Review of Ely Choral Society, Grantham Choral Society and Wymondham Symphony Orchestra’s performance of the Verdi Requiem in Ely Cathedral on 29th March 2025

Ely Choral Society, Grantham Choral Society, Wymondham Symphony Orchestra and soloists gave a magnificent performance of Verdi’s Requiem in Ely Cathedral on Saturday, March 29.

With Andrew Parnell directing, in spite of the huge numbers involved, the work was given great depth and character. The choirs blended extremely well together under Andrew’s astute directing. They gelled as one, producing some amazingly effective gentle soft sounds as in the beautifully controlled counterpoint in the final movement ‘Libera me’.

By way of a tremendous contrast, the choir supported by a strong orchestra, punctuated the Requiem with fantastic, bombastic declarations of ‘Dies Irae‘ (the day of wrath). There was no doubt that Verdi’s feeling about death were made known and this performance had a delightfully free, no-holds-barred approach that swept us along in the magnificence of the composition.

The large orchestra introduced the movements well and gave many moments of beauty that supported the singers constantly. There were splendid moments with the percussion in the ‘Dies Irae’, with the woodwind in ‘Quid sum miser’, the brass in ‘Tuba mirum’ and the strings provided continuous support with their sonorous, sustained sound.

The soloists were excellent: Tara Bungard (soprano), Cassandra Manning (mezzo soprano), Thomas Elwin (tenor) and Alastair Miles (bass). They sang as a well balanced quartet as required, and shone as individuals. The soprano, Tara Bungard, had a capacity for creating a keen sense of drama and for beautifully soft, sustained high musical notes that were held for some time. Her performance in the final ‘Libera me’ was phenomenal. The mezzo soprano produced the most expressive high notes that I have heard. Instead of hearing the usual technique to shape the notes, there was also a strong degree of emotion that made the notes very moving. The tenor has an exquisite voice and technique. His ‘Ingemisco’ was mesmerising. The bass, was very reliable and effective and, as with the other soloists, was able to emphasize the way in which the musical line followed the natural intonation of the words.

This was indeed a wonderful concert.

Rosemary Westwell Ely Standard