ON Saturday evening, 2 July 2016, in St Martin’s Church, an era came to an end.

John Powell, the founder and conductor of the St John Singers for over 40 years, gave his final concert with them, billed as a Celebratory Concert for John.

St Martin’s Church was full, which was to be expected for such an occasion. 

The concert had two parts – the first, a selection of anthems that had special significance for John, and the second half, a performance of Rutter’s Requiem – which, in 1986, had been given its first European  performance by the St John Singers, under Rutter’s baton – a real coup for John’s choir.

There were eight anthems in the first part, ranging from the opening I was glad, by Parry, through to  works written for John and his wife, by Bob Chilcott and David Halls. Both composers were present to hear their works performed.

The beautiful melodic line of So the day dawn for me was vintage Chilcott and Christ whose glory fills the skies was one of the most joyous and exciting pieces of Halls I have ever heard. William Briggs, a Cathedral treble, featured in a number of the anthems and was especially melodious in Mendelssohn’s O for the wings of a dove. The choir complemented William superbly in this well-known, but challenging, number. The first half ended with a fine rendering of How lovely is thy dwelling place from Brahms’ German Requiem. Former MP Robert Key, no stranger to working with the Singers, compered this half of the evening.

The second half comprised John Rutter’s Requiem. This has fewer “tunes” than most Rutter but is a complex, moving piece that received some very fine, controlled singing from the choir. William Briggs sang the Pie Jesu exquisitely, with fine accompaniment by the choir and the instrumental ensemble.

Throughout the whole concert the choir sang with great feeling and control, showed an excellent dynamic range and was always sympathetic to the music. I have rarely seen a body of singers give a conductor such attention.

Throughout the whole evening organist David Coram accompanied with great sensitivity. The conductor, as usual, was full of energy, encouraging the performers at all times and extracted from them some wonderful sounds. The end of the Requiem was greeted with prolonged applause and a standing ovation. As an encore, the Singers treated us to a rousing performance of Stanford’s Te Deum in B flat.

This was a memorable evening and a fitting tribute to John. I doubt we shall see his like again in Salisbury. His energy, enthusiasm and generosity has enriched the lives of so many. Ian Wicks, his successor, has an exceptional act to follow. Thank you, John!

Roy Bexon