Tag Archives: Three Choirs Festival Chorus

In concert – Three Choirs Festival: Adrian Partington conducts Elgar’s ‘Dream of Gerontius’

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John Findon (tenor), Niamh O’Sullivan (mezzo-soprano), David Ireland (bass-baritone), Three Choirs Festival Chorus, Philharmonia Orchestra / Adrian Partington

Wagner Parsifal – Prelude to Act One (1878)
Elgar The Dream of Gerontius, Op. 38 (1899-1900)

Gloucester Cathedral
Saturday 1 August 2026

Reviewed by Richard Whitehouse Photo credits (c) James O’Driscoll

Closing this latest edition of the Three Choirs Festival with Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius felt both inevitable and fitting, given its seminal place in the annals of the English choral tradition as of this festival, in what proved if not an unblemished then certainly a memorable realization.

Hearing this work now is to feel surprise how, aside from aspects of Cardinal Newman’s text, its musical treatment could have seemed so problematic whether technically or interpretively. Maybe the musical lineage on which it drew being not yet fully assimilated by musicians and listeners, or its contrasts between life and after-death being so emotionally charged, presented challenges to be overcome only with time and perseverance. If such were the case, then those challenges have certainly been met in the 124 years since its first hearing at the Three Choirs.

Allotting the vocalists so they merge into a balanced and complementary whole is a task this evening’s performance met convincingly. John Findon (above) brought fervour and an immediacy to Gerontius which never threatened overkill. Witness the assured pacing of his ‘Sanctus fortis’ solo so it dominated the opening part without undermining the latter’s formal and expressive trajectory; or the respective poise and fervour of ‘I went to sleep’ and ‘Take me away’, at the start then climax of the second part, in furthering overall dramatic flow.

A little too detached initially, Niamh O’Sullivan (above, with Findon) duly entered into the persona of the Angel such that ‘Softly and gently’ exuded an affecting poise. Starkly implacable as the Priest, David Ireland (below) brought to Angel of the Agony an understatement preferable to that wanton rhetoric often encountered.

Few such works have so extensive and varied a choral component as Gerontius, in which the Three Choirs Festival Chorus did not disappoint. Thus the distant response of the Assistants, menacing aggression of the Demons, accumulating power of the Angelicals in their majestic ‘Praise to the Holiest’ or ethereal chant of the Souls in Purgatory were all characterized with the requisite insight. Nor was the Philharmonia found wanting in Elgar’s always resourceful though often demanding orchestral writing, notably a Prelude such as unfolded purposefully towards its eloquent culmination. Here, as throughout, Adrian Partington (below) gave notice of his deep knowledge of and unfailing involvement with this score – not least when bringing out those sombre if luminous hues as were a hallmark of the composer’s orchestration forthwith.

Orchestral and conductor were also at one when delineating the hieratic mystery or grandeur of the Prelude to Wagner’s Parsifal. Its inclusion prior to Gerontius has often found favour in recent years yet, other than pointing up that debt which Elgar repaid handsomely in his own terms, it hardly seems necessary given the emotional scope or inclusiveness of what follows. If it is included then better, surely, to play this piece without its Act One ‘resolution’ then go straight into the Elgar to point up their conceptual connection and ensure cohesion forthwith.

Attendees at the performance had the benefit of programme notes by Martin Lee-Browne – author, authority on British music (not least Delius) and one-time Chairman of Gloucester Three Choirs – whose presence at and contributions to this festival will be greatly missed.

To read more about the 2027 festival in Worcester, head to the Three Choirs Festival website. Click on the names for more on the artists in this concert – tenor John Findon, mezzo-soprano Niamh O’Sullivan, bass-baritone David Ireland, the Philharmonia Orchestra and conductor Adrian Partington

Published post no.2,954 – Monday 6 July 2026

In concert – Three Choirs Festival: Three Choirs Festival Chorus, Philharmonia Orchestra / Adrian Partington – Howells Hymnus Paradisi & Bliss Mary of Magdala

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Rebecca Hardwick (soprano), Dame Sarah Connolly (mezzo-soprano), Michael Bell (tenor), Malachy Frame (baritone), Three Choirs Festival Chorus, Philharmonia Orchestra / Adrian Partington

Howells Paradise Rondel (1925)
Bliss Mary of Magdala (1962)
Howells Hymnus Paradisi (1936-38)

Hereford Cathedral
Wednesday 30 July 2025

Reviewed by Richard Whitehouse Photos (c) Dale Hodgetts (Dame Sarah Connolly, Festival Chorus), James O’Driscoll (Hereford Cathedral, Rebecca Hardwick, Adrian Partington)

Interesting that all three works comprising this concert were premiered at the Three Choirs in Gloucester or Worcester but they were, for the most part, admirably suited to the less opulent while always spacious ambience of Hereford Cathedral in what was a welcome retrospective.

Upsurge of Arthur Bliss performances in this fiftieth anniversary of his death continued with Mary of Magdala, essentially a cantata albeit with an element of operatic scena in the intense characterization of its title-role. Compiled by Christopher Hassall (the last collaboration with Bliss before his untimely death), its text finds Mary approaching the sepulchre where Christ’s body has been placed after crucifixion only to find it gone – Christ having assumed the guise of a gardener who bestows his blessing upon this most maligned yet most loyal of his circle.

The main part was given by Dame Sarah Connolly (above) with her customary fervour and insight, not least in the final stages after recognition when the music exudes a radiant gentleness rarely, if ever, encountered in Bliss hitherto. Malachy Frame drew an understated strength from the brief yet crucial role of Christus, but excessively large choral numbers rather compromised the relative intimacy of the music. Not that it seriously undermined the conviction of a timely revival for what is one of the least known though inherently personal among the composer’s later works.

