It is a truism today to say that original instruments lend musicians the ability to play with youthful freshness and vigour. However, having meticulously tuned their instruments, the young members of EUBO took this energy to a new level, spurred on by the imaginative and masterful conductor. Dressed in red robes, the boys and young men of the approximately 30-voice choir sang as a unified whole, with the boy sopranos providing a glittering crown to the overall sound. Throughout the performance of this English text version, the choir sang the choruses in a way that perfectly reflected their meaning: rejoicing in the joy of the birth of the Saviour; restrained during the funereal music that accompanies the Passion narrative; simply dazzling in the famous ‘Hallelujah’ chorus and the triumphant finale of the Amen fugue.

The first highlight of the performance came during the first part of the Christmas story: a boy soprano singing the words of the angel – ‘Fear not, I bring you glad tidings of great joy’ – from the pulpit, as part of the soprano recitative. Two Baroque trumpets sounded their signal from the gallery for the subsequent chorus, ‘Glory to God’. The brilliantly sung ‘Hallelujah’ chorus that concludes the second part, supported by timpani and trumpets, was greeted by the audience with spontaneous and enthusiastic applause. The meditative numbers of the third part steadily increased in intensity towards the triumphant ‘Worthy is the Lamb’.

The soloists sang as a homogenous ensemble, a reflection of their common stylistic colouring, born of the English choral tradition. They sang with great clarity and almost entirely free of vibrato. The texts were clearly articulated, the coloratura glistened with technical perfection, and the repeated passages were subtly and tastefully embellished, as is appropriate to historical performance practice.

The wonderful Swedish soprano, Maria Keohane, used well-judged stage gestures to add a visual pleasure to arias like ‘Rejoice, O daughter of Zion’ or ‘I know that my Redeemer liveth’. The countertenor William Purefoy sang his part with emotional intensity, and was particularly moving in the extended aria ‘He was despised’. Nicholas Mulroy’s recitatives and arias were delivered in a light and attractive tenor, a voice that seems to predestine him to the great evangelist roles. Bass-baritone Jonathan Sells shaped his part with great clarity and strong emphasis, culminating in the aria ‘The trumpet shall sound’, in duet with the splendid first trumpet.

Despite the relatively small forces of chorus and orchestra, the performers achieved an extraordinarily successful, rousing interpretation of this mighty oratorio, in which recitative and prayer, arias and choruses were given with impressive focus and energy. The audience greeted the end of the performance with prolonged cheers and a standing ovation.

Klaus Trapp, Darmstädter Echo

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The performance on Sunday 13th December of ‘Messiah’ at the Trifolion in Echternach, given by the choir of New College, Oxford and the European Union Baroque Orchestra under the direction of Edward Higginbottom was, quite simply, stunning. From the opening sinfonia to the final Amen, we were, like characters in one of J.B. Priestley’s ‘Time’ plays, inhabiting two periods. In the one we were almost seeing into Handel’s mind (perhaps ‘soul’ would be better) as the work unfolded; in the other, we were hearing a few dozen supremely talented musicians using their hard-won expertise to allow this to happen. It’s not possible in the space available to give an exhaustive account; a few short notes must suffice.

The choir of New College and its director, Edward Higginbottom, need no introduction. They are well known because of their numerous recordings; but recordings are only a pale imitation of live performance, where one can see at first hand the interplay between choir and director. The performance was flawless, the vocal agility amazing. For example, the chorus ‘All we like sheep’ was taken at breakneck speed, as though the sheep had been transmuted into Gadarene swine, instead of merely wandering lazily off; after it, I felt as though I had just stepped off a roller-coaster.

Swedish soprano Maris Keohane has a voice ideally suited to this kind of music; clear and agile, it truly made one rejoice in the aria ‘Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Sion’, while ‘I know that my Redeemer liveth’ had the power to move one to tears. And there was another wonderful moment, which I will come to later on. The alto solos were sung by counter-tenor William Purefoy, whose lyrical tone was used to heartbreaking effect in ‘He was despised’; Nicholas Mulroy’s well-controlled and mellifluous tenor really did make the rough places plain in the well-known aria ‘Every valley’, and bass-baritone Jonathan Sells certainly shook the heavens and the earth, and caused the people that walked in darkness to see a great light. (‘The trumpet shall sound’ gets a paragraph to itself later on.) There was another soloist, whose name was not given the prominence in the programme which it should have had. Normally, the soprano sings all of the recitative ‘There were shepherds abiding in the fields’, but, in a stroke of genius, the words of the angel were given to one of the trebles, Hugh Cutting, who sang them beautifully. I hope that this young man’s adult voice will be as good as his treble; if so, he deserves to go far

According to its brochure, the European Union Baroque Orchestra provides talented musicians from all over Europe with the quality of training and experience necessary to embark on careers in the flourishing world of baroque music. It acts as a bridge between conservatoire study and professional life. These young people showed musicianship and a grasp of technique far beyond the ordinary; if I single one person out, it is only because of where I happened to be sitting.

