SALISBURY MUSICAL SOCIETY, CATHEDRAL JUNIOR CHOIR, BOY CHORISTERS, CHELSEA OPERA GROUP ORCHESTRA, CONDUCTED BY DAVID HALLS

NOT FOR a long time has the nation longed for spring to arrive as much as this March with its persistent wintery weather.

Fittingly, the main work of the evening was Britten’s Spring Symphony. The work falls into four sections setting different texts, from a variety of sources, assembled by Britten.

From the outset his excellent use of orchestral colour was on display, with SMS singing a mysterious call to spring with vibraphone and other percussion adding more flavour.

Christopher Gillett (tenor) sang a rousing anthem to the cuckoo, punctuated by the brass section, and then the three soloists sang a beautiful setting where they each became birds for the refrain.

The Driving Boy was a tour de force with soprano Anna Patalong and the assembled children’s choirs weaving their sounds together, with a whistling part for the children too. The second section opened with the alto soloist, Emma Carrington, singing a lush setting of a Robert Herrick poem, accompanied by percussive harp, flute and higher strings before a further tenor solo, with muted strings giving a great backdrop for the soloist.

The setting of Auden for alto solo and SMS was very dramatic, and there was some great use of the chorus humming. The final part brings all the elements together and again there was much interesting percussion, including maracas.

I don’t know if it was where I was sitting in the cathedral but, sadly, I didn’t hear the Sumer is icumin in melody arrive, which heralds the end of the work.

Tenor Chris Gillett sang out the final words “and so my friends, I cease”, and the orchestra gave a last huge, crisp chord. In the face of the fantastic Britten, the Wagner orchestral excerpt and the Rutter were relegated to warm-up works, albeit fine ones.

This was a good performance of a challenging work.

Sarah Collins