Une Célébration de la Musique Française
The Spring Concert, Une Célébration de la Musique Française (A Celebration of French Music), was a celebration of our pupils’ mature, musical excellence. It was truly a delightful event and a highlight of the musical calendar for the Spring term.
The first half featured works by the French composer Fauré, famous for his beautiful soaring melodic writing and rich, chromatic harmonies. The concert featured Fauré’s Requiem, a stunningly reflective and beautiful setting of the mass. Chamber Choir and Eric Thiman Singers (ETS) performed with professionalism and emotion. Highlights included the stunning Pie Jesu, with Olivia B (Fifth Year Choral Scholar) performing the solo with elegance and warmth. The Libera me was equally superb, with Bjorn M (Lower Sixth Choral Scholar) performing the solo, embracing the long melodic lines with a wonderful, mellow tone throughout. A particularly poignant moment occurred when the entire choir sang the Libera me melody in octave unison—a chilling and powerful performance.
ETS then performed Tantum Ergo, a wonderful setting of a 13th-century Latin hymn that was performed with purity and warmth. This was followed by Chamber Choir’s stunning performance of Cantique de Jean Racine.
The second half featured French instrumental music. Florence Niu performed Debussy’s La Soirée dans Grenade from Estampes on the piano. She captured the Impressionist genre and Andalusian character superbly, bringing out the subtle nuances of the habanera rhythm and jazz-esque harmonies with maturity and panache.
Caterham Consort impressed with their professionalism, musicianship, and mature interpretations of the repertoire. The Prélude to Charpentier’s Te Deum provided a rapturous and bright start, with Ethan T (Lower Sixth Music Scholar) playing the trumpet solo with confidence and fully embracing the style through his melodic embellishments. Charpentier’s Concert pour quatre parties de violes and instrumental extracts from Lully’s Armide were also performed with real character and detail. The musicians played with authenticity, embracing details such as notes inégales (uneven notes), which were central to the musical culture in France at the time of composition. Special mention goes to Ayrton N (Lower Sixth Music Scholar), Mathilde G (Upper Sixth Music Scholar), Mark Ugarov (Fifth Year Pupil) and Yu-in T (Fifth Year Music Scholar) for their brilliant solos within the Charpentier and Lully. The concert concluded with La Nuit, originally composed by Rameau and later adapted for the French film Les Choristes.
All musicians are congratulated for performing to such an exceptionally high standard and showcasing their musical maturity, professionalism, and excellence.
