Reviews

Exeter Philharmonic Choir in Exeter Cathedral on 20^th May 2008

Exeter Philharmonic Choir in Exeter

Dixit Dominus, a setting of Psalm 110, was written by Handel during his stay in Italy, and Exeter Philharmonic Choir’s performance of this splendidly melodic invention showed a charmed audience in Exeter Cathedral just what a bewitching work it is.

A fine team of soloists – Natalie Clifton-Griffith, Elizabeth Drury, David Allsopp, Iain Macleod-Jones and Daniel Broad – excelled with De torrente in via bibet, with the Sinfonietta matching the singing in every detail.

There was lively appreciation too of Mozart’s Eine Kleine Nachtmusik. Richard Studt and the Sinfonietta played the familiar lines with the kind of suave elegance that makes the whole thing appear totally effortless. It flowed along irresistibly, sounding bold and fresh and brimful of character.

The main work was Haydn’s so-called Nelson Mass, although the name the composer gave it is Mass in Time of Fear. Frightening things were happening to Austria in 1798 and it shows in this work, written in D minor, a key which somehow conveys something menacing, something to fear.

This was a superb choral offering and counter-tenor David Allsopp was outstanding amid a strong team of soloists.

The Agnus Dei could not have been bettered. There was some incandescent singing from the chorus, full-bodied, with good definition in Confiteor unum baptisma with its glowing Amen.

Andrew Millington directed, which is shorthand for an excellent, memorable and magnificent performance.

Margaret Smith, What’s On South West

Deutsche Händel-Solisten in Karlsruhe Opera House on 27^th February 2008

The successful Händel-Festspiele is drawing to a close

Karlsruhe Deutsche Presse Agentur (dpa)

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The musical contrasts between the two oratorios which were performed – “Susanna”, one of Handel’s late works and “La Resurrezione”, written when he was 22 – were particularly interesting. “Susanna” was given a top-class performance by the Deutsche Händel-Solisten under conductor Christian Curnyn, whom The Times called one of our “best young Handelians”. Silvia Hablowetz in the title role and David Allsopp as Joachim stood out from the cast. Allsopp, who teaches [computer science] at Cambridge as a sideline, proved to be a highly intelligent, vocally brilliant, countertenor.

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Martin Roeber (DPA), Schwabische Zeitung
English Translation © 2008 Hanni Helps

Exciting and brilliant Oratorio “Susanna”

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Also the soloists left nothing to be desired, in spite of the great demands made of them. Silvia Hablowetz – in the title role – brought out all its nuances. Her mezzo sounded touchingly beautiful and had the veiled sadness which is what is needed to bring out the greatness of baroque music. David Allsopp sang her husband Joachim with his light and flexible alto and presented him as a faithful, but helpless, anti-hero. Susanna’s father, Chelsias, was in the best of hands with Simon Bailey, whose light and immensely fluent bass voice is ideal for baroque music.

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Manfred Kraft, Badische Neueste Nachrichten
English Translation © 2008 Hanni Helps

Chamber Concert and the oratorio “Susanna”

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That was owing to the soloists, the playing of the Deutsche Händel-Solisten and the light, but always clearly enunciated, singing of the Chamber Choir of Europe. The ensemble had already proved its worth two years ago in Nicol Matt’s production in Karlsruhe in the CD of “Israel in Egypt”. The playing of the Deutsche Händel-Solisten produced a whole spectrum of sound and a flexibility of interpretation. Not least, the performance was to the credit of the young Scottish conductor, Christian Curnyn. He brought out most winningly the soft and intimate parts of the music, but in contrast gave the rhythmically brusque part of the music depicting the lustful Elders a sharp outline.

Silvia Hablowetz sang the title role with exquisite line, refined tone and – in the final coloratura aria – brilliant virtuosity. David Allsopp, information scientist and very gifted countertenor, produced pearls of baroque belcanto in Joachim’s arias and carried conviction with his polished singing. Simon Bailey interpreted Chelsias and the Judge with strength and dignity. With her soft soprano, Diana Tomsche was an ethereal and pure Daniel. Benjamin Bruns and Mika Kares sang the two perfidious lechers. Kares brought out the vile brutality of one most tellingly. Bruns personified the slimy falseness of the other very effectively.

Nils Nager, Die Rheinpfalz
English Translation © 2008 Hanni Helps

Leeds Philharmonic Chorus in Leeds Town Hall on 23^rd February 2008

Leeds Philharmonic Chorus & Camerata Concert Orchestra

David Hill, who manages to lead an astonishingly full professional musical schedule, is undoubtedly an inspiration to the Leeds Philharmonic Chorus whose musical director he became three years ago.

