Dingwall Choral Society

An A to Z of Choral Music

From their powerful and breathtaking opening lines of Funeral Ikos, to the triumphant and exhilarating Zadok the Priest, Dingwall Choral Society’s ‘An A-Z of Choral Music’ was a beautiful evening of accomplished performance.

In the dynamic and balanced space of the Strathpeffer Pavilion, the beams resonated as the choir's sound swelled to an electrical energy during pieces such as the Dies Irae and Bohemian Rhapsody.

The colourful pick n’ mix of a programme, none too dissimilar to the bright array of their concert attire, simply dazzled the audience. With a variety of well known choral classics there was additional pressure to sing each well known phrase perfectly. To this end, John Thomson firmly took the programme in hand, encouraging Dingwall Choral to come into their own with well constructed close harmonies.  Warm Bach alongside fluid Fauré and creamy Whitacre created sweet musical moments.  These were interspersed with enticing and energetic performances of the gospel piece ‘This is the Day’ by Smith, Johnston’s 'Johnnie Cope' and Vivaldi’s nothing short of glorious 'Gloria'. All this, peppered with the light humour of Thomson, brought stark contrasts and delightful chuckles.

Little did I expect, but one piece of music truly stood out during this concert; Verdi’s ‘Speed your Journey’.  The Choral took this piece, added something very special, and made it unique.  There were almost Scottish undercurrents running through the weighted melodies and the unified, solid sound gave true substance to the skillful and effectively placed dynamics.

Whitacre’s ‘Seal Lullaby’ created a heavy stillness that could only be broken by the symphony of the audience’s appreciation. This was swiftly followed by a dynamic and well formed ‘Hashivenu’ from the choir’s male representation.

All of this, topped by a spiky, joyous and momentous ‘Zadok the Priest’.  Allelujah!

For me, this concert could have lasted for 4 minutes, or 3 days...and i’d still be sitting, transfixed in their sound.  Bravo.

Emily Scott