The Glasgow Chamber Choir under Michael Bawtree were in the Netherlands in March 2011 for two concerts singing with St Joris Kamerkoor, one in Amersfoort, the other in St Catherine’s Roman Catholic Cathedral in Utrecht. St Joris Kamerkoor under Bas Ramselaar were now in Scotland with a concert in Edinburgh and another in Glasgow.
Of immediate interest was how these two chamber choirs, St Joris with 22 singers and Glasgow with 28 would work together. Musically it was a success. Both conductors took their turn and each choir had a set performance on its own too. At first the choirs were apart, St Joris to our left and Glasgow to our right. But as the concert went along they merged their talents on the brass railed stepped platform in the centre.
Glasgow Chamber Choir performed an early work of Judith Bingham, The Clouded Heaven written in 1998. St Joris chose O Gloriosa Domine by Albert de Klerk, a well known composer of religious music in the Netherlands in the 20th century.
Together they sung Locus iste by Paul Mealor written in 2009. It was he whose piece Ubi caritas was premiered at the recent wedding in Westminster Abbey of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
The organist, Christopher Nichol from Glasgow, played two short solo works but was preserving his energy for the final item, the work that gave its name to the concert - Laudes Organi by Zoltán Kodály. Written in 1966 just a year before his death, the helpfully detailed programme notes told us that with this work Kodály says farewell to this world through the spirit of his predecessors. It was a tremendous success, and groundbreaking for it is not widely performed in these parts. It should be.
The enjoyment this concert gave its audience will have given the teaming up of two fine choirs the encouragement to keep on working together. And in case you wonder who St Joris was - in England they claim the saint and martyr as St George.
Event: Saturday 7 May 2011 7.30pm