The concert’s been postponed three times, the Stravinsky anniversary has come and gone, but at last Bristol Choral Society got to perform the Symphony of Psalms with members of the Bristol Ensemble. This found its way on to our concert programme, originally scheduled for 21 March 2020, after one of the regular requests for repertoire suggestions. I and at least one other singer independently recommended it (although I didn’t know it at all – I just thought it was something I ought to have sung), which meant I felt I had to apologise if any other choir members complained about the difficulty. It is quite a slog to rehearse in the early stages, when you are mastering the notes and the accompanist is doubling you rather than playing an orchestral reduction. Furthermore, it is a strenuous work to sing (despite the soprano part not going high very often or for very long), with long block chords, often in an awkward part of the voice, and the slowest crotchets you’ll find anywhere. But once you start to hear all the counterpoint in the instrumental lines the merits of the work shine through. It’s generally styled ‘neo-classical’ though ‘neo-baroque’ might be more accurate.
We paired it with Fauré’s Requiem, my second concert performance of this piece this year, partly so we could dedicate plenty of rehearsal time to the Stravinsky, and partly because no violins needed to be employed in either piece. Stravinsky’s sonata for two pianos (again, previously unknown to me) completed the programme.
Clifton Cathedral made an appropriately austere setting for the Stravinsky, and we were blessed with a good audience – some of whom had been hanging on to their tickets since 2020, others maybe drawn by the Fauré in the All Souls season.