B

eing spoken to by a stranger on the Tube is

considered awkward. And it is. But I should wager
that listening to the rst two minutes of a music
recital is just as awkward. We, as Englishmen, need a couple
of minutes to settle in, to become accustomed to feeling
deep emotion en masse. Its just of those things. But settle in
we did, to the harmonies of Oxford Camerata in St Peters
Church, Eaton Square, though not without a surprise.
After a short introduction by Carl Anton Muller,
Managing Director of Eaton Square Concerts, our
eyes turned to the stage but there was no choir to be
seen. Then, from the east end, the aethereal harmony
of the twelfth-century composer Hildegard von Bingen
resounded through the church, answered from the west
end by another selection of voices. Each detachment,
secreted at either ends of the church, then walked
solemnly to the altar and united as one.
As the singers joined in formation, so their voices did in
song. Two pieces by John Sheppard and a Spanish villancico
formed a sixteenth-century sandwich. The harmony was
crisp and measured, and the music restorative.
The conductor, Jeremy Summerly, and two of his
singers then split from the choir and gave a powerful
performance of William Cornyshs song Ah, Robin. The
trio transcended ve centuries and brought the driving verse
Ah, Robin, gentle, Robin, tell me how thy leman doth,
and thou shalt know of mine arrestingly to life a ne
illustration of the human conditions emotional consistency.
Early Music is as relevant now as it ever was, and will be.
Sheppard, Palestrina and a nal piece by Sheppard
brought the sixteenth century half to a close a shame,
as Tallis, Byrd or Dowland, though obvious, would have
been welcome substitutes for the dominating Sheppard.
After a brief interval, the second half commenced.
Halfway through, Mr Summerly exclaimed, I think you
get the picture now these are pieces I like, and what
eclectic taste. The programme jumped from a traditional
Northumbrian folk song to Britten to a modern Magnicat
by Giles Swayne, whose composition was inuenced by the
West African bush. It shouldnt work but it does said Mr
Summerly, who then launched his choir into a multi-layered
chant of magnicat, which was strange but enjoyable.
The highlight, however, at the risk of sounding populist,
was Morten Lauridsens O Magnum Mysterium: a Classic FM
favourite and sung with all the delicacy and vigour expected
of such an experienced choir as Oxford Camerata. Indeed,
the performance seemed to visibly move the conductor, who
afterwards took to wiping his brow with a handkerchief.
Lead by such an evidently learned and passionate
conductor as Mr Summerly, Oxford Camerata was a pleasure
to listen to. Measured and interesting, the programme played
to the strengths of the choirs Early-Music expertise, with the
inclusion of the modern compositions, though less enjoyable,
a sharp blow on the dusty catalogue of the rst half.
Not many evenings take the listener on a musical tour
spanning 800 years; and not many do so with such aplomb.
The November timetable includes Haydn, Mendelssohn,
Janacek, Mahler, Saint-Saens and Schumann
(eatonsquareconcerts.org.uk)
Anthony James Armstrong discerns the golden thread holding
together a bewildering array of music, delivered by the Oxford
Camerata, the latest Eaton Square concert...
BE L GRAVI A RE S I DE NT S J OURNA L 018
all ages
A sound for