EMPIRE THEATRE,EDEN COURT, 22 NOVEMBER 2008

Inverness Choral Society (photo - Ewen Weatherspoon)

BY TAKING the decision to perform Handel’s Messiah for their autumn concert, Inverness Choral Society ran the risk of making themselves hostages to fortune. It is, by far, the most popular work in the choral repertoire, and the best known by the audience.

There is scarcely a home that does not have a recording of it – there are well over fifty different issues in the catalogue, plus a good half dozen of the later reworking by Mozart. Against that, audiences demand that Messiah gets a regular outing, even if it is at the expense of hearing other great choral works. Back in the 1970s, the Choral presented it every other year, but these days the balance is better and Saturday’s performance was the first for eight years.

The Messiah’s very familiarity means that the bar has to be raised, making greater demands on the performers. But the work that had been put into this performance was apparent from the very first notes.

Conductor Gordon Tocher had decided to deliver it in a form that would have been recognized by Handel himself. The Inverness Choral Sinfonia, under leader Robin Calvert, was restricted to only twenty-two players, giving it an almost Baroque timbre, which was entirely suitable.

And how that orchestra has improved in recent years. At one time, one was grateful for an enthusiastic wind and brass section as they drowned the string playing. But now all sections play to the same high standard, producing an orchestra of which the city and the region can be proud.

For many years Inverness Choral Society has enjoyed a close and warm relationship with the doyenne of vocal coaches, Patricia MacMahon. As well as being a Visiting Professor at the Royal College of Music and a Samling Foundation leader, for more than thirty years Pat taught at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama where she still holds consultancy status.

Young singers beat a path to her doorway, and for many years she has introduced a wealth of soloists to Inverness Choral Society. This year was no exception for, as well as singing the soprano role herself, she brought with her two of her students, mezzo Lilly Papaioannou and bass Philip Gault. To keep things in the family, as it were, the fourth soloist, tenor Nathan Vale, is engaged to another of Pat’s students.

Gordon Tocher set off at a brisk pace with the ‘Overture’, choosing to emphasise the staccato nature of the music, followed by the entry of Nathan Vale with the tenor’s only contribution to Part The First, the Recitative ‘Comfort ye my people’ and Aria ‘Ev’ry valley shall be exalted’. Here was a pure tenor voice, strong enough to fill every corner of the Empire Theatre.

The chorus has much to do in Messiah, no fewer than twenty sections. The balance between the gentlemen and the ladies is more equal than a few years ago, and this became noticeable with their first entry ‘And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed’. Delivery was crisp and audible; each section was clear and distinguishable; at times the sopranos had the purity of choirboy trebles.

Then we heard mezzo Lilly Papaioannou for the first time. With a voice like burnished copper, she enthralled the full audience throughout the whole work. With such a colourful voice, warm and luscious, we can be sure of hearing her again in other roles (she will sings with the Choral again in Karl Jenkins’s The Armed Man in April – Ed.).

Next up was the bass, Philip Gault. Perhaps more bass-baritone than pure bass, nonetheless his voice had a satisfying resonance as he delivered ‘The people that walked in darkness’. The end of Part The First belongs to the female soloists, and the audience learned just why Patricia MacMahon is so highly regarded. She may have a singing career behind her to rival that of Cliff Richard, but her technique and her voice are still in perfect condition. How fortunate the world of music is that she has dedicated herself to pass on those skills to the new generations of singers.

And so the catalogue of well-known arias and choruses flowed on, all delivered as beautifully as we could hope. Dutifully, the audience came to their feet for the ‘Hallelujah’ chorus. Maybe that is a faintly ridiculous convention, started by King George II at an early performance of Messiah in 1742. But perhaps it is the very popularity of this oratorio here in the Highlands that is the paradox. Handel’s other great aria ‘See the conquering hero comes’ from Judas Maccabeus was played as the Duke of Cumberland returned to London after Culloden, and is still regarded with suspicion in these parts.

All the contributions soloists, choir and orchestra alike – to this presentation of Messiah were in top form. As is so often the case, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. A performance to be remembered.

© James Munro, 2008

Links

• Inverness Choral Society