Saturday 13 March 2004
Kingston Parish Church
Brahms Requiem
Thames Philharmonic Choir
Thames Festival Orchestra

A musical evening to remember

Thames Philharmonic Choir and Orchestra, directed by John Bate, chose Kingston Parish Church for the timely concert of requiem given on Saturday March 13. Beginning with a minute's silence for the Madrid victims, the planned programme began with John Sanders' setting of Psalm 21. This moving performance was followed in the main part of the evening by Brahms's 'German Requiem'. These works were sung in memory of Lord Jenkins, so long associated with the choir and John Sanders and Peter Gelhorn.

Sung in German, the choir set the atmosphere of meditation, followed by the vivacity of joy characteristic of 'Blessed are they that mourn'. Pedal points and gravitas continued into the second movement. The orchestral accompaniment was sensitively supplemented by Simon Toyne on the superb organ. A competent and feisty rendering of fugue led to 'Lord let me know mine end' in which baritone soloist Trevor Alexander gave a haunting and agonised interpretation and the choir counterbalanced with hope in the final section.

After the interval the choir seemed more settled and confident giving an exquisite and assured 'How lovely are thy dwellings'. Soprano soloist Rachel Chapman truly matched the intensity of the next movement with heart-searing phrasing and soaring intensity. In 'For her we have no continuing city' the baritone echoed the strange sinuous woodwind passages, and in robust form the choir completed the fugal praise before the final serenity.

Again we were given and evening to remember and so strangely appropriate in such a week. Thank you John Bate..

MN Woodroffe, Richmond and Twickenham Times, March 2004