On the first weekend of May the Chelmsford Singers made a welcome return to St
Luke’s Church in Tiptree for a late Spring concert of sacred choral works by Felix
Mendelssohn and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
The choir was joined by four superb soloists: Jessica Edom-Carey, Alexander
Pullinger, Tom Stapleton, and Theo Perry, accompanied on St Luke’s fine organ by
Stephen King, organist of Brentwood Cathedral.
The programme included two organ solos by Stephen. In the first half the
Consolation in D flat by Franz Liszt separated the ebullient Regina Coeli K 276 by
Mozart (with its coincidental echoes of Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus) and the rarely performed Lauda Sion by Felix Mendelssohn, a tuneful and substantial work that
delighted the audience and showed off both choir and solo quartet to great effect.
The second half began with Bach’s Prelude and Fuge in C major, after which the
choir launched without further introduction into Mozart’s much-loved Solemn
Vespers K 339.
The Vespers contains the famous Laudate Dominum, for solo soprano and choir, one of two solo movements for Jessica Edom-Carey in the concert, and her warm and powerful voice filled the church to stunning effect, especially in the Mozart where she was accompanied gently by the choir.
The choir was on very fine form throughout, employing expressively soft singing and
commanding power with a great variety of colours in between, and the reaction of
the audience paid a fine tribute to the hard work that went into a sparkling concert.
