Cantare Ladies Choir meets the Northern Baroque Orchestra

Cantare Ladies Choir meets the Northern Baroque Orchestra

It was great to see two Rochdale-based music groups share a platform in their first collaborative concert on Saturday 18 November which turned out to be a celebration of live music, ancient and modern. The near capacity audience at St Aidan's Church seemed to justify the 3pm start on a Saturday afternoon and their sustained applause demonstrated their approval of the project.

The Northern Baroque Orchestra (founded 1985) is a chamber orchestra of both professional and amateur musicians, predominately string players, specialising in music from the Baroque and early Classical eras.

Guided by conductor Alasdair Gordon they produced vigorous performances of the 18th century Concerto Grosso Op 6 no 8 by Handel and the 20th century St Paul’s Suite for Strings by Holst, with some outstanding solo work and earnest ensemble playing.

The popular and successful Cantare Ladies Choir was originally founded in 1982 as the Debrose Choir before they changed their name to Cantare in 2009. Under their current director, Adam Summers, their version of ancient and modern consisted of delightful performances of the 16th century ‘If ye love me’ by Tallis and the 21st century ‘Lux Aeterna’ by Sarah Quartel, both equally challenging works. The rich mix of vocal parts produced a wonderful tone which justifies the reputation they have gained over the years.

The second half was devoted to both groups combined in Vivaldi’s ‘Gloria in D’, which was nothing short of glorious. The ladies’ voices buoyed up with strings, oboes and organ brought this Baroque masterpiece to life.

St Aidan’s Church proved an admirable setting for their enthusiastic and joyful music-making. The logistics of gathering so many musicians together is itself impressive. An exercise that deserves to be seen again.

Help keep these local groups going, as an audience member or perhaps a performer:

Cantare Ladies Choir rehearse on Wednesday evenings from 7.30pm to 9.30pm at Norden Methodist Church, Edenfield Road, Rochdale, OL12 7QE. Contact: jackieholt810@live.co.uk or just turn up and give it a try. www.cantarechoir.wordpress.com

Northern Baroque Orchestra see www.northernbaroque.org.uk

Dr Joe Dawson