Aylesbury Choral Society - A Mozart Celebration

For their December concert, the Aylesbury Choral Society performed three works by W A Mozart. The two major works were his Vesperae solennes de Confessre and his popular Coronation Mass. I actually preferred the former, especially the famous Laudate Dominum section. The programme was completed with the Regina Coeli and two carols. The conductor, Peter Leech, invited the audience to join in with Silent Night and O Christmas Tree and insisted we sing some of the verses in German.

The choir was in fine form and happily drowned out the accompanying sixteen piece Frideswide Ensemble from Oxford. Just as it should be. I thought that the baroque and historical instruments of the orchestra suited the music, which was not always the case in previous concerts. The four soloists were fine, although three of them had very little solo work. The exception was soprano Elizabeth Weisberg who sang beautifully. Her big moment came with the Laudate Dominum where she was superb. When the choir came in, we had the highlight of the evening. I just wish they had sung it twice.