I MOVED to Salisbury from London a year ago and have been delighted time and again by the standard of musical performance in the city; The Christmas concert in St Martin’s Church by the Farrant Singers and Farrant Brass under Andrew Mackay exceeded my expectations.
The first half of the programme reflected the influence of music at St Mark’s, Venice, where 450 years ago Andrea Gabrieli and his nephew Giovanni heightened the musical impact by placing the choir in different parts of the building.
The opening Magnificat by Andrea Gabrieli had the Farrant Singers and Brass split in three, placed behind the audience, in front of the rood screen and at the back of the chancel; Mackay nevertheless achieved miraculous unanimity.
Two instrumental works interspersed the well-contrasted choral pieces; Giovanni Gabrieli’s Sonata pian’ e forte for brass, and Bach’s organ Fantasia in G, the latter magnificently played by 20- year-old Edward Reeve. A name to watch.
After the interval came a tribute to Andrew MacKay’s mentor, the late Sir David Willcocks.
The audience joined in familiar Willcocks carol arrangements, with brass fanfares enhancing ‘O come, all ye faithful’ and ‘Hark! The herald angels sing’; the choir alone contributed more complex arrangements by Willcocks and others, as well as Poulenc’s touching ‘O magnum mysterium’.
On the way out an audience member remarked ‘That was fun’. Yes, but it was much more too; a beautifully planned, uplifting programme, superbly performed. I’d have been lucky to find anything as rewarding in London.
Jeremy Barlow
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