Saturday 11 March 2006
Kingston Parish Church, Market Place, Kingston-upon-Thames
Dvorak: Stabat Mater
Thames Philharmonic Choir
Thames Festival Orchestra

Powerful and Emotional

Kingston Parish Church was the fitting venue on Saturday March 11 for an evening of powerful music to mark the season leading up to Easter, writes M N Woodroffe.

Thames Philharmonic Choir and Orchestra was conducted by John Bate in the setting of Dvorak's Stabat Mater. The intensity of their work was quickly realized, as we were drawn into a world of meditation and grief, finally resolved into hope.

The orchestral introduction set the atmosphere, one with broad dynamic range, colour and commitment. The choir, then joined by the solo quartet, provided steady assurance in the first movement.

With the quartet continuing alone into the second movement, we were swept along into a tortuous interaction that expressed the words. The choir and orchestra demonstrated their range with haunting choral effects, moving into an arresting fourth movement where an assertive and confident brass section supported Michael Bundy as bass soloist.

David Newman, the tenor solo, was lyrical in style in contrast to the drama of soprano Ann MacKay and the darkness created by Ruth Peel as contralto solo, bring the music to its final resolution of triumph as quartet and choir embraced paradise. This varied performance was remarkable in its range and emotional force.

The evening was aptly rounded off by a birthday presentation and appreciation to John Bate.

M N Woodroffe, Richmond and Twickenham Times, March 2006