At St Cyriac’s Church, Lacock

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Beatus vir qui timet Dominum – choirs regularly sing in Latin and relish the sound of the language, allowing the meaning to drip slowly into the subconscious – ‘Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord’ (Psalm 112). Psalm settings from previous eras both remind us of the past power and patronage of the Church and suggest the need for us, whether we be Venetian or British, to refer to these texts for help and consolation in a hard world.

Our programme for this concert presented a selection of short baroque works from Italy and England based on texts from the psalms and the canticles, with one secular example, Welcome to all the Pleasures – Purcell’s setting of Christopher Fishburn’s poem to St Cecilia:

This is what an appreciative member of the audience had to say:

An exciting Baroque repertoire, new venue and the end of a crowded “cultural” week all combined to attract me to Lacock Church for the latest offering from the enthusiastic and ever youthful Corsham Choristers! The choral works from the pens of Monteverdi, Purcell and Vivaldi made a balanced, challenging and refreshing choice - a striking contrast with the solemnity of the Faure Requiem and the humour of the Horrortorio performed earlier in the year.

The choir was superbly supported by an excellent group of instrumentalists, few in number but skilful and by soloists, each extremely sympathetic and supportive of each other and of the choir.

This venue in Lacock, St Cyriac’s, struck me as good acoustically and allowed a successful combination of choir, instrumentalists and conductor, though a little cramped, while we the audience could all see and hear better than in some venues. Being a church with church pews, the forgotten cushion only lent lustre to the experience.

All in all it was a grand evening’s entertainment which can only enhance the reputation of the Corsham Choral Society.