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Right from the start it was clear, from the vigorous, enthusiastic way in which the opening Versicle, ‘Deus in adjutorium meum intende’ was delivered, that this was to be a lively rendition of the Vespers and it turned out that this movement gave an excellent foretaste of what was to follow. The performance had undoubtedly been prepared with scrupulous attention to detail, but it hadn’t been over-prepared so as to eliminate a refreshing feeling of spontaneity. Throughout the evening the choir responded to Skidmore’s clear but never ostentatious direction with good attack and buoyancy of rhythm. In those sections where a smoother, more warm style was appropriate, the singers were equally diligent. In this opening Versicle I enjoyed especially the lilt that was imparted to the triple-time rhythms. The choral tone was bright and well focused here and throughout the evening and the textures were consistently clear.

The placing of this performance right in the middle of a week that has contained many large scale, rich textured choral and orchestral works was very shrewd. It provided an excellent contrast with the music of Britten Elgar et al and thereby refreshed the ears of the audience in a most effective way. The performance was very warmly received, and rightly so. This superb account of Monteverdi’s Vespers is one that I will not quickly forget.

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