It stayed under-wraps for over a decade after completion, but Hymnus Paradisi has long been the best known of Herbert Howells’s larger pieces and something like a ‘sacred text’ in Three Choirs culture. Written after the death of the composer’s son, it is avowedly music within the English choral tradition; not least that Gerontius-like aura of a Preludio (actually written last) whose yearning theme pervades what follows. The Requiem aeternam further intensifies such introspection, and if a setting of Psalm 23 tends towards the discursive, even generalized, that of Psalm 121 has a rapture that builds on an effervescent Sanctus in what is the most arresting section. A ruminative setting from The Burial Service precedes the impulsiveness of that from Salisbury Diurnal, with the return of the Requiem aeternam bringing about a fatalistic repose.

Something of a staple at these festivals it might be, Hymnus Paradisi is never an easy work to sustain in performance and tonight’s was a notable though not unqualified success. The vocal parts were well taken, Rebecca Hardwick’s occasional shrillness ostensibly a price to be paid for surmounting those often dense choral textures and Michael Bell making up for in accuracy what he lacked in personality. The sizable orchestral forces of the Philharmonia proved more than equal to the task, not just of balancing but in opening-out the expressive power of choral writing where the Three Choirs Festival Chorus was wholly in its element. Adrian Partington secured an interpretive focus that gained in conviction as the performance unfolded, making for an account which underlined the strengths yet also the weaknesses of this singular work.

It was the earlier and uninhibited Howells which ushered in proceedings. With its translucent orchestration and, at times, almost concertante-like piano part, Paradise Rondel makes for as irresistible a curtain-raiser as it no doubt was evoking that Cotswold hamlet of a century ago.

Published post no.2,615 – Sunday 3 August 2025

On Record – Gavin Higgins: The Fairie Bride, Horn Concerto (Lyrita)

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Gavin Higgins
Horn Concerto (2023)
Fanfare, Air and Flourishes (2021)
The Fairie Bride (2021)

Marta Fontanals-Simmons (mezzo-soprano), Roderick Williams (baritone), Ben Goldscheider (horn), Three Choirs Festival Chorus; BBC National Orchestra of Wales / Jaime Martin (Horn Concerto), Martyn Brabbins (The Fairie Bride)

Lyrita SRCD440 [84’14”] English/Welsh libretto included
Producer Adrian Farmer Engineer Andrew Smilie

Recorded in Hoddinott Hall, 11 January 2024 (Horn Concerto), Concert Hall, Wyastone Leys, Monmouth, 4 April 2024 (Fanfare, Air and Flourishes), live performance from Gloucester Cathedral on 23 July 2023 (The Fairie Bride)

Reviewed by Richard Whitehouse

What’s the story?

Lyrita adds to the already growing discography of Gavin Higgins (b.1983) with this release featuring two recent major works, both of which are heard in their first performances and thereby confirm this composer’s place among the leading British voices of his generation.

What’s the music like?

Listeners may have come across Higgins’s music via the release Ekstasis (see the link below), a collection of chamber pieces which attests to a distinctive and searching personality. Such is equally true of those here, not least the Horn Concerto that takes its place in a notable lineage of such works ‘in E flat’, while taking in Schumann and Ligeti as part of its range of stylistic or conceptual allusions. Its three movements have as their inspiration the Waldhorn – the first, Understorey, duly outlining an emergence from the (Wagnerian) depths to the forest floor in mounting waves of activity. There follow Overstorey with its airily expressive evocation of the forest canopy as builds considerable fervency over its course, then Myelium Rondo with its overtones of the hunt and energetic fanfares which propel this work to an affirmative close.

No stranger to the horn (being his own instrument), Higgins had indirectly prepared for this concerto with Fanfare, Air and Flourishes, a brief but eventful solo triptych which tries out several gestures or motifs to be developed in the larger work as well as in his second opera.

Commissioned by the Three Choirs Festival, The Faerie Bride takes a legend from the Book of Hergest for its synopsis of the coming together but eventual (its being inevitable) disunion between water spirit and earthly man. This is played out over seven scenes divided into two parts – Francesca Simon’s succinct yet artfully constructed libretto moving from their initial encounters at the lake, via the gradual dissolution of their relationship through events during each of the four seasons, to a climactic juncture when the woman returns with her extended family into the depths. Musically the work encompasses the range of Higgins’s idiom up to this point, its richness and variety of texture complemented by an instrumental clarity which ensures vocal audibility throughout – certain discrepancies between the libretto as published and as sung being immediately evident. That this opera keeps its emotions close to its chest much of the time only makes the closing stages the more powerful, not least in the way the ending reaches back to the beginning for a tangible sense of resolution borne of experience.

Does it all work?

Yes, in that Higgins is able to integrate his influences into a coherent and personal language. It helps that these performers are audibly attuned to this music – not least Marta Fontanels-Simmons as an otherworldly Woman and Roderick Williams as the uncomprehending Man – with Ben Goldscheider a consummate exponent of works for horn. The Three Choirs Festival Chorus characterizes the Villagers with suitable aggression, while Jaime Martin and Martyn Brabbins secure idiomatic playing of real finesse from the BBC National Orchestra of Wales.

Is it recommended?

Very much so. Those yet to do so should certainly acquire the earlier release on Nimbus, but the works featured here round out the potency of Higgins’s music accordingly. Detailed and informative notes by Gillian Moore, though watch out for those discrepancies in the libretto.

Listen & Buy

For purchase options, you can visit the Ulysees Arts website. For information on the performers, click on the names to read more about Ben Goldscheider, Marta Fontanals-Simmons, Roderick Williams, Jaime Martin, Martyn Brabbins and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. Click to read more about composer Gavin Higgins and about Ekstasis

Published post no.2,465 – Thursday 6 March 2025