear while bass Robert Wilson, from the choir, who had the sopranos along with him, gave a clear and emotionally true performance. The highlight of this work, however, was the lovely oboe solo played with irresistible sweetness and clarity by Ann Lillya.
The second half of the recital was devoted to two works by the Estonian composer Arvo Pärt whose music has really only come to the fore with the demise of the Soviet Bloc. Clio Gould and the Scottish Ensemble have espoused his instrumental music so it was interesting to hear how the Aberdeen Bach Choir would handle two of his choral works – Magnificatand Berliner Messe.
Pärt’s music relies on its atmospheric impact and in the Magnificat, the choral singing brought out the chiming effects of the music rather nicely. The haunting sounds of the strings provided a softly shaded background to the chorus in the Berliner Messe, which sounded less minimalist than much of Part’s music. Stripped of the usual repeats and melismas that are a feature of most liturgical settings, Arvo Pärt’s music ate up the text with surprising rapidity, but throughout the work, the choir sang strongly and expressively. This must have been a taxing performance for them, yet they sounded just as fresh and alert by the end of the concert as they had at the beginning.
Review contributed by Alan Cooper