Aluredian
53
February
Chapel
Concert
by
Chris Holmes
T
he February Chapel Concert
opened with a substantial
offering by any standards.
Jessica Danaher was the
soloist in a performance of
Mozart's Flute Concerto in D,
accompanied by the chamber orchestra. This
was music-making of the very highest order, a
feat of stamina and concentration that was
totally admirable in every respect. In the first
movement Jessie dazzled with the nimbleness
of her playing in the almost constant fast
passagework; in the second movement her
beautiful cantabile lyrical tone came to the fore,
with the most sensitive, natural phrasing
imaginable. And again in the finale, the
fluency of her fast scalic passages was truly
impressive.
Edmund Rubbra's Hymn to the Virgin, sung by
Hannah Cartwright, provided an excellent
contrast, her warm, mature sound filling the
Chapel with ease. She was accompanied
sensitively and delicately by Emily Dalwood on
the harp. The brass group gave a delightful
performance of a Rondeau by Jean-Joseph
Mouret, before there was another vocal item,
Lift Thine Eyes from Mendelssohn's Elijah,
performed with great musicianship by Emily
Dalwood, Lucy Dunham and Emily Albery.
A 5th form string quartet performed two items,
the Rondeau from Mozart's 'Lodi' Quartet, and
the Danse des Mirlitons from Tchaikovsky's
Nutcracker Suite. Although these are young
performers, they played with great assurance
and style. Katie Butler and Bryony House then
sang The Letter Duet from Mozart's The
Marriage of Figaro, a performance of great
maturity and immaculate intonation.
The saxophone group showed their considerable
technical abilities in Lennie Niehaus' Making
the Change; the rhythmic unanimity of all the
complex syncopations was particularly
impressive. And the concert ended with two
contrasting items by the chamber choir; first
Ave Maris Stella by Grieg, and finally Karl
Jenkins' Virgo Virginum. Here there were
beautiful choral sounds; this was well-balanced
singing, and powerfully together, bringing an
excellent concert to a satisfying close.
Jessica Danaher opened
the February Chapel
Concert with a
performance of Mozart's
Flute Concerto in D