| The More House School community were blessed with performances by our Junior and Senior Choirs on the evening of Tuesday 29th March. Our choirs, consisting of members of Years 7 through to 12, performed repertoire ranging from the Baroque era to the 20th Century. Both The Junior and Senior Chamber Choirs collaborated with Schola Cantorum from Cardinal Vaughan School, and produced beautiful timbres. Our Music Captain, Yesim, opened the first half of the concert with a poignant reading written by our Head of Religious Studies, Miss Reid. Our Head Girl Victoria read a touching prayer that highlighted our fortunate circumstances when parallelled with that of Ukraine. The opening piece, The Beatitudes, by Arvo Pärt (b 1935) offered varying ranges and dynamics. The Junior Chamber Choir blended their voices with dissonant, yet haunting homophonic textures, with each voice complementing one another. The second piece was Ola Gjeilo’s Northern Lights. This secular, acapella choral piece was performed with grace and perfection. Set to the Latin pulchra es amica mea text from Song of Solomon, the text and the music describe something serene and heartbreaking: a “terrible beauty,” according to Gjeilo; one that captures the essence of the aurora borealis. Our Senior Chamber Choir then took to the stage and tackled some very demanding repertoire. The choir began with Leighton’s An Easter Sequence. The stage presence of the musicians was astounding as very rhythmic musical patterns evolved. A smaller ensemble then performed Monteverdi’s Beatus Vir accompanied by strings and piano. Without doubt, Monteverdi was the greatest of the Italian Renaissance composers, and the performers did not disappoint as we were treated to a fine example of Monteverdi’s dramatic and imaginative use of instrumentation and vocal writing. The final piece of the first half was a cinematic wash of colour and sound, Gjelio’s Luminous Night of the Soul. The Senior Chamber Choir performed with the tenors and basses of Schola Cantorum from Cardinal Vaughan School. This moving, lush, symphonic work, presented here, with a double choir of SATB singers, accompanied by strings and piano, describes the divine spirit of all art. This outstanding work was a joy to behold and a wonderful way to end the first part of the concert. After a brief interval, the choirs combined and presented us with a jazz version of a sung Mass by the Lithuanian composer Miškinis (b. 1954). Miškinis gained international recognition for his innovative and unique choral compositions. His compositions merge styles of Lithuanian folk music with modern compositional traits of European and American composers. The performers did not disappoint. The ensemble was well rehearsed and the movements led seamlessly from one to the next. All in all, the evening was a delight to behold and will be remembered by both performers and the audience for years to come. An email from a parent who attended: I am writing on behalf of my mother as well as myself to tell you, in no uncertain terms, that yesterday was quite the most exquisite evening of music we have enjoyed in a very long time. Your selection of pieces for this Easter Concert was quite literally inspired and the arrangement and direction that you brought to the table made a very important difference. What could have been a night of good music became a night of musical magic. Everything came together quite perfectly and every performer played their part to the hilt. I am only sorry that so few people were able to appreciate your efforts on the night and that the evening was not recorded. My mother (who is going deaf sadly) said that it was as if her hearing had returned. We loved every minute. Thank you – Current parent “I really enjoy the rehearsals leading up to these concerts. All our hard work is paid off to create a wonderful night of music!”
– Daria (Y11) “This Easter Choral concert was by far the best, most immersive one so far. The huge array of instruments, like double bass, drums, pianos, violins etc. added something special and I thought that singing with the boys and the professional singers was a fun and memorable experience.”
– Steele (Y11) “I thoroughly enjoyed singing and playing the Trumpet at this year’s Easter concert that Miss Calderwood and Mr. Rodriguez had put together this year, I’m very grateful as always for all the hard work and dedication that they have put in to make it one that I will never forget!”
– Ella Bea (Y11) | 
