Collegium Warwick, Handel’s Messiah, St Mary’s Church, Saturday 7 December 2024

Ending thirty eight years of Collegium Warwick performances was a Christmas surprise few in the audience were expecting. Programme tributes note this decision as a significant chapter in the musical life of St Mary’s Church.   Why not end this chapter with Handel’s triumph – his  celebrated oratorio, Messiah – first performed in 1742 in Dublin?

Handel’s deployment of soloists and chorus shows a fine sense of timing resulting in a truly remarkable sound.  With Sue Metyard’s hand-picked musicians driving the work at pace, four invigorated soloists and a sparkling percussion and brass offering in part three, the occasion was a fitting finale to Colleguium Warwick’s long-lived efforts at St Mary’s Church.

Guest conductor, Ron Binnie, whose time with Warwick and Kenilworth Choral Society is well remembered, will have been most impressed with the four soloists, notably tenor, Joe Yates and bass Greg Bannan.  Yates, currently undertaking postgraduate studies at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, delivered several solo recitatives, his confident, crisp  attacks giving a rich result which flowed easily. Many will long remember his “was he stricken” solo in part two.  Bannan’s sometimes heroic, sometimes mellow delivery at pace of “why do nations so furiously rage together” in part two was haunting. Soprano, Lucy Cronin coped well with tricky moments in part one, particularly “he shall speak peace unto the heathen”, before her final effort in part three “I know that my redeemer liveth” was alluring.

Countertenor, Mark Williams was making a happy return to sing with Collegium Warwick, having served his time with choirs at St Mary’s Church. His remarkable voice takes him much further afield; on this occasion, at home, he was passionate in his delivery of the celebrated line “He was despised and rejected of men” a fine moment in a moving evening.

Sadly, we said goodbye to the members of Collegium Warwick after so many successful years.  Time has caught up with many, tenor numbers are few;  as a result, the output is reduced. There is no doubt the commitment is there, the vocal capacity is not what it was a few years ago.