Somerset County Gazette January 9, 1998

As the last of the turkey disappears into a delicious stew it can seem a very long way from Christmas. Somerset Chamber Choir's concert at King's College chapel used nativity scenes for its theme and I had some difficulty recreating the festive spirit ten days on. Still, with music as fine as this it was well worth the effort.

With 23 items spanning eight centuries the diversity of styles, for and harmonies made for a programme that was never boring or overlong. There could have been no better vehicle than this to display the qualities that have given the Chamber Choir its reputation as one of the finest groups of singers in the region and once again I felt fortunate to be there.

Sifting the outstanding from the excellent was an almost impossible task as every piece was hard to better yet there were moments which fixed themselves in my brain; the glories of Rachmaninov's 'Bogoroditse Dyevo', Billings splendidly robust 'A Virgin unspotted' and Judith Weir's tour de force, ' Illuminare', previously unknown to me.

Richard Peace's contributions on the organ are always one of the great pleasures of these gatherings and his selection of three episodes from Messiaen's 'La Nativitie du Seigneur' displayed his usual mastery of touch as well as the qualities of the instrument.

During Taverner's striking setting of 'The Lamb' my attention was drawn to a very young lady sitting on her father's knee in the row in front. Her Mum was in the choir and as she sang she cast more than a glance at her daughter, making the strength of Blake's words more powerful than ever.

As we munched our mince pies and enjoyed the mulled wine there was much to think on and after ten minutes or so we quietly left with the lively conversation of the choristers and their friends providing a pleasing ending to another fine evening of music making. Our thanks must go yet again to conductor Graham Caldbeck and to everyone for starting off the new year in positive fashion.