Tage Alter Musik – Almanach 2019

movement is full of trills and suspensions, perhaps a lingering reflection of the Baroque era. The following Menuetto has a lovely rhythmic hiccup in the second phrase. The substantial Missa solemnis was long thought to be by Leopold’s son, although I find that hard to believe on compositional terms alone. To me, the style seems to be ear- lier than WA Mozart, with frequent refer- ences back to Baroque era idioms as well as elements of the then current Sturm und Drang style and Hadyn. It opens with a tiny fugue on the first Kyrie, before the extended Christe and second Kyrie. Subsequent move- ments contrast full choral passages with ex- tended solo moments, many with more than one cadenza. It is a powerful work, although musically it is caught in the awkward gap be- tween the Baroque and Classical period and suffers from some rather predictable har- monic sequences. The key vocal soloist was soprano Katja Stuber with a number of well- sung arias. Unfortunately, the alto seemed to have an off-day, not least in that her part in- volved several tricky breaks of register. Key instrumental moments came from flautist Marcello Gatti and Christian Gruber, trum- pet. This concert was the last appearance of Domkapellmeister Roland Büchner at the Tage Alter Musik, as he retires in 2020. He has conducted the opening concert since 2010, and was given a rousing send off by the festival audience. The Friday late-night concert (they start at 22:45) was given by the 18-strong British a cappella ORA Singers conducted by Suzi Digby . Unusually, it was in the vast Gothic surroundings of Regensburg Cathedral – the first time in all my years of reviewing there that any of the festival concerts have been held there. For some reason, vocal groups from the UK always seem to go down very well with Regensburg audiences, and this was no exception. The packed cathedral gave them a well-deserved standing ovation, call- ing them back for encores despite it already being well into the early hours of Saturday morning. Their programme was based on settings of the penitential Psalm 51 ‘ Miserere settings – songs of hope’ starting with Allegri’s fa- mous version, in an interesting arrangement that kept the notable soprano high notes in reserve until towards the end. With the chant choir at one side, and the four semi- chorus singers at the back of the church, it was an impressive acoustic occasion. Six contrasting settings by Byrd and one by Tallis followed, each given superb perfor- mances, notably from the sopranos. Unfor- tunately, although they were standing on the chancel steps, it was impossible to see any- thing of the choir or conductor from my seat, so I can’t name any specific vocal soloist. But the overall sound and projection of the choir into the vast space was outstand- ing, as was their refined sense of consort. They balanced the programme with two contemporary works, both using the space of the cathedral well, and based on the early pieces in the programme. Wolfram Buchen- berg’s dramatic Reflektion über Tallis’ Mis- erere nostri Domine, featured large contrasts of volume and textures, some with influ- ences of Messiaen. They concluded with Sir James McMillan’s Miserere , a piece based on Allegri’s version, with McMillan’s character- istic Celtic/Baroque ornaments, harmonic ’nudges’, and evocative harmonies. One of the encores was Roderick Williams’ impres- sive Ave Verum corpus re-imagined, based on Byrd’s Ave Verum. An outstanding concert. andrewbensonwilson.org 7 ORA Singers, Nachtkonzert im Dom St. Peter