‘A WONDERFUL EVENING OF MUSIC-MAKING’
| Type of post: | Choir news item |
| Sub-type: | Choir News |
| Posted By: | Jenny Lloyd |
| Status: | Current |
| Date Posted: | Mon, 16 Jun 2025 |
Saturday 14 June 2025
Exeter Cathedral
Howard Ionascu Conductor
Thomas Humphreys Baritone
Stephen Tanner Organ
‘From the beginning, the audience knew they were in for a wonderful evening of music-making,’ writes independent reviewer, Angela Blackwell.
For her the choir, under Howard Ionascu’s direction, performed Parry’s magnificent I was Glad with ‘a rich tone and perfectly balanced sound’, while the contrasting performance of Crossing the Bar, sung a capella and from memory, ‘heightened the level of communication with the audience’.
The highlight of the concert for our reviewer was Vaughan Williams’ Five Mystical Songs, where the choir was joined by baritone Thomas Humphreys. She says: ‘His beautiful tone, warmth and sincerity were matched by the sensitive organ accompaniment of Stephen Tanner, who produced a fine array of colours from the organ that never over-powered.’ She also praises ‘the full power and sensitivity of the choir’.
After the interval, Sullivan’s popular The Lost Chord gave another chance to enjoy Thomas Humphreys’ lyrical voice, and our reviewer found it ‘a real treat to hear the organ being expertly showcased by Stephen Tanner’ in the music of Bairstow and Howells.
She adds that the choir excelled in the challenges of the final two works, with ‘beautiful unison singing’ at the opening of Elgar’s The Spirit of the Lord and in the complex contrapuntal entries of Parry’s Blest Pair of Sirens and its glorious, uplifting finale.
For Angela Blackwell, the words of the poet Milton in the closing work summed up the evening perfectly. It was a concert featuring the ‘sphere-born harmonious sisters, voice and verse’ and a choir, soloist and organist who ‘wed their divine sounds’, leaving the audience to depart with smiles on their faces.
Angela Blackwell’s full review can be found here.
Exeter Cathedral
Howard Ionascu Conductor
Thomas Humphreys Baritone
Stephen Tanner Organ
‘From the beginning, the audience knew they were in for a wonderful evening of music-making,’ writes independent reviewer, Angela Blackwell.
For her the choir, under Howard Ionascu’s direction, performed Parry’s magnificent I was Glad with ‘a rich tone and perfectly balanced sound’, while the contrasting performance of Crossing the Bar, sung a capella and from memory, ‘heightened the level of communication with the audience’.
The highlight of the concert for our reviewer was Vaughan Williams’ Five Mystical Songs, where the choir was joined by baritone Thomas Humphreys. She says: ‘His beautiful tone, warmth and sincerity were matched by the sensitive organ accompaniment of Stephen Tanner, who produced a fine array of colours from the organ that never over-powered.’ She also praises ‘the full power and sensitivity of the choir’.
After the interval, Sullivan’s popular The Lost Chord gave another chance to enjoy Thomas Humphreys’ lyrical voice, and our reviewer found it ‘a real treat to hear the organ being expertly showcased by Stephen Tanner’ in the music of Bairstow and Howells.
She adds that the choir excelled in the challenges of the final two works, with ‘beautiful unison singing’ at the opening of Elgar’s The Spirit of the Lord and in the complex contrapuntal entries of Parry’s Blest Pair of Sirens and its glorious, uplifting finale.
For Angela Blackwell, the words of the poet Milton in the closing work summed up the evening perfectly. It was a concert featuring the ‘sphere-born harmonious sisters, voice and verse’ and a choir, soloist and organist who ‘wed their divine sounds’, leaving the audience to depart with smiles on their faces.
Angela Blackwell’s full review can be found here.
