Dingwall Choral Society

29 Nov 2004 in Music

Strathpeffer Pavilion, Saturday 27 November 2004

WHAT AN EXCELLENT DECISION Dingwall and District Choral Society made when they chose the recently refurbished Strathpeffer Spa Pavilion for this concert. I had not been in the Pavilion for many years, not in fact, since its old Victorian décor was beginning to crumble and the rain was coming through the roof.

The large audience was greeted by an array of fresh pastel shades, extremely comfortable seats, the facility of a bar, and, most important for the concert, a very friendly acoustic which gave the choir and soloists every chance to shine.

And shine they did, especially in the major work of the evening, Rossini’s ‘Messe Solenelle’, which filled the second half of the concert. This work, which gives so much pleasure to both performers and audience, was very enjoyable indeed. Under their conductor Norman Bolton, the choir sang with a great outpouring of what the composer would have wanted – joyful musical singing, great timing and pacing of the movements, and a firm grip of the work resulting from hard work at rehearsals.

The four soloists, Wilma MacDougall, Louise Innes, George Gordon, and Peter van Hulle, added all the necessary gloss to the overall performance, although I have to admit that I fell for the two ladies voices which were quite beautiful.

The hard-working accompanists were Aileen Fraser, Anne MacIntyre, and Gordon Tocher, these three lifting and complementing the choir playing two pianos and harmonium with expected excellence.

“The Strathpeffer Pavilion now offers a superb venue for concerts and entertainment of all types.”

In the first half, the works chosen were, Faure’s ‘Pavane’, and Mendelssohn’s ‘Lauda Sion’, but these were less secure than the Rossini. It is entirely acceptable that perhaps the choir were still finding their balance and judging their weight in the unfamiliar surroundings of the hall.

The Mendelssohn work, as the programme note indicated (all the programme notes were excellent) is hardly heard nowadays, so it was a brave choice of the choir to put it in the programme. Although it is not in the same league of musical excellence and appeal as his best loved oratorio ‘Elijah’, with its dramatic story and melodic strength, it does possess some fine sections for both soloists and chorus. Indeed, some musicians regard the work as unfairly neglected.

Contained in the work are some very testing contrapuntal choruses, and it was unfortunate that the choir found themselves requiring such a level of concentration to achieve the necessary cohesion that much of the religious sincerity Mendelssohn poured into it was weakened in their efforts to sing the correct notes in the right places.

Nevertheless, this was all in all a most entertaining and worthy event and it is to be hoped that the choir will feel able to return to the Pavilion for many more of their popular, attractive, and well supported concerts.

The Strathpeffer Pavilion now offers a superb venue for concerts and entertainment of all types. It is hope that the hall committee are engaged in negotiations with Eden Court to send some of their performers to Strathpeffer when that theatre closes for many months from May next year. Let the Inverness audience see this wonderful asset we now are proud to possess.