Missa Solemnis performance

Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis

Gloucester Choral Society gave a thrilling and triumphant performance of Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis last night (Saturday 19 November), a notoriously challenging work but one to which the choir certainly rose.

Due to his inability to sing through ill health, our Chairman was unusually able to witness proceedings from the audience’s perspective and commented that,

This was a brilliant performance of Missa Solemnis tonight by Gloucester Choral Society in Gloucester Cathedral. The choir was committed, accurate and seemed to grow in confidence and enjoy themselves. … Just a top class concert.

Our four soloists – Anna Patalong, Emma Carrington, Nick Pritchard and Matthew Hargreaves – were all wonderful, especially Matthew who stepped in at the last moment when our original bass, Jonathan Best, was forced to withdraw also due to ill health.

Bristol Ensemble was in similarly fine form and special mention must go to their leader, Roger Huckle, who played the violin solo in the Benedictus with haunting beauty.

As always, the whole performance was underpinned by the habitually excellent direction of Adrian Partington who instills such confidence in choirs regardless of the difficulty of the work being performed.