Straddling the 150th anniversary of the birth of Ralph Vaughan Williams, The English Arts Chorale performed RVW’s ‘A Sea Symphony’ to nearly full houses at The Dorking Halls and St Edmundsbury Cathedral. For EAC members, it was a delight to sing alongside Eye Bach Choir and the professional musicians of The English Arts Orchestra and Suffolk Philharmonic Orchestra respectively.
Feedback has been uplifting; reports of whoops and murmurings of sheer delight from the audience, of how cohesive and powerful the performances were, and from the singers - phenomenal to sing in and a delight to work with both orchestras and artistic director of all of the above, Leslie Olive. The semi-chorus created a distant ethereal sound, the soloists duet was notable and all musicians - choir, orchestra and soloists - were completely in sync during these special performances.
The orchestral ‘A London Symphony’ was enjoyed by audience and singers alike. A previous commuter to London commented that the music brought back everything they ever experienced driving in and out at different times of day through all the seasons.
Performing the repertoire twice in such different venues triggered debate about the pros and cons of each space. Les Olive commented that in the cathedral he started ‘A Sea Symphony’ slower than in Dorking “to let the expansiveness happen and get that extra glory out of it.”
Soloists Elin Pritchard and Gareth Brynmor John attended the pre-concert reception, along with guests from the Ralph Vaughan Williams Society.
We were delighted to be joined by Frank Kelly, Mayor of Reigate and Banstead and Paul Potter, Chairman of Mole Valley Council.
