Archive
2005 reviews
Rathcol – Belfast Telegraph (Tuesday 20th September 2005)
Youth well to the fore.
The Ulster Youth Choir, under its new conductor David Lawrence, has chosen St Bernadette's Church, Rosetta, recently over St Anne's Cathedral.
There are obvious economies of scale here but both venues have their problems.
The church's acoustic is volatile and often brutal and although it amplifies the voices like a loudspeaker, it has the result of hiding rather than revealing.
This was a shame on Sunday night because there was some very good singing to celebrate.
Throughout the eclectic and attractive programme harmonies were relished by the young singers and there was some meaningful ensemble phrasing, particularly in the choices from Mendelssohn's Four Sacred Part Songs.
Elsewhere the concert combined joyous tutti with pointed solos, where each one of the many individual contributors deserves praise.
It's to the choir's credit each year that it peppers its programmes with the work of living composers.
Tarik O'Regan's I saw him standing was atmospheric and pungent and Eric Whitacre's Lux Arumque was a surprising and effective piece, creating the still point of the evening.
Entitled Gloria, this concert was duty bound to touch on John Rutter, especially in the composer's sixtieth birthday year.
This music has as many detractors as advocates but the Ulster Youth Choir understood its task well and delivered a bright and endearing interpretation.
Ruth McCartney – Irish News (Tuesday 20th September 2005)
Sunday night's Ulster Youth Choir Concert in St Bernadette's Church, Rosetta, was a treat for all who attended. Conductor David Lawrence had chosen a very wide range of music for the choir to perform. It could have been a disjoined hotchpotch of an evening, but it became a stream of pleasures. The choir performed with real flair and panache. This is Lawrence's first season and he has already made his mark. From the very first piece, Grier'’s Alleluia, he had these young singers eating out of his hand and responding to every nuance in the text and music.
Two of Mendelssohn's rarely performed Four Part Songs followed; Jauchzet dem herrn alle welt and Frohlocket, ihr Volker auf erden. Balance and blend were excellent and the choir had no problems with the German pronunciation. I saw him standing by the ever popular Tarik O'Regan and Eric Whitacre's Lux Arumque were both written in the last 10 years. It's great to hear choirs performing new compositions by international composers. The Whitacre piece was suitably mellow and devotional while the O'Regan was expressive yet uncontrived.
The Ulster Youth Choir demonstrated their ability to respond to shifts of tempo and mood throughout the evening. Rutter's Gloria was the central piece in the programme. Although it would have been nice to hear it with the usual brass, percussion and organ, Julian Wilkins accompanied superbly on the piano, despite the fact that the piano was miles away from the choir and conductor. Attack and energy are compulsory for this music and the choir ably demonstrated both. They also looked as if they were relaxed and enjoying themselves which was lovely to watch.
The young men from the choir sang a beautiful arrangement of Vaughan Williams's The Turtle Dove. This was warm and stylish and the soloists, Ciaran Kelly and Chris Walsh, sang beautifully. There were a few odd chords in Daemon Irrepit Callidus by Orban and in The Battle of Jericho arr. Hogan, but these didn't mar the exciting performances to any great extent. The spacious acoustic of St Bernadette's lent itself well to the higher notes in particular. A cheeky little Beatles number was a great idea for the encore.
Belfast Telegraph – September 2005 (St Bernadette's Church)
"Throughout the eclectic and attractive programme, harmonies were relished by the young singers…elsewhere the concert combined joyous tutti with pointed solos, where each one of the many soloists deserves praise".
Irish News – September 2005 (St Bernadette's Church)
"The Choir performed with real flair and panache".
2004 reviews
Irish Times – November 2004 (St Anne's Cathedral)
"Once again, there was clear, expressive singing from the fresh young voices".
Belfast Telegraph – November 2004 (St Anne's Cathedral)
"This young choir proved again that it can tackle complex and powerful scores and deliver them with urgency, power and beauty".
2003 reviews
Belfast Telegraph – November 2003 (St Anne's Cathedral)
"This concert proved what an asset the Ulster Youth Choir is to the music scene in the North of Ireland"
Irish Times – September 2003 (National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin)
"These young singers perform with confidence and freedom. Both the lack of strain in the upper parts and the easy resonance achieved at the other end of the spectrum offered pleasures that many more experienced groups strive after with altogether more limited success".