MUSIC
REPORTS
MUSIC SOCIETY
SATURDAY, 15TH JUNE, 2019
For too long, the Music Society has been at rest; a musical force
waiting to be reawakened when time permitted. Thankfully, it
returned to our annual programme of music events in June
and what a treat awaited both performers and audience.
The programme began with Parry’s coronation anthem I
Was Glad – the 45-piece orchestra, led by Harry Kneeshaw,
thundering the opening fanfares only to be usurped by the
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THE POCKLINGTONIAN
massed voices of the choir, all 110 of them, in wonderful
homophony: I was glad . The piece had its moment of calm,
with beautiful string playing accompanying the Pray for the
peace of Jerusalem passage, before one final climax from the
combined forces.
The work was followed by Fauré’s Requiem , a work that at
times touched the sublime. The choir, through their hours
of dedication to rehearsal, turned what is a fairly easy work
to sing into a well refined beauty. Their opening moved
from a genuine pianissimo to a spine-tingling climax, and the
counterpoint was woven with beautiful subtlety at the start
of the Offertoire . The Agnus Dei was moving, with strings once