Reviews and comments from our members and audience
Review of December 2024 Concert, [Mozart's Ave Verum Corpus, God is our Refuge, Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, and Solemn Vespers; and Haydn's Nelson Mass] - Garry Fraser
Review of Dundee Choral Union’s Performance, December 2024
I think it’s fair to say that the Dundee Choral Union are enjoying something of a renaissance under musical director Derek Clark. I wouldn’t compare it to rising like a phoenix from the ashes – that’s going too far – but the improvement in performance from, say, ten years ago is marked. They’re cutting their cloth to suit, choosing a repertoire that doesn’t call for heavy accompaniment. Sunday’s concert was a prime example – works by Mozart and Haydn that needed only a chamber orchestra. Thus, the chorus weren’t fighting a losing battle against the odds but coming over loud and clear.
The chorus’ qualities shone through in the opening trio of short Mozart choral works. His Ave Verum Corpus is his most famous choral composition, composed in his last year on earth, and it was joined by two unknown works – for me at any rate. God Is Our Refuge was written as a ten-year-old with Sancta Maria Mater Dei sandwiched chronologically between the two. Whatever the time scale was, the DCU showed exactly what they’re made of with excellent balance and excellent diction, priorities for any choir worth their salt. This was to be constant throughout the evening, key elements in what was an excellent all-round performance.
Mozart’s Solemn Vespers constituted the remainder of the concert’s first half. Most musicians will testify that the larger works by Mozart can pose certain challenges, but if there were any lurking in these six beautiful psalm-settings, the DCU came, saw and conquered with a performance that was water-tight in every aspect. I guess that the fourth movement, Laudate Pueri, was the most-tricky but the confidence that Derek Clark has instilled in his charges overcame any obstacle with ease.
The chorus were joined by soprano Catriona Hewitson, mezzo Christine Sjolander, tenor Connor James Smith and baritone Colin Murray. Catriona stood out amongst this quartet, not only because she had the majority of the solo work but mainly for her sublime Laudate Dominum, a particular favourite of mine.
The following Haydn “Nelson” Mass took me back to a Harris Academy performance in the 70s, but apart from nostalgia and the re-acquaintance of many wonderful arias and choral movements, the performance was memorable in many ways. If the words “con spiritu” weren’t part of the tempi marking, the chorus certainly added an enthusiastic take on the proceedings, apart from the slower sections like Et Incarnatus Est where vivacity was replaced by a more sober approach. Whatever the context, the afore-mentioned clarity of diction and balance was paramount throughout.
The soloists had more to say in this as an ensemble with mezzo Sjolander in particular prominent. The gentlemen, however, never really reached the heights of their counterparts, I regret to say.
Summing up means a touch of adding up. Two great works by two great composers, a chorus and conductor on the top of their game, four soloists and a fabulously supportive accompaniment – the Orchestra of Scottish Opera and organist Morley Whitehead. The total – a choral classic if ever there was one.
Review of March 2024 Concert, [Handel's Messiah] - Garry Fraser
Review of Dundee Choral Union’s Performance of Handel’s Messiah, March 2024
Performances of this classic oratorio by the Dundee Choral Union used to be a yearly occurrence, but it’s been a while since it was last heard on the Caird Hall stage. And so, I was much looking forward to Sunday’s performance. It seems the choir were looking forward to the performance as well, as it was delivered with confidence, quite a lot of style and – most importantly – a fair deal of skill.
They displayed all the attributes of a well-schooled choir, namely good diction and good balance and it was obvious from the word go that musical director Derek Clark’s diligence in rehearsal was carried through into performance. Famous choruses like And The Glory, For Unto Us and the Hallelujah chorus were as sure-footed as they could be, but I thought they peaked specially in He Trusted In God and the final Worthy Is The Lamb. Handel asks for some difficult runs and exposed contrapuntal passages, but they were dealt with more than confidently.
