The first thing that was instantly noticeable about this ensemble was its intelligent manipulation of the acoustics of the St Mary’s Cathedral to create appropriate sounds for the different pieces.
The concert began with Tallis’ O salutaris hostia. The choir was set behind the stalls far from the audience and the echo of the acoustic was perfect for this piece. The lovely mingling of voices was gorgeous to listen to and was quite a magical way to open the concert. Moving closer, the choir then sang Bach’s Jesu, meine Freude, a piece of great difficulty and although still producing a wonderful sound, the quality of certain parts did slip. The altos were occasionally slightly flat and the sopranos stood out a little too much from the other voices at certain points. However, it must be stressed that these are minor points and did not detract from the overall enjoyment of the piece.
The concert ended with a performance of the contemporary composer David Briggs’ Messe Solennelle. A little tentative on the Kyrie, the choir soon warmed up into their parts. Unfortunately however, after a powerful Gloria, the Sanctus and Benedictus felt sadly turgid and flat. Form was restored with the finale, Agnus Dei, proving the choir of Merton College to be a talented bunch.