Passion and power in a choral wonder

Oldham Choral Society

Royal Northern College of Music

OLDHAM Choral Society’s performance of the Verdi Requiem at the Royal Northern College of Music on Sunday was a magnificent and majestic achievement.

To celebrate the bicentenary of Verdi’s birth the Oldham Choral Society and East Lancs Sinfonia teamed up with invited international soloists to present Verdi’s magnificent fusion of words and music.

Under the baton of Nigel P. Wilkinson, a wall of sound hit the audience — the vibrations of the horizontal bass drum reverberating in the concert hall even as the audience left.

The effect was as powerful as a blockbuster Western movie theme or a James Bond soundtrack. From the hushed beginning to the exploding Dies Irae, for which the trumpeters had full reign up in the gods, the notes and words seared themselves into the heart. My own Judgement Day will hold no fears if I’m greeted with this masterpiece.

This was a major, soul-lifting experience and celebrated the joyous hope of a triumphal life after death in a powerful way. Verdi would have been delighted.

The soloists - Linda Richardson (soprano), Kathleen Wilkinson (mezzo soprano), Justin Lavender (tenor) and David Soar (bass) - sang together wonderfully, as if they had been touring together for years instead of being brought together for the night.

The performance had what any great performance of this work demands: passion. Everyone, choristers, soloists, musicians and conductor, pulled out all the stops.

It’s hard to imagine the 132-strong Oldham Choral and the 39-strong Sinfonia could do better - but I know they will try.

SF