Concert date: Saturday 15 th March 2025
The church of St Thomas and St John in Radcliffe was the venue for a remarkable
performance of this great work by Bury Choral Society, supported by Bury Camerata. The
star bass soloist who took the title role, Andrew Greenan, performed the whole piece from memory, whilst firmly grasping a closed copy of the score which had belonged to his teacher John Cameron.
His performance was truly electrifying, and held the audience, and no doubt choir too,
spellbound. Particular mention should go to the duet with the soprano soloist (Rachel
Abbott), “What have I to do with thee?” and the arias “Lord God of Abraham” and “It is
enough”. All four soloists excelled, with particular highlights from Helen Gregory (Alto) in
“Woe unto them” and “O rest in the Lord”. All four talents were well-presented in the final
quartet “O come everyone that thirsteth”.
The choir was well-prepared, confident and clear in diction in this piece which through its
dramatic nature could really be classed as an opera. There was a good balance between
the voices, and the choir was never dominated by the orchestra, even in fortissimo tutti
sections. Goosebump moments included the final chorus of the first half “Thanks be to God” and “Holy, holy, holy” in the second half. “He watching over Israel” was effortless and lyrical, and we had the full effect of the drama in moments such as “The fire descends from heaven” and “Behold the Lord passeth by”. Particular mention should go to the semichorus moments, which were jewels in the choir’s performance – “For he shall give his angels”, “Cast thy burden”, “Lift thine eyes”. In this extended piece, the choir coped admirably with very cramped space and poor lighting arrangements.
Juan Ortuño conducted with energy and great commitment to the music. I appreciated in
particular the good pace taken in the “Though thousands languish” section of the opening chorus of the second half. “O rest in the Lord” was also allowed to speak for itself, taken at a moderate tempo without sentimentality. The orchestra, again because of the space, was in a wide linear formation, and served the music and action very well.
This great oratorio was given an excellent rendition one that the whole society can be proud to have produced.