A LARGE audience was present in the Priory Church, Lancaster, to enjoy an evening concert given by the Lancaster Singers, under the capable baton of Denis McCaldin, and accompanied by organist, Ian Pattinson.
The concert featured a varied programme of music for choir and organ - both together and separately - opening with a spirited performance from the choir of sacred anthems by the father of English church music, William Byrd.
After two short organ works by J.S.
Bach, played with much aplomb by Ian Pattinson, the choir moved on to music of modern day British composer, John Tavener.
His two short works, The Lamb and Song for Athene (well known since its inclusion in the funeral service for Diana, Princess of Wales), always sound simple to sing but really are not.
The choir handled both with a confident deftness.
Perennial favourites in the form of Frank Bridge's Adagio in E and the virtuosic Toccata from Charles-Marie Widor's fifth organ symphony provided Ian Pattinson ample opportunities to show off his playing skills as he brought the first half of the proceedings to a rousing conclusion.
The second half of the concert was dedicated to a single work - the rarely heard Mass in D by Antonin Dvorak.
Despite the size of the choir, and the less than friendly acoustic of the Priory Church, this most intimate of masses was performed with all due delicacy, with the semi-chorus of just eight voices sounding particularly effective as a substitution for soloists.
SB
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