Vibrant rhythms and soaring melodies | Plymouth Philharmonic Choir
Plymouth Philharmonic Choir’s concert on Saturday night brought the vibrant rhythms and soaring melodies of Ariel Ramirez’s Misa Criolla to the Minster Church of St Andrew in Plymouth.
Brand new orchestration
A captivating fusion of South American folk music and sacred choral traditions delighted the audience. Misa Criolla remains a stunning artistic achievement, it being one of the very first masses to be sung in the vernacular. This performance featured a brand new orchestration of the work specially written by the choir’s Musical Director, Paul Foster.
Stunning
The item featured a stunning performance by tenor soloist Matthew Minter complimented by a wonderful accompaniment from an orchestra of professional musicians.
The concert line up began with Vaughan Williams’ Five Mystical Songs featuring baritone soloist Darren Jeffery. This was followed by a beautiful orchestral performance of Wagner’s Siegfried Idyll which showed off the rich and varied talent of the orchestra. Ramirez’s Misa Criolla followed to rapturous applause. After a short interval the concert concluded with a performance of ever popular Vivaldi’s Gloria featuring soloists Catherine Hamilton (soprano) and Helen Haviland (alto).
Premiere
A summer concert to be relished indeed, but it was the excitement of the Misa Criolla which held the audience for what is thought to have been the very first performance of this work in Plymouth, and certainly the premiere of a specially written new orchestration.
Autumn
The autumn season will see the Philharmonic Choir starting rehearsals on 3 September. The next concert will be held on 28 November at Methodist Central Hall, Plymouth. It will feature the premiere of a new choral work by local composer Dr Paul Foster who will also conduct the performance. The new work will be complimented by a performance of the much loved Faure Requiem.
More information can be found on the Choir’s website at plymouthphilchoir.org and its Facebook page. For tickets go to wegottickets.com/event/22298
top image: Dr Paul Foster with orchestra and choir
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