Cantores Chamber Choir – “Darkness, Devotion and Hope
Saint Mary’s was very fortunate to host a wonderful concert of music for Lent and Passiontide performed under the baton of Simon Harper. The choir of thirty singers are rightly gaining a reputation for innovative and exciting programming which blends well known choral works with those that are rarely performed, together with carefully chosen readings. The concert opened with the beautiful ‘Timor et Tremor’ (Fear and trembling) by Orlando di Lassus. The balance of the voices is perfect and together with the word-painting and exquisite harmonies we were transported through the six centuries to sixteenth century Europe, and it was magical.
John Sanders’ ‘Reproaches’, written in 1984 brought us back to earth with modern harmonies, which nonetheless paid homage to the seventeenth century, and had a sense of timelessness, This was followed by the sombre words of Isaiah portraying Jerusalem laid waste and used by William Byrd as a metaphor for the plight of the Catholic church in England in the late sixteenth century. Readings from Walter Raleigh’s ‘On the Life of Man’ and one of John Donne’s ‘Holy Sonnets, both written in the sixteenth century were beautifully read and very well matched to the theme of the music, as indeed was the far more modern ‘Night Music’ by Philip Larkin.
Heinrich Schutz’s ‘Selig sind de Toten’ was written during the period of the thirty years war in Germany, at which time he was based at the royal chapel in Dresden, which suffered significantly from the ravages of war. In this piece Schutz reaffirms his belief that God was a refuge in troubled times and that in the end all things would be well.
Bach’s ‘Jesu Meine Freude’ takes the listener into the mid eighteenth century and uses as text a classic Lutheran doctrine – whatever the world throws at you, faith in Christ will save you and all will be well. It was the longest of the pieces performed, and the best known to most of us. It is also very demanding of the voice. ‘Cantores’ made it sound effortless, and the tuning and timing were impeccable filling the church with Bach’s wonderful harmonies and ending with another version the chorale which opens it. You could almost hear the audience holding their breath as the final chords died away.
Psalm 51 ‘Miserere Mei – Have mercy upon me, O God – has always been a part of the Passiontide liturgy in traditional Catholic worship. In 2009 Harry Christophers and ‘The Sixteen’ Commissioned Sir James MacMillan to write a companion piece to the Allegri’s Miserere. Macmillan’s interpretation has been described as ‘a steady progression from guilt and sin to hope and optimism. Gritty harmonic language and elaborate rhythms are very typical of Macmillan as is the traditional ‘Gaelic ‘ keening (lamenting), which conveys the meaning of the words. There are echoes of Allegri’s harmonies and use of plainsong. As a whole it is a powerful and passionate piece of writing that left the audience holding the breath in the silence that followed its completion. A truly fitting ending to a wonderful evening of a carefully crafted programme which was so appropriate for the season of Lent and allowed the audience to be carried away, to reflect and meditate on the meaning of words, most of which were expressed many centuries ago, but are echoed in the more recent settings reflecting on times of trouble and despair but ending with steadfast belief, faith and hope.
As they left the church I heard many of the audience extoling the quality of the performance and expressing the hope that ‘Cantores’ would return soon. We will welcome them!
Meg Ralph
Updated 5th April 2026