REVIEW: A Celebration of English Music - at the Huntingdon Hall, Worcester (April 2015).

THIS was a labour of love undertaken by a collective of kindred spirits who have quite clearly vowed to guide the English songbook into a brand new musical future.

Spearheaded by Worcestershire husband and wife Ian and Claire King, these supremely talented performers took us on a musical odyssey that began in Tudor England and led us eventually into the present.

This pilgrim’s progress encountered many tunesmiths along the way, starting with Elizabethan and Stuart period composers John Dowland and Henry Purcell – and yes, we can mention their names in the same breath – ending with the Kings and lyricist Chris Jaeger.

The latter’s A Worcestershire Song Cycle must surely rank as being in the same league as the work of Ralph Vaughan Williams when it comes to authenticity and feel for the genre.

Nevertheless, the inherent beauty of such selections as Reflections of a Malvern Love Lost, The Bewdley Grenadier and The Cathedral at Dusk would remain forever pinioned by the writer’s pen were it not for the exquisite phrasing and poise of singers such as Hannah Grove and further complemented by the weeping viola of Shulah Oliver, whose instrument is but a tear from heartbreak.

Tenor Wilhelm Theunissen provided the most classical approach, yet injected plenty of spontaneous humour into Jaeger’s affectionate dig at traditional dancing in Faithful City Morris.

Elsewhere, Elizabeth Keetley-Smith served up some tasty keyboard counterpoints to Ian King’s tumbling notes, while Dayna Townsend’s angst-ridden rendition of Elgar’s Salut d’Amour drew a veil of silence over the hall that was only to be lifted by Harriet Amos’ convincing makeover of Tudor chestnut Greensleeves.

This was an excellent concert and a worthy salute to the combined talents of these supremely gifted Worcestershire musicians.

JOHN PHILLPOTT