The Messiah, and indeed any choral work, needs three boxes to be ticked for a successful performance. One, the chorus. Two, the orchestra and three, the soloists. The first was ticked in splendid fashion and the remaining two with equal eloquence and expertise. The DCU are lucky to have the Orchestra of Scottish Opera as their regular playing partners. Always excellent in performance, I thought their sympathetic accompaniment gave the chorus a firm foundation and their musical articulation was spot-on from start to finish. Handel’s scoring for orchestra is as compelling as its choral counterpart, and the orchestra’s delivery left nothing to be desired and was splendidly accomplished.
Ending the triumvirate of excellence were the soloists, namely Jessica Leary (soprano), Heather Ireson (mezzo), Jamie MacDougall (tenor) and baritone Jonathan Forbes Kennedy. Each have his or her Messiah “signature tunes” and each were as irresistible as the other. Jamie started the ball rolling with a beautifully sculptured Comfort Ye. Jessica’s three Part One recits led the way to her best delivery of the night, a marvellous I Know That My Redeemer Liveth. Jonathan’s Trumpet Shall Sound was resoundingly demonstrative and while Heather didn’t seem as assured as the others at the start, she threw off any sense of nerves with a heartfelt He Was Despised.
It goes without saying that I enjoyed the concert very much as did, I am sure, a sizeable audience. With Haydn and Mozart on the bill for the DCU December concert, there is much to look forward to.
Garry Fraser
Review of March 2024 Concert, [Handel's Messiah], Haig Utidjian, Conductor and Musicologist based in Prague
Review of Dundee Choral Union’s performance of Handel’s Messiah, Caird Hall
Dundee Choral Union
Orchestra of Scottish Opera
Conductor Derek Clark
Morley Whitehead, organ
Soloists:
Jessica Leary, soprano
Heather Ireson, mezzo-soprano
Jamie MacDougall, tenor
Jonathan Forbes Kennedy, baritone
A triumphant and uplifting evening at Caird Hall
A truly uplifting performance of Handel’s Messiah was given by the eighty-strong members of the Dundee Choral Union under their Music Director, Derek Clark, accompanied by twenty-eight members of the Orchestra of Scottish Opera. Unusually, the performance embraced the entire oratorio, without any of the customary excisions; yet the concert did not sound a moment too long. As Derek Clark explained in his programme notes, in matters of tempo, ornamentation and articulation he strove to find a “happy medium” – eschewing the excesses sometimes associated with current “historically informed” fashion on the one hand and of the over-romanticised approach of the past on the other – with a view to permitting Handel’s music to speak with power and profundity. This, above all, would mean paying heed to the natural stresses and phrase shapes accruing from the verbal text that Handel himself sought to serve. This evening’s interpretation of the Messiah was true to this ideal. The supple and, when appropriate, vibrant voices of the Choral Union responded to Clark’s vigorous direction with aplomb, and the result was stylish and musicianly. The Orchestra, playing on modern instruments, performed with lightness and sensitivity; the ensemble was excellent, and principals were outstanding. I especially enjoyed the sweet-toned violin solo obbligato of the leader, Anthony Moffat. The quartet of soloists – Jessica Leary, soprano, Heather Ireson, mezzo-soprano, Jamie MacDougall, tenor, and Jonathan Forbes Kennedy, baritone – was never less than excellent; but I would particularly single out Jamie MacDougall, who was truly eloquent in his response to the text. His commanding presence from the very first and immaculately controlled note of “Comfort ye” set the tone for the entire evening. All in all, this enthralling performance of the Messiah was nothing less than a triumph.
Haig Utidjian
Haig Utidjian is a conductor and musicologist based in Prague.
Review of December 2023 Concert, [Rossini's Petite Messe Solonnelle], Joan Busby, university singing teacher, vocal coach and founder of the Oxenfoord International Summer School for singers and accompanists.
Review of March 2023 Concert, [Chilcott's St John Passion], The Courier
Review of December 2021 Concert, Verdi's Requiem, The Courier