Ruddington Choral Society’s tuneful and elegiac concert, held on Saturday 26 November, was a quietly sublime musical celebration. The thoughtful, meticulous and enthusiastic leadership of director Paul Hayward combined with the exquisite organ skills of Michael Overbury ensured that the choir once again excelled under their stewardship.
Faure’s much loved Cantique de Jean Racine and In Paradisum provided a delicate, inspiring prelude to the main work: Rutter’s haunting, poignant but chorally taxing Requiem.
At the top of their game, the choir captured beautifully the subtle intricacies, nuance, lyricism and essence of these works. Soprano Jane Harwood – who was superb throughout –both complemented and led the choir in the Requiem and in Mendelssohn’s Hear My Prayer; her own solos, Handel’s V’Adoro Pupille and Mozart’s achingly beautiful Dove Sono, were worthy interludes between the main works.
On a November evening, this was music and performance to refresh and inspire the soul – and the St Giles’ audience showed it in their delighted applause.
T. Beale