Wokingham Choral Society

from the Wokingham Times, November 2009

This was a delightful and memorable performance.

Reading University Great Hall

Whenever Handel's Messiah is performed, it is always a great event and this evening was no exception. The members of Wokingham Choral Society, under their conductor, Alexander Chaplin, rose to the occasion with some well-rehearsed and beautiful singing.

They conveyed all the variety of moods from the sweeping statements of "Wonderful, Counsellor..." and the joy of "Glory to God..." to the sorrow of "Behold the Lamb..." and the outrage expressed in "Surely He hath borne..."

"O thou that tellest..." was sung at a bright, brisk tempo, but precise timing and diction meant that you could hear every word. The carefully timed rises and falls in "Unto us..." were neat and polished.

The Hallelujah Chorus was exciting - and the sopranos were lovely in the soaring high notes of "King of Kings". It was a pleasure to hear Roderick Morris' mellow counter-tenor singing in "He shall feed his flock''. His "He was despised..." was a sorrowful meditation.

Thomas Faulkner's bass went well with the trumpet in a smooth legato,leisurely "A trumpet shall sound..." His passionate "Why do the nations..." was full of anger.

This was a delightful and memorable performance.

  Rosemary Bayliss