Their performance of John Rutter’s Requiem, in which Leeds Girls’ High School’s choir participated, reflected in every detail of balance and dynamic shading an impressive commitment to a simple and beautiful gift to the choral repertoire. The support of the Camerata Concert Orchestra was excellent, and the soprano soloist Elizabeth Cragg sang Pie Jesu with a pure clarity as delightful as it is rare.

John Tavener’s “mystical love-song”, Lament for Jerusalem, written in 2002, is a sequence of seven cycles, each with a choral passage from Psalm 137, a short instrumental “cosmic lament”, an extract from the Islamic Masnavi sung exquisitely by counter-tenor David Allsopp, a further section of the psalm given to soprano Elizabeth Cragg, and ending with choral Alleluias. In spite of the increasing ecstasy of the closing passages, each repetition after the third proved wearisome, and the texts (Greek and Islamic) uncomfortably distant. The performers entered boldly and successfully into the presentation of a substantial and challenging piece.

Patric Standford, Yorkshire Post (4 Stars)

Stuttgarter Kantorei in the Stiftskirche, Stuttgart on 9^th & 10^th November 2007

Full of Passion and Inspiration

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This filled the audience with excited anticipation, which continued during part 3, “Moses’s Song”, not least because of the outstanding cast of soloists. Ines Lex and Sandra Hartmann (sopranos) sang music which lies on the border between an opera aria and a simple hymn enchantingly. David Allsopp (alto) offered something to please the lovers of calm, beautiful sound. Andreas Weller (tenor) demonstrated how much work Handel had devoted to produce nuances of tonal colour. Thomas Scharr and Ekkehard Abele (bass) conjured up Handel’s great rhetorical skill. Lengthy applause.

Stuttgarter Zeitung
English Translation © 2008 Hanni Helps

The Stuttgarter Kantorei sings Handel in the Collegiate Church

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Among the good soloists, the most convincing were the outstanding soprano Ines Lex, the tenor Andreas Weller and the young alto David Allsopp (whose very even, straight-tone, almost ethereal singing is typical of an English countertenor). Long applause paid tribute to this evening’s tour de force and particularly to the choir.

Susanne Benda, Stuttgarter Nachrichten
English Translation © 2008 Hanni Helps

Kay Johannsen conducts Handel’s “Israel in Egypt” in Stuttgart’s Collegiate Church

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The soloists were of the highest quality, particularly the flexible and sonorous basses of Tomas Scharr and Ekkehard Abele and Andreas Weller’s well-produced tenor. The soprano Ines Lex sang a brilliant finale after a few initial uncertainties. Her colleague, Sandra Hartman, shone with her light timbre. David Allsopp produced some fine cantabile singing, after a slightly thin-voiced start.

Martin Mezger, Eßlinger Zeitung
English Translation © 2007 Hanni Helps

I heard a voice — Music of the Golden Age (EMI Classics, released 8^th October 2007)

King’s College, Cambridge: I Heard a Voice — Music of the Golden Age

Last year’s choir challenges the present students as the academic year begins with this disc of music by Weelkes, Gibbons and Tomkins.

The choral sound is beautifully balanced in the ethereal acoustic. The soloists are names to note, especially the alto David Allsopp in Most Mighty and All-Knowing Lord. The tenor John McMunn exquisitely decorates This is the Record of John with Fretwork’s viols in warm, plaintive accompaniment. There are two versions each of Hosanna to the Son and When David Heard. Weelkes’s is the finer — indeed, his setting of the latter is one of the greatest of all anthems.

Rick Jones, The Times (4 Stars)

Maulbronner Kammerchor in Maulbronn Monastery, 19^th & 20^th May 2007

Love in the time of war

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Stylistic accuracy and faultless technique also characterised Mark Le Brocq’s tenor who managed to give Handel’s somewhat one-dimensional hero distinctive character. David Allsopp’s voice has a very soft timbre and carries effortlessly, which enabled him to express the ardour of the lover as well as Othniel’s later heroic aspect.

Thomas Weiss, Pforzheimer Zeitung
English Translation © 2007 Hanni Helps

A thrilling oratorio performance

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Miriam Allan, a pupil of Emma Kirkby, who has appeared several times in Maulbronn has an angelic and versatile voice. The young singer fascinates with her sensitive and immensely flexible coloratura. David Allsopp’s alto voice is warm yet still vigorous in its top range. Mark Le Brocq’s tenor is just as flexible. He interprets strikingly and thrillingly both the heroic passages in which Joshua calls for the attack on Jericho and those in which he later encourages the defeated Israelites to renew their resistance to their enemies. James Rutherford used his brilliant bass to describe dramatically both destruction and the mourning over the humiliating defeat of Joshua’s army.

