BENJAMIN Britten's powerful indictment of the futility of war and the hopes for reconciliation combines words from the Latin Mass of the Dead with the poetry of Wilfred Owen.
The soloists were Amanda Roocroft, soprano, Paul Nilon, tenor and Peter Coleman-Wright, baritone. The massed choirs of the Hall, the Leeds Festival Chorus and the Manchester Boys Choir, who sang unseen, projected a magnificent sound seldom heard on the concert platform. It was breathtaking and emotionally so moving.
With over 200 singers, three soloists and two orchestras formed by the Hall, a full and a chamber orchestra under his baton, Mark Elder's conducting was a tour de force.
At times the music and harmonies were other-worldly. Roocroft, angel-like in her shimmering dress, as her strong voice soared over the multitude. Britten is not kind to the female voice and Roocroft's diction was indistinct at times. Coleman-Wright fully grasping his role was sublime, as was Nilon, at ease with the difficult tenor phrasing necessary to pull off this complex work.
Manchester was treated to musicianship at its finest.
Hall Orchestra, at the Bridgewater Hall, Manchester
BRENDA KEAN
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