One of Francesca’s friends sings in St Albans Bach Choir and we went to last night’s performance of Handel’s Solomon at the Abbey. (I then realised how many of my friends and contacts are also members – it’s a real community thing.)
Solomon is a work I have never heard performed before and it was a treat, both musically and verbally for I found the poetry of the libretto most moving too. The choir and the accompanying Sinfonia Verdi filled the Abbey nave with glorious sound. My old friend John Manning said he had never heard them in better voice.
The big surprise for me was hearing Solomon sung by a counter-tenor (the brilliant Tim Travers-Brown), presumably to indicate his youth, and the trio between him and the two harlots portraying the Judgement of Solomon was particularly beautiful.
You can read all about the St Albans Bach Choir and find out about their future concerts (highly recommended by this audience member) by visiting their website at http://www.stalbansbachchoir.org.uk/
And how about the last two lines of the oratorio as a theme for the coming election?
The name of the wicked shall quickly be past,
But the fame of the just shall eternally last.
Great stuff!
No Comments so far ↓
There are no comments yet...Kick things off by filling out the form below.