This moving, exhilarating and thrilling performance of Joshua has greatly enriched the KlosterKonzert Maulbronn. It will soon be able to be heard on CD.

Rudolf Wesner, Mühlacker Tagblatt
English Translation © 2007 Hanni Helps

To Jericho with trumpets and trombones

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In this scene, the young Alto, David Allsopp, makes a very successful first appearance at Maulbronn, both as an ardent lover (Act 2) and as a radiant hero (Act 3) with his marvellous singing in both the coloratura passages and in the cadenzas. He should regard it as the greatest compliment that he almost makes one forget Michael Chance, a Maulbronn favourite in previous years. The composer did not, of course write a “hit” for the Alto such as Achsa’s aria Oh! had I Jubal’s lyre which Miriam Allan delivered with virtuosity at breakneck speed.

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Dr. Dietrich Klose, Vaihinger Kreiszeitung
English Translation © 2007 Hanni Helps

The sun and the moon stand still

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The young Soprano, Miriam Allan, stood out from the others with her clear and radiant voice. Her singing of the joyous aria Oh had I Jubal’s lyre was absolutely world-class. The young Alto, David Allsopp, as Othniel held the attention with his lovely and exquisitely phrased singing. Tenor Mark Le Brocq’s singing of the title role was light yet well-stressed. The Bass, James Rutherford, was a noble and impressive Caleb.

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Rheinpfalz
English Translation © 2007 Hanni Helps

Canterbury Choral Society in Canterbury Cathedral, 24^th March 2007

This was a wonderful performance of J. S. Bach’s St John Passion by Canterbury Choral Society, conducted by Richard Cooke, together with Sinfonia Britannica. From the orchestra’s very first chords and the first chorus entry, with the arresting repeated Herr, right through to the final chorale, the performers held the attention of the audience with attack, virtuosity and great variations of mood and tempo. The Evangelist’s part, beautifully sung by Daniel Norman (tenor), set the tone for the evening with such clear diction that no German speaker needed to look at the words in the programme. His rendering was spine-chilling when he sang of Peter’s weeping as he realised that he had denied Jesus three times. In place of the indisposed Matthew Rose (bass), Cathedral lay clerk Duncan Perkins and Michael Pearce, both at short notice, sang with aplomb. The other soloists, Julia Doyle (soprano), David Allsopp (counter-tenor) and David Knight (tenor), also gave a very good account of themselves in the arias. For me, the highlights of these were the counter-tenor aria Es ist vollbracht and the soprano aria Zerfliesse mein Herze, both accompanied with great style by the continuo players Helen Verney (cello) and Steven Devine (organ). The members of the choral society excelled themselves throughout, barely putting a foot wrong in a demanding series of chorales, arias and choruses, maintaining an impressive, disciplined and energetic presence at all times. Anyone who missed this concert certainly missed a treat and I would recommend that they should put the date of the next concert — June 23, featuring Britten, Vaughan Williams and Elgar — into their diaries now.

Ian Thompson, Kentish Gazette

The Choir of King’s College, Cambridge at the Bridgewater Hall, Manchester 1^st December 2003

A large audience came to Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall to hear King’s perform what was an interesting programme. The Kodály Missa Brevis is a beautiful work, which settled down nicely after a slightly ragged beginning. The Qui tollis provided the first of many showcases for David Allsopp’s utterly glorious countertenor, and this section, together with the Agnus Dei were particularly delicious. Leos Janáček’s Otčenáš followed and I felt that the choir sounded much more relaxed than previously.

After the interval we were treated to Psalm 90 by Ives, accompanied by four percussionists underpinned by a constant organ pedal — an unusual and compelling work that I had not heard before. Britten’s Rejoice in the Lamb was given a fine performance, with characterful playing from Ashley Grote, and beautiful solo singing from one of the trebles and also David Allsopp. Allsopp had a busy night as he also sang the solos in the Bernstein Chichester Psalms and he, together with Mark Norman on percussion, Sioned Williams on the harp and Ashley Grote was the making of this otherwise disappointing performance. The problem with the Bernstein, as with other parts of this concert, was that while it was splendidly accurate (and one would expect nothing less, of course) on a musical level it was rather unexciting and polite. Quite the reverse of what one needs at the beginning of the Chichester Psalms. The result was that I and other concertgoers around me left feeling rather underwhelmed. For me the making of this concert was David Allsopp, the unnamed treble in the Britten, and some marvellous instrumental playing.

Tom Bell, The Organ Magazine