The natural trumpet is not an easy instrument to play. Here I can claim some specialist knowledge, because, for a period, I was a professional horn-player and thus know something of the techniques required to play a brass instrument without valves. It was a privilege to be within a few feet of Sebastian Philpott as he played the solo in ‘The trumpet shall sound’; his solidly based technique, underpinning artistry of a very high order, made a demanding piece sound easy. The aria is really a duet for bass voice and trumpet, and here the voice and instrument were perfectly matched.

I could go on, but I mustn’t. Grateful thanks are due to Professor Higginbottom who has brought the New College choir to such a peak of excellence, and who, for a few short hours that evening, transported the singers, instrumentalists and ourselves to a more exalted plane.

Luxembourg local paper ‘352’, published 7 January 2010

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photo: Margrit Matyscak

The boys choir from Oxford, is the second oldest of the world’s most famous boys’ choirs. It was founded around 150 years after the Thomaner Choir Leipzig but responsibilities, expectations and performance are similar. The Thomaner Choir are currently seeking to develop continuity in its leadership following reunification, whereas the choir from Oxford has 33 years of leadership experience on which to reflect. Indeed, Edward Higginbottom is considered one of the most famous choirmasters in the world. Though his singers only stay with him for a maximum of four years—he knows what they are capable of, and expects the very best. In his elegantly flowing movements every finger plays its part, and his singers are familiar with them all. The choir is rarely challenged by intonation, and conveys a performance with immediacy as well as precision.

Edward Higginbottom allowed his singers a break to let them relax their nerves and concentration between the 16th- and 20th-century pieces.

The choir started with a five-voice arrangement of Tribue Domine, composed by William Byrd in 1575—a work considered one of the masterpieces of the 16th century. Its shifting cues created sound patterns that could not have been more colourful. The pure voices of the New College Choir from the gallery did not leave any leeway to the cathedral acoustics. The cathedral acoustics did play a part in the second half of the programme during Into thy hands by Jonathan Dove. In this piece, originally written for performance in Canterbury Cathedral, the composer intentionally uses the echo of the building. An exhilarating connection was created by the outstanding singing discipline of the choir. The four-voice antiphon Sancte Deus and the five-voice anthem In ieunio et fletu by Thomas Tallis also formed part of the choir’s repertoire. The first part of the programme was brought to an end in style with Nicholas Ludford’s Ave cuius conceptio. Elsewhere, a solo singer brought the show to an equally sparking end with his performance of Christus vincit by James Macmillan (born 1962). Changing rhythms, strong dynamics and John Taverner’s Song for Athene combine to make New College Choir an exemplary ambassador of contemporary music.

On Sunday, the Südwestrundrunk recorded the choir of New College, Oxford performing in Klosterkirche Maria Laach. However, the radio broadcast will surely be unable to match the live experience of the performance in the cathedral.

Badische-Zeitung

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The fellows of New College, have time out of mind, every Holy Thursday [Ascension Day] betwixt the hours of eight and nine, gonne to the hospitall called Bart’lemews near Oxford, when they retire into the chapell, and certaine prayers are read, and an antheme sung; from thence they go to the upper end of the grove adjoyning the chapell (the way beforehand being strewed with flowers by the poor people of the hospitall), they place themselves round the well there, when they warble forth melodiously a song of three, four or five parts; which being performed, they refresh themselves with a morning’s draught there, and retire to Oxford before sermon. (John Aubrey c.1690)

The tiny medieval chapel, decked with cow parsley and blossom, was packed with parishioners from the church of St Mary and St John, members of the local community and the East Oxford Archaeo­logical Trust, as well as fellows of New College and members of the choir and chapel community, all eager to witness this revival of an ancient Oxford tradition.

