BY SPENCER ALLMAN

HEREFORD Cathedral was the splendid venue for a concert of English music given on Friday May 27 by the Hereford Chamber Choir and Orchestra.

The evening began with a selection of part-songs from the first half of the 20th century demonstrating a range of styles in vogue among English composers at the time, from the post-Romantic lyricism of Finzi and Stanford (actually Irish), through the folky modalism of Vaughan Williams (‘The Turtle Dove’), to the robust complexity of Britten (two of the ‘Five Flower Songs’).

These unaccompanied settings were all admirably sung, one of many highpoints the choir’s ability to capture the exquisite serenity of Britten’s ‘Evening Primrose’. Serving as an orchestral interlude in this first part of the concert was Warlock’s Capriol Suite, a somewhat lacklustre pastiche of Renaissance style (Rubbra and Maxwell Davies did it better). Not top-notch fare this, though what followed was a delight: Imogen Holst’s cleverly orchestrated version of Britten’s ‘Rejoice in the Lamb’, rendered expertly by the choir and ensemble team.

The piece, a cantata based on a quirkily religious and rather eccentric poem by Christopher Smart, has vocal parts for soloists as well as chorus. We heard the excellent soprano Naomi Sturges, whose rich voice and stage presence enhanced the very professionalism of this evening’s entertainment.

The one work after the interval was Purcell’s Come Ye Sons of Art, for solo singers, choir and small orchestra. This ode for Queen Mary’s birthday was written in 1694, just months before the great composer’s untimely death at the age of 36.

Tonight’s performance was a store of treats: the boppy drive of Sound the Trumpet, featuring the two countertenors Andrew Semple and Sam Bayliss, the simmering melancholy of the vocal line in Strike the Viol against lively ostinati from two recorders, plus wholly sensitive contributions from the choir.

This is middle Baroque repertoire that nevertheless prefigures the lush choral writing of Handel and the rhythmic swing of Vivaldi several decades later. Conductor Simon Harper gave us an assured interpretation of Purcell’s masterpiece, helped in no small measure by some lovely music making from the Hereford Chamber Choir and its very capable orchestra.