I never spend too long dwelling on previous concerts. Each experience is always memorable, invariably for the right reasons, but always in different ways. I tend to view live performances as ‘snapshots’ in time – great fun at the time, full of incidents but, once finished, we move on to whatever is coming next. Moreover, how could one adequately and objectively summarise a performance to someone who missed it? From my perspective, we concentrated well, were organised, well-rehearsed (some said ‘professional’) – to me, these things are really important – we should aim for nothing less; the performance itself was marvellous, thrilling, moving, captivating; however, none of this adequately conveys the emotional and musical journeys we each experienced between 7.30pm and the end of the concert.
From other perspectives, these works represented two more notches chalked up on the ‘done’ list, two more works heard live in St Ives for the first time; feedback received at the end was superb, both from performers, and audience alike. Ultimately, however, the aspect I shall most enjoy about this performance was the journey we each experienced from the very first rehearsal in September 2010 right through to the applause at the end of the concert, nearly five months later. It is especially gratifying that, during that time, we managed to dig deep into the heart of these works and, particularly, to shape a musical performance from Handel’s Dixit Dominus, a work which is very much less accessible than our previous experiences of this great musician – where are the easy, graceful melodies, lucid counterpoint and wonderful musical climaxes of his later oratorios? This work is very much of a composer in the making, somebody finding a voice, developing a style, somebody still learning how best to exploit each ‘instrument’- including voices! The music has an earthy quality, some thrilling moments nonetheless, but far less easy to understand than his later works. That over 90 members of St Ives Choral Society managed to ‘hang-in’ there and, thereby, had an opportunity to experience performing this work in concert is something of which we can all be extremely proud.