The sunshine was fresh and clear, and teams from the local media were already in waiting with cameras and recording equipment. The short service of Morning Prayer was led by the Revd Adam Romanis, with the choir singing responses and a psalm, and the Ascension Day motet, Ascendit Deus.

Scattering celebratory rose petals after warbling forth melodiously...

After the service, a lone recorder player piped the choir and congregation across the Oriel playing field to the site of the ancient well, flowers strewing their path through the dew. Moving from sacred to secular mode, the choir grouped themselves under the trees and sang Morley’s madrigal Hard by a Crystal Fountain. Back in the grove surrounding the chapel, the choir and especially the choristers were then much in demand for interviews and a photo shoot with the press, while the congregation enjoyed refreshments, courtesy of some former choir parents who are part of the preservation team supporting the chapel.

Information about Bartlemas Chapel may be found on the Wikipedia website (opens in new window).

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Evensong at New College · 28 January 2006
Visiting Oxford on a Saturday involves certain challenges. If you are coming by car, you know you won't be able to park. I came by train. Or rather, as there weren't any trains, by bus. This was rather fun. At Reading station there were no trains for Oxford on the screens, which is decidedly unusual—except on Saturdays. So you have to know that you have to take a train to Didcot, and on arriving there, find out how to traverse the remaining kilometers to Oxford.

There was a decidedly family atmosphere on the double-decker bus from Didcot to Oxford. Most were on their way to some sort of clubbing, pubbing, dining, wining or erotic encounter in the university city. I seemed to be alone in my quest for Choral Music. The bus trundled into the city leaving plenty of time to wander through the dimly-lit mediæval streets to Evensong in New College, a closely-guarded secret which most tourists never succeed in finding. This is a very different experience from Kings, Cambridge!

If one has time, it is worth stopping at Blackwell's Music Shop, which has enough CDs to break the budget of most members of these groups, followed by a quick intake of caffeine at Queen Lane Coffee House, which has been selling drinks based on the bean and the leaf since the 16th century. It also has decent loos.

Back to New College. The Choir is the sort one hopes to hear if one should be allowed beyond the Gates of Heaven. I can't explain it, logically, but it hits me, physically. Shivers down the spine, excess of fluid in the tear-ducts, a cold sweat. Why can a choir do this? Why do most choirs NOT do this? There is some magic at work here, and it is hard to analyze.

This was a perfectly-planned Evensong. G major was the basis: Rhosymedre by Vaughan Williams, on the organ, as the tiny congregation prayed and meditated at 18.10. Ayleward responses, Psalm 136, and then, suddenly, the most amazing performance of Giles Swayne's Magnificat. If you have never heard this, then you should. New College has recorded it twice (on a Priory disc, PRCD 596, some ten years ago, and more recently on In Excelsis Erato 0927 44657-2) but hearing it live is 100 times more electrifying. It has about 12 independent voices, and they were all sung with such precision and self-confidence as if this was the most natural thing in the world. And those boys are 11 or 12 years of age. It's incredible.

Rather than singing Swayne's Nunc Dimittis, they gave us Holst's setting, which couldn't have been bettered as a complement to Swayne. I believe this is standard practice at New College. I heard the same combination two or three years ago. I just had to come back when I saw that they were doing these again.

As if this wasn't enough, we were then served Taverner's Mater Christi, sang a hymn together with the choir in a state of near ecstasy, and then tried to listen to the voluntary: Prelude and Fugue on a Theme of Vittoria by Britten, with its wonderful low-key close in G major, balancing the Vaughan Williams. However, the other evensong-goers seemed to decide that Britten was not for them. If they have time to go to Evensong, why don't they have time to listen to the voluntary? What an amazing row and disturbance they made during the Britten! Nodody seemed to see the logic and symmetry in the planning of this wonderfully spiritual service, with English organ music in G major as the framework, and with that wonderful 12-part G major-based Magnificat as centre-piece, which showed the total professionalism of the singers to great effect.

On leaving New College Chapel, it is worth dropping in at the (also well-hidden) Turf Tavern, an ancient pub down a narrow passageway. A visit here will give you time to digest the liturgical and musical shock to the system which services in New College almost invariably cause, before heading back to wherever you are staying. In my case, that meant back to the railway station for a double-decker bus to Didcot. My fellow passengers were enthusiastic about their parties, but they hadn't heard Swayne, OR Britten!

Robert Coates

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