16 December, 2008

LAST Friday St Columba’s Church in Lerwick re-opened after major refurbishment with a magnificent performance by the Shetland Choral Society performing their annual Christmas concert. James Mackenzie went along and found himself carried away with the spirit of the occasion.


With Nigel Hayward as musical director and conductor, Shetland Choral Society’s concerts have come to contain an astonishing variety – a veritable feast - of music. For this year’s Christmas offering, the menu included a 17th century German oratorio, Russian orthodox chant, French, Basque and English traditional carols, and – a real pleasure, this – two songs scored by Nigel’s own pen.

The choir now numbers just short of 60, and under his baton delivers a mighty yet excellently controlled sound, which is a privilege to hear and to see - members were beautifully dressed in black, with scarlet scarves and ties.

This was a special occasion, for the concert marked the opening of St Columba’s Church after its extensive and magnificent restoration. In his introductory speech Nigel remarked on the miracle that a shortened nave had somehow resulted in a larger volume. Judging by the number of programmes given out, the audience numbered 300 - the “Muckle Kirk” was packed.

Our conductor also mentioned his special links to the kirk. His parents had sung in Handel’s Messiah in 1942, and now their granddaughter, Annalie Irvine, was leading the orchestra – a small ensemble of strings, recorders and organ, but well balanced with the choir’s formidable presence.

After an entrée of two carols, one with audience participation, the main course was a challenging rendition of The Christmas Story by Germany’s foremost 17th century composer, Heinrich Schütz. Interestingly, three Germans of my acquaintance, and with some musical knowledge, have professed their ignorance of him, and I would hazard a guess that he is not at all well known in this country. J. S. Bach is deservedly recognised and much loved, but it was Schütz that laid the foundations for his choral music. He also reputedly wrote the first German opera, Dafne, although the score has been lost.

Most of the score of The Christmas Story, which was first performed on Christmas Day 1660 in the Saxon Court of Dresden, was also lost. Some fragments of it were found as late as 1908 in Uppsala University (how genius travels!), and even now it is incomplete. For all that, what remains has a pleasing unity.

The choir introduces the story, which is narrated in recititavo style by the Evangelist, using texts from the gospels of Matthew and Luke. Guest tenor Henry Howard from Edinburgh – bravely stepping in at the last moment to replace the ‘flu-bound James Greer – undertook this role in the pulpit, as if reading the lesson, and was deftly accompanied by Deirdre Hayward on the organ. He performed with great clarity and obvious experience. Particularly moving was his interpretation of Rachel grieving for her children, as he related Jeremiah’s prophecy of Herod’s massacre of the innocents. This was an excellent example of Schütz’s method of making the music follow the content and meaning of the text.

At intervals (intermedii) various characters sing their parts with the orchestra: two angels (soprano solos), the heavenly host (the choir), the shepherds (alto soloists), the wise men (tenors), and the pompous high priests and malevolent Herod (bass). Among these, sopranos Helen Robertson and Emily Sharpe were striking as the angels, the former manifesting to the shepherds in majestic form, the latter gently goading Joseph to return from exile to Israel.

A rousing choral finale of thanksgiving brought this splendid oratorio to an end. There is great richness of harmony in its complex music, and it was conducted and sung with admirable skill. While modern recordings may avoid the pauses that intervened between recitative and conducted intermedii, this might well have been how the Dresden court experienced the first performance on Christmas Day almost 350 years ago.

The dessert courses opened with another audience-choir carol, Good Christian Men Rejoice, followed by two lovely traditional songs of Basque and French origin. Tenor Martin Naylor came to the fore with a wondrous descant at the end of Whence is that Goodly Fragrance.

The Russian dish that followed was made up of threes sections of Sergei Rachmaninov’s All-Night Vigil. Written in 1913, it was one of the composer’s favourites, and is based on Orthodox styles of chant. The choir certainly rose to the occasion, as the pieces were sung (with apologies in the programme) in Russian, while the rest of the concert was delivered in English. To this reviewer’s untutored ears, the ensemble did the composer proud, and all that was missing were icons and candles.

Five more carols followed, including two fine seasonal arrangements of O Little One Sweet and The Angel Gabriel by Nigel Hayward himself. As the programme noted, he has agreed to continue the season as musical director and we can “look forward to more composition from his pen.” Hopefully we will hear more at the spring concert in April, when Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle will be performed.

The Christmas feast ended with a spirited rendition of Hark the Herald Angels Sing, with Nigel vigorously conducting both choir and audience. What a difference a flourishing baton makes, even to a reluctant growler such as myself! Fortunately my neighbour’s lovely singing (she is an ex-choir –member) drowned out my off-key voice.

So, at the end, starlit and replete with a divine dinner, the audience happily and ably dispersed into a ferocious gale of wind and rain. All praise to the company of chefs who brought us this festive table of delights, and long may their cuisine continue.