KVT on John Rutter’s Magnificat

Saturday was an harmonious rose

What a great adventure for a largely amateur choir and orchestra to tackle John Rutter’s Magnificat. It is probably one of the most popularly performed modern chorale works in the world today but so difficult to get atmospherically just right. The conductor, Mr Sutcliffe deserves our unreserved congratulations for his innovative courage.

The Magnificat, or the Canticle of the Blessed Virgin Mary, has been set to music more often than any other liturgical piece, apart from the Catholic Mass, and is a description of Mary’s  joy at being chosen to give birth to Christ and is an outpouring of her praise. Rutter wanted to make his Magnificat  full of the festive spirit and celebration of the Marian festivals that occur regularly in European countries, and on Saturday night  Mediterranean sunshine, joy and verve won through and the Virgin’s spirit was fully exhalted.The orchestra of so many young people was trained admirably and only occasionally became a teeny lost or reedy but its playing of the marvellous fanfares and its sympathetic underscoring of the principal singers made you more than forgive minor transgressions.

The choir, like most amateur groups, is top heavy with female voices….and gloriously they sang too. The males, with so many younger looking members, has a youthful vibrancy that fitted in well. The Magnificat was almost made for these enthusiastic singers drawn from the members of the Vietnam National Opera and Ballet’s choir and  expats, trained and untrained, from the Hanoi International Choir. They must count themselves lucky that they have someone as capable as Mr Sutcliffe to challenge and extend them, especially into the modern chorale repertoire with its often difficult dissonant chords.

The five Vietnamese principals were beautifully strong and added a mellow tone to the chorale pieces and solos were excellent and they were especially fabulous when they combined in Rutter’s version of the 15th century English poem O Rose.

I became completely engrossed when the soprano sang  Et Misericordia, was intently leaning forward into Esurienties and really loved that Gloria Patri of all Gloria Patris.

And to think at one stage, with the rain pelting down, I nearly decided to forgo my seat and stay home with a bottle of wine. I’m so glad I didn’t. I hope we get to hear them perform Rutter’s Requiem.