Review of Cantores Olicanae, The Armed Man, Saturday, November 14 at St Margaret's Church, Ilkley

FOR this concert Cantores Olicanae were guest conducted by the excellent choral trainer Thomas Leech, and accompanied by the superb Skipton Camerata, who supplied plenty of energy and rhythmic drive in the opening piece, Vivaldi’s “Gloria” in D Major. The choir sang with committed tone and gave a good account of Vivaldi’s lively and vital music. Soloists Grace Chapman and Emily Hodkinson proved a well-matched duo in the Soprano/Alto duet “Laudamus Te”.

The message of Jenkins’s “The Armed Man”, subtitled “A Mass for Peace”, felt particularly poignant following the attacks in Paris on the previous day. After a period of reflective silence, the piece began with the military sounds of fife and drum, gradually building to an ominous chorus of “L’Homme Armé” (“The Armed Man”). The percussion-heavy orchestration proved most effective in the relentless, brooding “Sanctus”. Other highlights included Tom Collingwood’s beautiful cello solo in the “Benedictus” and some impassioned singing from the choir in the foreboding “Hymn before Action”. After moving through stages of conflict and resolution, the piece concluded with a gentle chorale, setting the words of the book of Revelation: “God shall wipe away all tears”.

by Alex Kyle