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Sunday 25 May 2008
Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank Centre, London SE1
Karl Jenkins: The Armed Man - a mass for peace
Kevin Jones: Cantus de Stellis
Thames Philharmonic Choir
Thames Festival Orchestra

The Thames Philharmonic Choir and Thames Festival Orchestra under their Conductor John Bate were heard at their very best at the South Bank on Sunday evening in two works for chorus and orchestra. Kevin Jones' Cantus de Stellis and Karl Jenkins' The Armed Man are full-scale cantatas which share a lot in common: each was written for a large chorus; each contains settings of parts of the Catholic mass. The two works are colourfully scored and draw upon a large number of influences - from the Stravinskian rhythms in the Jones to the renaissance polyphony in the Jenkins (somewhat straightened-out rhythmically - but who cares if the melodic lines are held together by pounding rhythms which build to exciting climaxes?). The success of these two works, however, lies in their intent: each composer set out to provide a work which would be enjoyable to perform and enjoyable to listen to.

This performance of Cantus de Stellis brought the same delight to the faces of the performers which I remember at the first performance of the work nine years ago by the Kingston University choir and orchestra. It was good to hear the Thames Philharmonic Choir in works, one not shared by soloists at all and the other dominated by its choral sections. The choir's full, rich tone served well the sweeping melodic lines of the Hosanna in Excelsis of the Jones and the Hymn Before Action of the Jenkins (for text, Jenkins follows Britten in his War Requiem in interspersing poems on the subject of war between sections of the liturgy, though he caters for our multi-faith society by incorporating the Moslem Call to Prayer, here sung to a hushed audience by the handsomely-arrayed Shaykh Mohammad Ashraf Hansrot). Dramatic passages involving unconventional vocal techniques - rapid whispers in the Jones and battle-cries in the Jenkins, had also been well rehearsed. Despite extensive use of percussion in the Jenkins, the balance between choir and orchestra remained excellent throughout - as did the balance between voices in the many passages in unison and canon (the parallels with Britten's writing can be evoked again here). The choice of Kathryn Harries as the only soloist proved apt; her voice matched the richness of the choir and served particularly well the drama of Jenkins' setting of Angry Flames, a poem which depicts the horror of Hiroshima.

From the beginning of the evening to the end the dance went on and on; what next?

Gloria Toplis , Richmond and Twickenham Times, June 2008