Toronto is a city of exceptional choirs — children’s, amateur and professional. But even a high standard can be exceeded, as was the case for the 18 professional voices of the Larkin Singers at the Church of the Holy Trinity on Saturday afternoon.
- Classical Music 101: What Does A Conductor Do? - June 17, 2019
- Classical Music 101 | What Does Period Instrument Mean? - May 6, 2019
- CLASSICAL MUSIC 101 | What Does It Mean To Be In Tune? - April 23, 2019
Their founder and leader, Matthew Larkin, guided the youthful women and men through a survey of the choral music of Benjamin Britten, in honour of the 100th anniversary of his birth, which fell on Friday.
The first half of the concert consisted of sacred pieces. The second half was secular, including the Choral Dances from Britten’s 1953 opera Gloriana (which is being presented in concert on Sunday by Voicebox/Opera in Concert).
Listening to so much of the composer’s choral music in one live sitting made for interesting comparisons in style, which evolved markedly from the oldest piece on the programme — an ethereal Hymn to the Virgin with an echo choir written by a 16-year-old Britten — to the most recent, Antiphon, which dates from 1956.
With the passage of time, Britten moved increasingly from a large-view conception of a piece to a close-up study, where each phrase or verse gets a musical treatment designed to clearly stress particular aspects of the text. Antiphon, a fine and substantial piece of choral music, sounded most like a patchwork, sometimes to the detriment of a stronger, bigger message behind the anthem as a whole.
The three highlights of the first half of the programme were the opening Festival Te Deum, from 1945, the Hymn to St Cecilia, from 1942 and Rejoice in the Lamb, written a year later.
Larkin teased a spectacular amount of fine detail from his singers. From the quietest passages to loud statements the choir was impeccably balanced, and the language remained clearly intelligible despite the church’s lively acoustics.
Whenever organ accompaniment was called for, Andrew Adair, music director at the Church of St Mary Magdalene, provided agile, sensitive support.
Larkin himself sat down at the pipe organ to play Britten’s sole published composition for the instrument, a big Prelude and Fugue on a Theme of Vittoria, then stepped down to the floor to conclude the afternoon with the Choral Dances and Five Flower Songs from 1950.
It was enough of a treat to hear all this music in one sitting. But to hear it performed with such polish and poise made this a special treat — one that isn’t likely to be repeated for a long time in Toronto.
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This was the first of three Toronto concerts by the Larkin Singers this season. It’s well worth checking out the others, coming up in the new year, here.
John Terauds
- Classical Music 101: What Does A Conductor Do? - June 17, 2019
- Classical Music 101 | What Does Period Instrument Mean? - May 6, 2019
- CLASSICAL MUSIC 101 | What Does It Mean To Be In Tune? - April 23, 2019
