The greatest of all choral works

12:22pm Tuesday 20th November 2007

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THE veritable feast of Bach's choral music at Hereford Cathedral between now and Easter began last Saturday with the B Minor Mass, to be followed by the Christmas Oratorio in January and St John Passion in March.

Saturday's performance was given by Hereford Choral Society with a fine team of solo singers: Alice Gribbin, Polly May, James Oxley and Jonathan Arnold. Geraint Bowen again showed his affinity with the Bach style, and his choir sang with conviction, though as often happens the balance was weakened somewhat in the few numbers where the sopranos (scarcely outnumbering the altos) divide into two parts.

The famous Sanctus lacked a little in nobility and the more energetic choruses could have been more spine-chilling, but all in all it was a glowing and satisfying account of perhaps the greatest of all choral works.

Particularly notable was some of the obbligato playing of "period" instruments amongst the orchestra, especially the flauto traverso and the corno da caccia (natural horn), played by anonymous musicians within the apparently ad hoc ensemble known as Marches Baroque, led on this occasion by Sharon Lindo.

One minor quibble is that the elegantly printed and informative programme omitted any mention of the orchestra, which not only shares the music with the singers but includes individual players of distinction fully equal to that of the singers they accompany.