• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Stockbridge Music

 Cart     My account
  • Home
  • What’s on
  • Venues
  • Reviews
  • About us
  • Become a Patron
  • Contact

Index Cantorum – St Peters Church – June 8th 2018

June 27, 2018 By Stockbridge Music

This concert, called Caledonian Connexions, proved full of contrasts, twists and turns.  Choral music that intrigued and enlightened at one. Obviously the theme was Scotland – mostly by association. As lndex Cantorum’s founder and director Mark Williams described in the programme, through the evening we’d hear anything from Scottish composers and those inspired by Scotland, music for Royal courts, folksong, contemporary music, and works from the Renaissance – eighteen pieces in all, some short, some longer.

Scotland’s greatest 16th century composer was Robert Carver. To open the concert, Mr Williams sang an ancient tune, ‘L’Homme Arme’, on which many composers at the time based their works, including Carver with his Mass of the same name. The choir performed its Gloria. This is beautiful music that warms the soul, with long phrases, ornamentation and wide compass between the treble and bass parts.

Equally first class singing in the first half expressed ably grief and anguish in the Scottish-born Robert Ramsey’s How are the mighty fallen in his setting of David’s lament from the Book of Samuel at Jonathan’s death. Many harmonic suspensions and musical false-relations here.

We enjoyed a charming rare secular Scottish part-song by that great musical survivor of four reigns, Tallis; a poignant anonymous Scottish Lament; and a couple of short madrigals, one by
a certain Cipriano de Rore, an innovative composer with a dramatic style expressive of the text, who influenced later developments in the madrigal.

The choir relished the 16th century tribute to St Andrew, Scotland’s Patron Saint, by the Flemish composer Thomas Crecquillon. His Andreas Christi famulus is a supreme piece of sustained eight-part writing.

They romped through a hunting song full of musical imagery by the Scotland enthusiast Mendelssohn. They-sang the much loved Ave Maris Stella by Grieg (his great grandfather was
Scottish), and a grorp of traditional folksongs, one of which was the pastoral love song Ca’ the yowes (drive the ewes to the hills) arranged by Vaughan Williams. This was a truly special performance, a solo tenor’s voice filling the church accompanied by chorale style chords.

A Child’s Prayer, by the Scottish composer James MacMillan, written in response to the 1996 Dunblane tragedy was also sung beautifully by two sopranos from the church’s west end,
accompanied by the choir in the east.

lndex Cantorum’s membership may have changed since Mr Williams founded the choir thirty years ago, but the philosophy hasn’t – themed concerts of the highest standards . Caledonian
connexions
was a fine example.

James Montgomery

Filed Under: Reviews

Primary Sidebar

Sign up for our newsletter

Subscribe

* indicates required
/* real people should not fill this in and expect good things - do not remove this or risk form bot signups */

Intuit Mailchimp

Footer

Terms and conditions of sale
Data privacy notice

Stockbridge Music is a not for profit organisation with a mission to bring world class live classical music to the local community and to foster the musical education of young people.
  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Copyright © 2025 Stockbridge Music · website by Northerwood

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
Cookie SettingsAccept All
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT