Chepstow Choral Society dosed its 2003/2004 season with a full performance of Handel's "Messiah" at St Mary's Church, Chepstow as part of the Chepstow Festival.
The Choir was joined on this occasion by an orchestra comprising many young professional instrumentalists, drawn from a variety of Music Colleges, including London and Manchester, and Universities several of the players were music graduates from Cardiff. The result was a vibrant and enthusiastic performance of this most famous of oratorios, and they were complemented by four outstanding young soloists at the commencement of their careers. Katherine Bond (soprano), Katherine Alien (mezzo-soprano), Gareth Groves (tenor) and Benedict Nelson (bars) gave quite magnificent individual performances of the many famous solos contained in this work. It would be difficult to single out anyone, but the packed audience were treated to some truly superb singing, and the future of these young singers seems well assured and this, of course, is very good news for the future of music in this country. It is very satisfying for Chepstow Choral Society to be able to provide a platform for these younger musicians, who are indeed the country's musical future, and it was very gratifying that the reception tom the audience at the conclusion justified and confirmed this fact.
Handel's "Messiah" represents a formidable challenge to all the participants, and on this occasion the work was presented in its totality something which is not done very often and this gave the audience the opportunity to hear some of the lesser known choruses and solos as well as the very famous ones. The demands for the choir are considerable, and it was to their great credit that they rose to the occasion an outstanding choral highlight being the performance of the famous "Hallelujah Chorus", which was quite wonderful, and resonated round the historic surroundings. The performance was directed by Graham Bull, the Musical Director of Chepstow Choral Society, and he must be complimented on the way in which he handled all the components that make up this huge choral work. The standing ovation given by much of the audience at the end of the evening was just reward for the enormous input by orchestra, soloists and choir alike, and was deserved.
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