Gloria! ()

concert image

A stunning programme with the Chorus and brass accompaniment. If you’re a fan of brass, it’s an evening not to be missed.

Please note the following information from the Cathedral about the venue:

  • There is no public parking in The Close except for in the 5 Accessible bays for blue badge holders only. If these spaces are full, access is drop off only.
  • Toilets are located outside of the Cathedral.
  • No food or drink to be brought into the Cathedral.
  • No smoking/vaping inside or near the entrances of the cathedral.

We sang:

Venue

Lichfield Cathedral, The Close, Lichfield, WS13 7LD [map]

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Reviews

Review of Lichfield Cathedral Chorus concert on Saturday November 22nd

Christmas seems to get earlier every year…and the Lichfield Cathedral Chorus’s ‘Christmas’ concert this year took place in mid-November! Nevertheless this didn’t detract from the joyful nature of their programme entitled Gloria, which covered almost three hundred years of celebratory choral music and was most ably enhanced by the splendid Chad’s Brass Ensemble.

John Rutter’s music featured three times in the programme, and those who associate his output with relatively straightforward melodic writing may have been surprised by the complexity and power of his Te Deum and Gloria. The latter, longer work gave a truly celebratory ending to the concert, with some lovely bright brass playing which matched the choir without dominating it…an indication of Rutter’s skill in orchestration. The two soprano soloists were nicely matched and brought a moment of clear youthful freshness and calm to a generally busy work. There were some very tricky rhythmic moments for the choir which they mastered, if with a little tension, and the long and loud climax allowed all performers to let their hair down for a brilliant ending.

The opening fanfare by Benjamin Britten, a clever little piece of separate solo trumpet fanfares which then combined as one, was followed by Rutter’s Te Deum. Both this piece and the Handel which followed had complex rhythmic challenges for the choir, and there was a little anxiety in the performance, shown by the number of eyes glued to copies! The Vaughan Williams O clap your hands, however, came in with a good strong start, and we were definitely on safer ground with Parry’s I was glad, delivered with all the confidence we could want along with much improved diction and some fine tenor lines. The percussion section came into its own here too, coming close to drowning out the excellent organ playing of Liam Condon at times…quite an achievement!

The more confident singing continued into the second part of the concert, with a splendid opening to Zadok the Priest after a fine long organ crescendo, and a magnificent performance of Vaughan Williams’ Old Hundredth, enriched by the brass. These two were separated by a very moving unaccompanied performance of Bruckner’s Locus iste, a mini-masterpiece in the use of expressive dynamics in a resonant building. The choir was alert throughout and responded well to conductor Ben Lamb’s sensitive interpretation.

Praise must be given to Paul Ecclestone-Brown for his brass arrangements of both the Bruckner Ave Maria and the splendid Toccata in Seven by Rutter, which, as its name implies, used some very jolly and complex rhythms and was excellently performed by the brass and percussion players, the fresh sound of the xylophone cutting cleanly through the warm brass texture.

Altogether an excellent, well-balanced and “Glorious” programme, and a great start for the celebrations to come!

Megan Barr, November 2025